Communal Motivation Research Articles

Keeping the Spark Alive

How can couples keep the sexual spark alive in long-term relationships? The current study draws upon existing research and theory on both communal relationships and approach-avoidance models of social motivation to test the hypothesis that individual differences in the motivation to meet a partner’s sexual needs, termed sexual communal strength, predict heightened feelings of sexual desire in long-term partnerships. In a 21-day daily experience study of 44 long-term couples, individuals higher in sexual communal strength engaged in daily sexual interactions for approach goals, and in turn, reported high levels of daily sexual desire. Sexual communal strength also buffered against declines in sexual desire over a 4-month period of time. These associations held after controlling for general communal strength, relationship satisfaction, sexual frequency, age, and whether or not the couples had children. These findings demonstrate the utility of extending theories of communal motivation to the sexual domain of relationships.

Responding to Partners’ Expression of Anger: The Role of Communal Motivation

The effects of communal motivation on reactions to relationship partners' expressed anger were examined. In Study 1, married couples reported on the communal strength of their marriage, their expressions of anger to their spouse, and relationship satisfaction. In Study 2, college students reported on the communal strength of their best friendships, those friends' expressions of anger, and their evaluations of and provision of support to those friends. In Study 3, communal motivation toward a stranger who expressed mild anger was manipulated and evaluation of that stranger was measured. In all three studies, low communal motivation was associated with more negative evaluations of angry partners, lower relationship satisfaction, and, in Study 2, lower support provision. In contrast, when communal motivation was high, these decreases either did not occur (Studies 1 and 3) or were diminished (Study 2), and in Study 2, partners' anger was associated with increased provision of social support.

Incentives and the Kibbutz: Toward an economics of communal work motivation

Incentives and the Kibbutz: Toward an economics of communal work motivation