Action-specific effects in perception and their potential applications

Spatial perception is biased by action. Hills appear steeper and distances appear farther to individuals who would have to exert more effort to traverse the space. Objects appear closer, smaller, and faster when they are easier to obtain. Athletes who are playing better than others see their targets as bigger. These phenomena are collectively known as action-specific effects on perception. In this target article, we review evidence for action-specific effects, including evidence that they reflect genuine differences in perception, and speculate on possible applications of action's influence on vision.     

Romantic heartbreak: Prevalence,personality traits,and personal stories

Across four studies (N = 4,381, M_age = 39.17 years, 56% female, 67% White, 12% Hispanic/Latinx, 11% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 9% Black/African American) the experience of heartbreak was considered within trait and narrative research paradigms. Participants indicated if they have ever experienced, and were currently experiencing, heartbreak. Personality traits, attachment styles, and narrative accounts of heartbreak were also assessed. Across all studies, 82% of participants indicated experiencing heartbreak and this event was largely unrelated to demographic and personality characteristics whereas 14% of participants reported being in a current state of heartbreak and these individuals were more likely to be single, neurotic, and insecurely attached. Lastly, storying heartbreak as leading to self‐improvement related positively with secure attachment.     

Relationships,health, and stress: Validation of a relationship sense of coherence measure

Although all romantic relationships experience stress, some thrive when faced with adversity while others are unable to manage the inevitable relationship ups and downs. Rather than seeing stress as a risk factor, this study applied a Salutogenic framework, which posits that stress is a naturally occurring and potentially beneficial part of relationships, to develop a new measure of relationship health and well‐being. In Study 1, we created and tested a self‐report Relationship Sense of Coherence (RSOC) scale. Study 2 demonstrated evidence of convergent reliability for the RSOC. In Study 3, we tested the RSOC in a two‐wave sample of romantically‐involved individuals with a chronic health condition. Guidelines for use and implications for future research are discussed.     

Perception of communal motives in couples: Accuracy,bias, and their associations with relationship length

Can romantic partners accurately perceive each other’s communal motives, or are these perceptions biased by their own motivational hopes and fears? This study used data from N = 1,905 partnered participants to examine the extent to which partner perceptions of communal motives correspond to targets’ (accuracy) and perceivers’ (motivational bias) explicit and implicit communal motives. Our results indicate that explicit communal motives and implicit communal approach motives can be (a) accurately inferred and (b) positively bias communal motive perception. Furthermore, there was no evidence for moderation of either accuracy or motivational bias by relationship length. These findings point to the early visibility of both implicit and explicit motives in couples, as well as their persistent biasing effects on partner perception.     

“Love is calling”: Academic friendship and international research collaboration amid a global pandemic

In this intervention we desire to document and celebrate our own international research collaboration as an intimate long-distance relationship that sustains us amid a global pandemic of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. We share “love letter” poems that we wrote to each other, in response to a poem by Yayoi Kusama titled “Residing in a Castle of Shed Tears,” incorporated into her mirror room installation “Love is Calling.” In our discussion we reflect upon the emotional connections that sustain academic researchers, particularly those relationships that extend beyond national boundaries and conventional heteronormative expectations.     

Sibling relationships and civic engagement: A longitudinal study of Chinese young adults

This study examined the longitudinal associations of sibling intimacy and conflict with civic attitudes and behaviours among Chinese young adults. At two time points separated by about 12 months, questionnaire data were collected from 272 Chinese college students (mean age at Time 1 = 19.68 years; 69% female), students who studied in Hong Kong and had at least one sibling. Students rated their intimacy and conflict with their siblings and their parents at Time 1, and their civic attitudes and behaviours at both time points. Hierarchical regression revealed that, controlling for demographic characteristics and parent–child intimacy and conflict, sibling intimacy predicted increases in both civic attitudes and behaviours. Sibling conflict was a non-significant predictor, however. Findings highlighted the roles of siblings in understanding civic development in young adulthood and the utility of targeting sibling intimacy as means to foster young adults' positive attitudes to and active participation in civic activities.     

Empirically distinguishing interpersonal styles within romantic relationships: What is helpful or harmful when having a goal for your romantic partner?

