Daily Interpersonal Interactions Research Articles

What makes people feel loved? An exploratory study on core elements of love across family, romantic, and friend relationships.

With research long focusing on distinct characteristics of different love types, little is known about love as a general feeling across relationship contexts. To explore the core elements of love as perceived by laypeople and whether these elements weigh differently in different relationships, grounded theory was used to analyze open-ended responses from 468 individuals about their feeling loved in family, romantic, and friend relationships. Results indicated that the feeling of love is an interpersonal process in which one receives positive responsiveness from the other and experiences an authentic connection with the other, consistently across conditions and time (i.e., in a sense of stability); three core elements were shared across family, romantic, and friend relationships. Chi-square independence tests revealed differentiated weights for love elements in three relationships, which corresponded to the prototypical love definition in family, romantic, and friend relationships. Findings suggested an integrated theoretical conceptualization of love as a shared feeling and asset across relationships, which provided important insights on love conceptualization, assessment, and study design, as well as implications for the treatment of dysfunctional relationships, best practices in daily interpersonal interactions, and improvement in intervention and therapy.

Attachment Manifestations in Daily Interpersonal Interactions

The predominant focus in attachment research on trait-like individual differences has overshadowed investigation of the ways in which working models of attachment represent dynamic, interpersonally responsive socio-affective systems. Intensive longitudinal designs extend previous work by evaluating to what extent attachment varies over social interactions and the functional processes that underlie its fluctuation. We examined momentary activation of attachment orientations in the stream of peoples’ daily lives and how those patterns were linked to interpersonal behavior. Based on an event-contingent, ambulatory 7-day assessment protocol (N=263; 3,971 interactions) operationalized using Contemporary Integrative Interpersonal Theory, we examined whether contextually activated working models accounted for patterns of interpersonal (anti-)complementarity. Our analyses revealed that the situational activation of working models varied as a function of interpersonal perceptions of warmth, which were linked to greater state security and lower levels of anxious or avoidant expectations. These reactivity patterns, in turn, accounted for interpersonal complementarity. Avoidant attachment was linked to diminished and secure attachment to enhanced expressions of warmth. The analyses were robust even when controlling for momentary positive and negative affect and closeness of the relationship. Attachment expectations wax and wane across daily social interactions, and such fluctuations are reflective primarily of a process in which perceptions of others’ warmth activate secure attachment expectations and lower insecure ones.

The Effect of Sleep on Workplace Interpersonal Conflict: The Mediating Role of Ego Depletion

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep and workplace interpersonal conflict and the role of ego depletion as the mediating mechanism. A survey was conducted daily for two weeks using an experience sampling method. A sample of 79 employees from the East Coast of China was collected. A multilevel regression analysis was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Results indicated that higher sleep quantity was associated with lower daily ego depletion at noon and lower workplace interpersonal conflict. Moreover, ego depletion mediated the effects of sleep quantity on workplace interpersonal conflict. The findings identified the adverse effects of insufficient sleep on daily interpersonal interactions and provided a valuable perspective on workplace interpersonal conflict management. Furthermore, the study broadened the scope of antecedents that impact how employees experience daily workplace interpersonal conflict and assessed the mediating role of ego depletion in this relationship.

Overcoming Fears to Save Lives: COVID-19 and the Threat to Bystander CPR in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Overcoming Fears to Save Lives: COVID-19 and the Threat to Bystander CPR in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

The concept of caring amongst first year diagnostic radiography students: Original research

Student radiographers start their work integrated learning from their first year of studying and they are in constant contact with patients. Based on this interaction, it is imperative for all diagnostic radiography students to be caring professionals. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of caring amongst diagnostic student radiographers by exploring and describing their experiences of caring in the clinical environment. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was utilized. Focus group interviews were conducted with first year diagnostic radiography students. Purposive sampling was used to ensure information rich data was obtained. In keeping with qualitative research, participants were interviewed until data saturation was reached. Appreciative inquiry was used as an interview technique to encourage storytelling and to engage in narrative – rich communication. The 4-D model of appreciative inquiry, namely; Discovery, Dream, Destiny and Design, formed the basis for the interview questions. Data was analysed and coded and themes were created based on the interpretation of the data. Three themes were identified as being; caring as an integral part of a career choice, unpreparedness for interpersonal interactions and barriers and enablers for the development of a caring identity. Participants expressed an idealistic vision of what caring means to them as a student radiographer. Participants felt unprepared for their daily interpersonal interactions with patients and other staff. Recommendations to radiography educators would be to engage in more role-playing exercises, reflective practices and peer discussions.

Borderline personality disorder symptoms and affective responding to perceptions of rejection and acceptance from romantic versus nonromantic partners.

