Fostering partner dependence as trust insurance: the implicit contingencies of the exchange script in close relationships.
A model of the trust-insurance system is proposed to examine how people with low and high self-esteem cope with the interdependence dilemma posed by feeling inferior to a romantic partner. Feeling inferior automatically activates "if-then" contingencies that link inferiority to the exchange script (i.e., partner qualities are evenly traded) and exchange script anxieties to reparative efforts to secure a partner's dependence. A daily diary study of newlyweds and 5 experiments supported the model. Induced upward social comparisons to the partner activated exchange anxieties for low, but not high, self-esteem people. When implicitly primed, the exchange script heightened worries about being inferior and motivated behavioral efforts to increase the partner's dependence regardless of self-esteem. When consciously deliberated, the exchange script elicited dependence promotion only for low self-esteem people.
Murray
Sandra L
SL
Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA. smurray@buffalo.edu
Aloni
Maya
M
Holmes
John G
JG
Derrick
Jaye L
JL
Stinson
Danu Anthony
DA
Leder
Sadie
S
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D017004:Codependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011287:Prejudice; D012649:Self Concept; D012747:Sexual Partners; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult