When partner caring leads to sharing: Partner responsiveness increases expressivity, but only for individuals with low self-esteem |
| |
Authors: | Amanda L Forest Joanne V Wood |
| |
Institution: | Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada |
| |
Abstract: | Two studies examined whether perceiving a partner as responsive leads people to be more expressive with that partner, and whether the effects of perceived partner responsiveness on expressivity are moderated by self-esteem. In Study 1, female undergraduates with high or low self-esteem disclosed to a fictitious partner about a sad event. Participants either received an understanding, caring, and validating written response from their ostensible partner or did not receive a response. In Study 2, participants wrote an email, supposedly to another participant, about a sad event and received either a highly responsive or a non-responsive email response. In both studies, partner responsiveness increased expressivity among individuals with low self-esteem but not among individuals with high self-esteem. These results provide the first experimental evidence for Reis and Shaver's (1988) theorizing about responsiveness and self-disclosure. |
| |
Keywords: | Responsiveness Expressivity Self-esteem Self-disclosure Communication Intimacy Close relationships |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|