We examined event-contingent recording of daily interpersonal interactions in a diagnostically diverse sample of 101 psychiatric outpatients who were involved in a romantic relationship. We tested whether the unique effect of borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms on affective responses (i.e., hostility, sadness, guilt, fear, and positive affect) to perceptions of rejection or acceptance differed with one's romantic partner compared with nonromantic partners. BPD symptoms were associated with more frequent perceptions of rejection and less frequent perceptions of acceptance across the study. For all participants, perceptions of rejecting behavior were associated with higher within-person negative affect and lower within-person positive affect. As predicted, in interactions with romantic partners only, those with high BPD symptoms reported heightened hostility and, to a lesser extent, attenuated sadness in response to perceptions of rejection. BPD symptoms did not moderate associations between perceptions of rejection and guilt, fear, or positive affect across romantic and nonromantic partners. For all participants, perceived acceptance was associated with lower within-person negative affect and higher within-person positive affect. However, BPD symptoms were associated with attenuated positive affect in response to perceptions of accepting behavior in interactions with romantic partners only. BPD symptoms did not moderate associations between perceptions of acceptance and any of the negative affects across romantic and nonromantic partners. This study highlights the specificity of affective responses characteristic of BPD when comparisons are made with patients with other personality and psychiatric disorders. Implications for romantic relationship dysfunction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Interpersonal adaptation in teacher-student interaction

Teacher-student relationships play a crucial role in the quality of teaching and learning. Daily interpersonal interactions in classrooms are the building blocks of teacher-student relationships. With the aim to add to insights on teaching and learning, we specifically explored interpersonal adaptation in daily interactions. Adaptation, i.e., how people respond to each other's actions and reactions, is a defining characteristic of interactions.We studied 35 classrooms in secondary education. Although the degree and nature of interpersonal adaptation was in general consistent with interpersonal theory, degree of adaptation varied considerably between classrooms. In classrooms with a more preferred teacher-student relationship, behaviour of teachers and the adaptation to the behaviour of their students was more in accordance with professional standards, compared to classrooms with a less preferred relationship.Conceptualizations and results of the present study contribute to theory on teacher-student interaction, as well as the practice of teacher professional development (e.g., video coaching).

Daily Interpersonal Experience Partially Explains the Association Between Social Rank and Physical Health.

Socioeconomic position is a well-established risk factor for poor physical health. This study examines whether the effects of lower social rank on physical health may be accounted for by differences in daily social experience. In a large community sample (N = 475), we examined whether subjective social rank is associated with self-rated health, in part, through positive and negative perceptions of daily interpersonal interactions, assessed using ecological momentary assessment. Higher social rank was associated with higher average perceived positivity of social interactions in daily life (e.g., B = .18, p < .001), but not with perceived negativity of social interactions. Further, the association between social rank and self-rated physical health was partially accounted for by differences in perceived positivity of social interactions. This effect was independent of well-characterized objective markers of SES and personality traits. Differences in the quality of day-to-day social interactions is a viable pathway linking lower social rank to poorer physical health.

Criticism hurts everybody, praise only some: Common and specific neural responses to approving and disapproving social-evaluative videos

Social evaluation is a ubiquitous feature of daily interpersonal interactions and can produce strong positive or negative emotional reactions. While previous research has highlighted neural correlates of static or dynamic facial expressions, little is known about neural processing of more naturalistic social interaction simulations or the modulating role of inter-individual differences such as trait fear of negative/positive evaluation. The present fMRI study investigated neural activity of 37 (21 female) healthy participants while watching videos of posers expressing a range of positive, negative, and neutral statements tapping into several basic and social emotions. Unpleasantness ratings linearly increased in response to positive to neutral to negative videos whereas arousal ratings were elevated in both emotional video conditions. At the whole brain level, medial prefrontal and rostral anterior cingulate cortex activated strongly in both emotional conditions which may be attributed to the cognitive processing demands of responding to complex social evaluation. Region of interest analysis for basic emotion processing areas revealed enhanced amygdala activation in both emotional conditions, whereas anterior and posterior insula showed stronger activity during negative evaluations only. Individuals with high fear of positive evaluation were characterized by increased posterior insula activity during positive videos, suggesting heightened interoception. Taken together, these results replicate and extend studies that used facial expression stimuli and reveal neurobiological systems involved in processing of more complex social-evaluative videos. Results also point to vulnerability factors for social-interaction related psychopathologies.

The Iowa Gambling Task in depression – what have we learned about sub-optimal decision-making strategies?

