Who recognizes and chooses behaviors that are best for a relationship? The separate roles of knowledge, attachment, and motivation.
Participants made relationship decisions in several Choose Your Own Adventure-type dating story tasks by choosing between two options at each of 20 points throughout the computerized stories. One option was always the relationship-enhancing option; the other option was detrimental to the relationship. Study 1 included two experimental conditions: Participants were either asked to identify the relationship-enhancing option or to report which option they would actually choose. Individuals high in relationship knowledge were more likely to identify relationship-enhancing behaviors but not more likely to actually choose them. Secure individuals and individuals strongly motivated to have supportive relationships were more likely to identify and to choose relationship-enhancing options. In Study 2 partner supportiveness was manipulated; the fictitious partner was either supportive or nonsupportive. Individuals high in relationship knowledge were better at recognizing when a partner was supportive and when not, whereas attachment anxiety lessened the appreciation of having a supportive partner.
Turan
Bulent
B
Stanford University, CA, USA. bturanb@gmail.com
Vicary
Amanda M
AM
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001290:Attitude; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000145:classification*; D003380:Courtship / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000145:classification*; D009769:Object Attachment; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000145:classification*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012919:Social Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D035502:Trust / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult