He loves me… he loves me not: understanding relationship security
Date
2018
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
People have a fundamental need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). This need is not unlike hunger and thirst, if it goes unfulfilled people’s wellbeing suffers (Leary & Baumeister, 2000). Therefore, it is crucial to understand how people develop and maintain their affiliations, specifically romantic relationships. A key ingredient for thriving high quality connections is relationship specific felt security. Prior research has determined some sources of information that people use when evaluating the security of their relationship. However, there are still some unexplored possibilities. The current paper utilized secondary analyses of 2 existing datasets to investigate whether people use emotional support provision from their romantic partner as diagnostic information when evaluating the security of their relationship. Further, I investigate if this connection is partially explained by emotional support conveying that the partner is responsive and caring (i.e., people perceive their partner as responsive). I found evidence in support of these hypotheses across 2 studies that utilize different methods. Overall, people who receive more emotional support from their partner also perceive their partner as being more responsive. In turn, perceived partner responsiveness predicts relationship specific felt security.
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Keywords
Psychology