Narcissism and Dependency in the Obsessional-Hysteric Marriage

Marriages in which one partner is an obsessional neurotic and the other an hysteric lead to certain patterns of difficulty and conflict that are functions both of the character structure of each and of their interaction. The central dynamic task of marriage is the development and integration of constructive and viable patterns of intimacy. Both the obsessional and the hysteric have serious problems with intimacy and introduce into the marriage distortions and limitations of experience which restrict or even bar intimacy. This paper will examine some of the interpersonal and transactional dynamics considered especially important in such relationships.     

Interpretations,Evaluations, and Consequences of Interpersonal Touch

Key elements of an expectancy violations (EV) framework are forwarded as a possible organizing framework for understanding how touch functions in interpersonal communication. Central to applying an EV framework to touch is assessing the expectedness, interpretations, and evaluations of touch and its influence on such communication outcomes as evaluations of communicator attractiveness and credibility. To address these considerations, an experiment required participants to engage in dyadic problem-solving discussions during which they were touched or not touched by high-valence (attractive, high status, expert) or low-valence (unattractive, low status, inexpert) confederates. Brief touches by high-valence communicators were less expected than from low-valence communicators but positively evaluated from both. Touch also carried many favorable relational message interpretations, and the combination of touch and high communicator valence generally produced the highest credibility and attraction ratings. Some gender effects emerged, which appeared to moderate touch effects. Results suggest that brief touches among strangers may have positive consequences, especially when initiated by high-valence communicators, for whom they may qualify as positive violations.