W7.b Flashcards
What is commitment?
Long-term orientation towards a relationship, with the intention to maintain it over time and foster lasting strong emotional bond to partner
Rusbult’s (1980) Investment Model of Commitment
Satisfaction level: recognition of net cognitive, affective and behavioural benefits provided
Quality of alternatives: desirability of alternatives to relationship
Investment size: resources put into the relationship
COM = SAT - ALT + INV
Why Satisfaction ≠ Commitment?
Abusive relationships
More likely to be committed to and thus stay with partners if fewer viable alternatives and higher investment
Sternberg’s (1986) triangular theory of love
Intimacy: feeling close, connected, bonded and interdependent)
Commitment: longer term orientation to relationship
Passion: physical and sexual attraction, intensity of emotional connection
What are the threats to relationships?
External:
- Financial strain
- Gender roles
- Rivals
Internal:
- Illness
- Change/mismatch in preferences/expectations
How to manage conflicts?
Accommodation: processes of responding to a negative action by the partner
Destructive accommodation
Gottman’s ‘four horsemen’
- Criticism
- Contempt
- Defensiveness
- Stonewalling
Constructive accommodation
Open discussion
Patience
Forgiveness
Consequences of accommodation strategies
Constructive; Active
Voice: discuss, seek help, suggest, change
Constructive; Passive
Loyalty: wait, hope, pray, support
Destructive; Active
Exit: abuse, scream, threaten, separate
Destructive; Passive
Neglect: Ignore, avoid, let fall apart
How to foster constructive accommodation?
Commitment
Idealization of partner
Implicit theories: beliefs about how the world works
-Growth vs destiny theories about relationships (Growth beliefs foster)
-Incremental vs. entity theories of personality
Incremental - active,
entity - passive
Importance of relationships
Close relationships provide social support:
Emotional and physical coping resources provided by other people
Social support is associated with great psychological and physical well-being
What is loneliness?
The costs of loneliness
Negative feelings arsing from unmet needs for affection and self-validation.
Not being alone, but feeling a sense of isolation
Loneliness increases risk of negative health conditions, cognitive decline and impaired executive functioning.
The processes and interventions of loneliness
Cognitive-behavioural loop
Exacerbated if internal, dispositional attributions are made. E.g., if one attributes loneliness to inherent shyness or unattractiveness.
Interventions targeting this maladaptive loop are most effective
What is attachment style?
People’s basic securely attached, avoidant, or anxious orientation toward others in close relationships
How does attachment styles influence the ways people attain intimacy and experience love in all close relationships?
Because securely attached individuals are unafraid of intimacy and unworried about abandonment, they can both give comfort and support to and receive comfort and support from their partners.
