Unsupportive romantic partner behaviors increase neural reactivity to mistakes

Abstract

Romantic relationships involve a range of positive and negative experiences, from supportive and security-enhancing behaviors to unsupportive interactions involving criticism and dismissiveness. The present study aimed to examine the functional impact of these experiences on reactivity to mistakes, as error salience has key implications for adaptive functioning in areas such as goal-striving and appropriate risk-taking. To this end, a study was conducted in which participants completed the Eriksen Flanker Task (EFT) alone and under romantic partner observation while electrophysiological brain activity related to error salience (the error-related negativity (ERN)) was recorded. Findings indicated that unsupportive, but not supportive, partner behaviors were associated with changes in error salience, furthering the notion that negative relationship experiences have a stronger effect on functioning than do positive ones and highlighting the impact of relationship context on reactivity to mistakes.