IntroductionRelationship research rooted in self-determination theory often focuses on autonomy support. However, rarely is this interpersonal style considered alongside other facets of relational behaviours such as directive support and control.ObjectiveThe present study aimed to distinguish the three styles by providing a tool that can simultaneously assess them.MethodA total sample of 710 French Canadians involved in a romantic relationship was used for factor extraction and test of dimensionality as well as reliability. Predictive validity was tested using multiple linear regressions with six outcomes: well-being, relationship quality, closeness, goal progress, cooperation and conflicts.ResultsResults suggested three distinct interpersonal styles, each of which showing a different pattern of prediction with the outcomes. Overall, autonomy support was associated with positive outcomes, whereas control was associated with negative outcomes. As for directive support, the global pattern was between the two others.ConclusionThe present research offers a scale which simultaneously assesses and distinguishes the autonomy-supportive, directive-supportive and controlling styles in a romantic relationship context using three items each. By examining the associations between these three interpersonal styles and various outcomes four months later, this study sheds light on helpful and harmful behaviours in relation to the goals people have for their romantic partner.     

职场孤独感的形成原因与作用机理：基于调节匹配理论视角

随着组织广泛的信息技术运用、工作强度增加,员工之间面对面的、真诚的社交开始呈下降趋势。职场孤独感成了困扰员工的普遍问题,引起了企业管理实践界高度重视。通过综述已有文献,本文指出过往研究虽揭示了职场孤独感带来的消极影响效应并有效提高了组织对职场孤独问题的关注度,但尚未系统回答“如何预防与应对职场孤独感”。为了引导员工对职场孤独感的科学应对,本文认为有必要将员工视为能动的主角而非被动的承受者,并探讨职场孤独感与员工应对行为的关系,为如何应对职场孤独感提供建设性对策。 除此之外,为了更好地预防与遏制职场孤独感,有必要系统性地探讨职场孤独感的形成原因。综合过往研究,本文发现职场孤独感区别于其他消极情绪的核心在于：职场孤独感源自于高质量职场人际关系的缺失。与此观点对应的是,Wright和Silard （2021）认为当员工实际的职场人际关系未达到预期水平,员工会认为职场人际关系存在缺陷,产生孤独的体验。Wright和Silard （2021）的观点反映了职场孤独感是一种员工未实现期望社交目标而导致的心理体验。循此逻辑,本文采用与目标实现过程相关的调节匹配理论来解释职场孤独感的产生原因和影响机制,为预防和应对职场孤独感提供对策。以调节匹配理论为框架,本项目拟解决三个问题：（1）领导与下属的调节焦点（不）匹配如何通过影响领导成员交换,进而影响职场孤独感;（2）员工与团队的调节焦点（不）匹配如何通过影响团队成员交换,进而影响职场孤独感;（3）员工如何依据不同的团队调节氛围来选择社交应对策略,以及社交应对策略对员工绩效的影响。通过新颖的多项式回归分析与曲面响应分析方法,本文力求重构传统的职场孤独感的研究思路,为职场孤独感的产生机制提供新的研究视角。除此之外,本文首次将调节匹配理论引入职场孤独感的研究,系统性地分析了职场孤独感的产生和应对,呈现了职场孤独感现象在组织中的动态演化的过程与机制。     

Integrating research on social class and social relationships

A decade of research on social class has shown that those lower in social class tend to be more interdependent or focused on others. Here, we show that considering social class as an aspect of culture, which means that it shapes thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, can improve the precision, generalizability, and utility of theories about relationships. Moreover, we show the value of research on social class that integrates theories and methodologies developed in relationship science (e.g., studying existing relationships in real life, over time) with those developed in the science of social class (e.g., social class as a form of culture; the distinction between material resources and rank in society). Integrating these perspectives will accelerate understanding of when and how relationships can be beneficial for all. Recent research on social-class variation in interpersonal processes lays the groundwork for substantial advances across domains of psychology.     

Differences between men and women with a dismissing attachment style regarding their attitudes and behaviour in romantic relationships

Research to date has revealed that the association between gender, attachment and the quality and functioning of intimate relationships is complex. This study examined the relationship between gender and attachment styles in attitudes to communication with one's partner and in the number of past relationships in a sample of 746 Spanish undergraduates. The Relationship Questionnaire was administered to them to determine the adult attachment style. The results revealed the existence of differences according to the adult attachment style and gender with regard to the two measured variables, and a significant effect of the interaction between gender and attachment. Dismissing men reported the highest average scores in the number of past relationships, with significant differences appearing when they were compared with secure and preoccupied men. However, dismissing women did not differ from the rest of the women with other attachment styles. When men and women with the same attachment styles were compared in this variable, the only significant differences were found between dismissing men and women (with the latter reporting fewer partners). In the case of attitudes to expressing feelings to one's partner, dismissing men reported the most negative attitudes, compared with secure and preoccupied men. Dismissing women, unlike the men, did not differ in their attitudes either from preoccupied or fearful women. Moreover, clear differences were shown between dismissing men and women in these attitudes (more negative in the case of men).