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Social Psychology

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Close relationships

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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

On The Importance Of Perceived Interpersonal Safety: Antecedents And Consequences Of Living A Subjectively Safe Life, Stylianos Syropoulos Apr 2023

On The Importance Of Perceived Interpersonal Safety: Antecedents And Consequences Of Living A Subjectively Safe Life, Stylianos Syropoulos

Doctoral Dissertations

The need to be and feel safe is a fundamental human need. Despite extensive theoretical arguments on the subject, and research on relevant concepts, empirical work on what it means to feel interpersonally safe (i.e., in the presence of others or in social environments in general) is scarce. This dissertation presents four investigations that seek to address this gap. It also seeks to highlight the consequences of feeling interpersonally safe for our mental and physical health, and to what degree healthy and high-quality close relationships influence how safe we feel. Chapter 1 is a literature review summarizing theories underlying these …


The Impact Of Social Distancing And Loneliness On Adolescents' Mental Health During Covid-19, Marielena Barbieri Oct 2021

The Impact Of Social Distancing And Loneliness On Adolescents' Mental Health During Covid-19, Marielena Barbieri

Masters Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely limited physical interaction (e.g., school closures, 6ft- distances, quarantine) and disrupted the daily lives of adolescents which likely heightened levels of perceived loneliness and internalizing symptomology. Due to the novelty of social distancing regulations caused by COVID-19, little is known about the role that loneliness plays in the association between stress from social distancing regulations and adherence to these regulations, and later difficulties with internalizing symptoms. The current study examined the impact of social distancing regulations on adolescents’ wellbeing through perceived loneliness by using data from a 5-week longitudinal survey-based study conducted on parents and …


The Role Of Culture In Close Relationships: East-West Differences In Communication And Emotion Regulation, Feiran Ge Nov 2017

The Role Of Culture In Close Relationships: East-West Differences In Communication And Emotion Regulation, Feiran Ge

Doctoral Dissertations

The current research examined the role of culture in shaping two interpersonal processes that occur within romantic relationships – i.e., (a) how individuals communicate emotional messages with their romantic partner and (b) how they help each other regulate emotions. I addressed these two processes by focusing on national culture, comparing behaviors between European American and Chinese partners in romantic relationships. Chapter I (Studies 1-4) investigated the extent to which European Americans and Chinese prefer direct vs. indirect communication styles with their romantic partners. Studies 1 and 2 found that Chinese were more indirect (vs. direct) than European Americans when they …


Do Bad Boys Finish First? An Investigation Of A Lay Theory Of Heterosexual Women's Mate Preferences, Casey J. Debuse Jul 2016

Do Bad Boys Finish First? An Investigation Of A Lay Theory Of Heterosexual Women's Mate Preferences, Casey J. Debuse

Doctoral Dissertations

The notion that heterosexual women are romantically interested in “bad boys” is a pervasive lay theory of close relationships in U.S. culture. The current research investigated women’s perceptions of bad boys and individual differences in their romantic interest in bad boys. Three studies recruited heterosexual female participants from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. Study 1 asked participants to rate their associations of a list of trait adjectives with the bad boy and other prototypes (the “hero,” “nice guy,” and “loser”). Paired comparisons indicated that supportiveness and social dominance traits discriminated among prototypes. Study 2 asked participants to rate their romantic interest …


The Reciprocal Influence Between Individuals’ Perceptions Of Spouse’S Attachment And Marital Satisfaction, Feiran Ge Mar 2015

The Reciprocal Influence Between Individuals’ Perceptions Of Spouse’S Attachment And Marital Satisfaction, Feiran Ge

Masters Theses

There is a large body of research documenting the link between individuals’ perceptions of partners’ traits and relationship satisfaction (Simpson, Fillo, & Myers, 2012). Prior work indicates that both accurate understanding and idealized perception of partners’ traits are associated with greater relationship satisfaction (e.g., Luo & Snider, 2009). However, research in this area has predominantly focused on the impact of partner perception on relationship satisfaction. There is very limited evidence on whether relationship satisfaction in turn affects partner perception. The present study followed newlywed heterosexual couples during their first 2-3 years of marriage and examined the relations between individuals’ perceptions …


How Your Spouse May Save You: An Analysis Of Early Environment, Physiological Stress Responses, And Spousal Support, Dana P. Roth Jan 2012

How Your Spouse May Save You: An Analysis Of Early Environment, Physiological Stress Responses, And Spousal Support, Dana P. Roth

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Growing up in an adverse early environment is related to a number of negative health outcomes later in life, and dysregulation of the HPA axis may serve as the means by which this process occurs (Repetti et al., 2002). Indeed, early environment has been linked to altered physiological responses to general stressors in adulthood, but it remains unclear whether physiological responses to marital stress are also affected. Thus, the present work addresses two central questions in 129 newlywed couples: (1) How does growing up in an adverse early environment relate to physiological stress responses (assessed by cortisol) to a relationship …