Highlighting the Contextual Nature of Interpersonal Relationships

Abstract

Abstract This chapter highlights the contextual nature of intimate relationships. The first two sections review evidence that the implications of four key processes for relationship functioning—behavior, cognition, emotion, and hormones—depend on the context in which the relationship is situated; whereas certain processes are associated with less desirable outcomes on average, all appear to offer interpersonal benefits in certain situations. The third section highlights the importance of these contextual effects for relationship science by reviewing evidence that even the three personal qualities most consistently associated with less desirable interpersonal outcomes on average—attachment insecurity, low self-esteem, and neuroticism—are just as contextual; although they are consistently associated with undesirable outcomes on average, (a) they do not always lead to the processes that are typically harmful and, even when they do, (b) those processes can be beneficial in some contexts. The fourth section organizes the contextual factors into four classes—qualities of the individual, qualities of the partner, qualities of the relationship, and qualities of the environment. Finally, the fifth section challenges researchers to take a more contextual approach to the study of relationships, including focusing on within-person tendencies to properly calibrate psychological processes to different situations as they fluctuate over time.