Our earlier study found patients with depression to show a preference for larger reward as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). In this IGT version, larger rewards were associated with even larger consequent losses. In the light of the clinical markers defining depressive disorder, this finding might appear controversial at first. Performance of depressed patients on various decision-making (DM) tasks is typically found to be impaired. Evidence points toward reduced reward learning, as well as the difficulty to shift strategy and integrate environmental changes into DM contingencies. This results in an impaired ability to modulate behavior as a function of reward, or punishment, respectively. Clinical symptoms of the disorder, the genetic profile, as well as personality traits might also influence DM strategies. More severe depression increased sensitivity to immediate large punishment, thus predicting future decisions, and was also associated with higher harm avoidance. Anhedonic features diminished reward learning abilities to a greater extent, even predicting clinical outcome. Several questions about how these aspects relate remain to be clarified. Is there a genetic predisposition for the DM impairment preceding mood symptoms? Is it the consequence of clinical signs or even learned behavior serving as a coping strategy? Are patients prone to develop an aversion of loss or are they unable to sense or deal with reward or the preference of reward? Does the DM deficit normalize or is a persisting impairment predictor for clinical outcome or relapse risk? To what extent is it influenced by medication effects? How does a long-lasting DM deficit affect daily life and social interactions? Strikingly, research evidence indicates that depressed patients tend to behave less deceptive and more self-focused, resulting in impaired social DM. The difficulty in daily interpersonal interactions might contribute to social isolation, further intensifying depressive symptoms.

On Heart Transplants and Distress: A Qualitative Response to Selves & Burroughs’ Letter

To the Editor: We write in response to Selves & Burroughs’ letter (1), grounded in experiences with liver transplant recipients in the United Kingdom, which takes issue with the distress we reported in “The Obligation to Say thank You” (2). The authors argue that we “overcomplicated” and “overemphasized” the distress expressed by heart transplant recipients when writing, or attempting to write, a thank you letter to the donor's family. Our paper “The Obligation to Say Thank You,” is centered on the experiences of heart transplant recipients in Canada, which we identified as a potential limitation of our work. Our work is theoretically driven and qualitative in its methodology, so we make no claim to generalizability to other transplant populations in other hospital settings. Letter-writing practices such as the use of first names or “never setting appropriate time limits,” as detailed by the UK authors, will often vary from our own practices in Toronto. It follows then that the authors may “have experienced” liver recipients in their hospital center in entirely different ways. Those recipients may “gain a sense of relief” at knowing they can write a letter of thanks, and “feel that writing a letter is a part of expressing sympathy” and “acknowledging they are progressing well” (1). However, the authors do not reference any research methodology or published findings that would help us understand their claims to “knowing” recipient thoughts and feelings around the letter. We query what a letter-writing experience might be like for a recipient who is not “progressing well” or, as we have argued elsewhere (3), does not feel as though his or her life has “been restored.” What if that life has been disrupted beyond repair? What does a letter writer feel then? As these kinds of questions disrupt the very powerful “gift” discourse that dominates transplantation and drives donation, we are in no way surprised that those who depend on that discourse may take issue with our work. Books such as Thank You for Life (4) are believed to improve donation rates, whereas work that suggests all might not be well and good with transplant recipients may have the opposite effect. We feel we have a moral obligation, however, to better know the worlds of transplant recipients and to share that knowledge widely. To that end, and to our own surprise, our phenomenologically informed visual methodology has brought to light issues for heart transplant recipients that we have never before seen in our daily interpersonal interactions with patients, or in the usual questionnaires and assessments we carry out in the hospital (3, 5). Indeed, by taking the conversation out of the clinic and into people's homes, we have been able to learn more about how deeply “complicated and distressed” recipients may feel. Like our colleagues in the United Kingdom, we have always acknowledged the “difficulty of writing a letter” but we never knew just how difficult it was. Now, we do know, we can simplify the issue no more, for “complicated” emotional responses may actually be the new “normal.” The authors of this letter have no conflicts of interest to disclose as described by the American Journal of Transplantation.

Under What Conditions Do People Feel Face-Loss? Effects of the Presence of Others and Social Roles on the Perception of Losing Face in Japanese Culture

Although face plays an important role in our daily interpersonal interactions, little is known about how people perceive face-loss. An open-ended survey revealed that the need to protect face consists of two factors: the presence of others and social role involvement (Study 1). In a follow-up scenario experiment, it was found that participants perceived protagonists as losing face most when the protagonists failed to fulfill a social role in the presence of others. The effect of failure in a social role on perceived face-loss was mediated by role expectations (Study 2). The involvement of one’s social role in public situations triggers a sense of face-loss in Japanese culture. Future research is encouraged to explore the generalizability of these results in cross-cultural contexts.