Interpersonal Affect Research Articles

The Effects of Traumatic and Abusive Relationships

The present study aimed to understand what constitutes a traumatic relationship experience for adults in abusive intimate relationships and what effects, losses, and coping strategies were the most salient for these participants. A total of 101 individuals (42 males, 59 females) who reported experiencing an abusive or traumatic relationship participated. A mixed-method content analysis approach was used to derive the salient categories representative of participants' traumatic relationship experience and the resulting effects. Participants' responses to their most traumatic and distressing relationship experience revealed two themes: relational abuse and internal turmoil/stressful reactions. Participants also described numerous effects from the abusive relationship on their lives. Content analysis revealed four themes: internal turmoil, interpersonal affect, dysfunctional coping, and strength/empowerment. These findings are discussed in relation to treatment considerations for individuals experiencing relationship trauma.

Chinese Host Country Nationals' Willingness to Support Expatriates

The willingness of host country nationals (HCNs) to provide support to the expatriate has received a lot of attention in the literature on international assignments. Surprisingly, though, the number of empirical studies examining this relationship is extremely limited. This study examines the role of HCNs' collectivistic orientation, interpersonal affect, and guanxi in relation to their willingness to support expatriates. Using data from 212 HCNs in China, it is found that HCNs' perceived relationship quality with the expatriate has a significant impact on their willingness to provide assistance, both role information and social support, to expatriates. Further, it is found that relationship quality is related to perceived cultural similarity. The results reinforce the importance of paying attention to the perceptions and reactions of HCNs towards expatriates. Implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions are offered for future research.

Affecting Others: Social Appraisal and Emotion Contagion in Everyday Decision Making

In a diary study of interpersonal affect transfer, 41 participants reported on decisions involving other people over 3 weeks. Reported anxiety and excitement were reliably related to the perceived anxiety and excitement of another person who was present during decision making. Risk and importance appraisals partially mediated effects of other's anxiety on own anxiety as predicted by social appraisal theory. However, other's emotion remained a significant independent predictor of own emotion after controlling for appraisals, supporting the additional impact of more direct forms of affect transfer such as emotion contagion. Significant affect-transfer effects remained even after controlling for participants' perceptions of the other's emotion in addition to all measured appraisals, confirming that affect transfer does not require explicit registration of someone else's feelings. This research provides some of the clearest evidence for the operation of both social appraisal and automatic affect transfer in everyday social life.

The Composition and Structure of Depressive Symptomatology among Young and Older Caregivers of Persons with Dementia

Informal caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) experience higher rates of clinical depression relative to general populations of older adults. Because caregivers range considerably in age (e.g., older spouses as compared to adult children or grandchildren), the need exists to evaluate the psychometric properties of depression screening measures to ascertain if cohort differences exist. The current study was conducted to determine whether responses to the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression (CES-D) Scale are equivalent between older (range 66 to 93 years; n = 542) and younger PWD caregivers (range 21 to 65; n = 884). Only responses to the interpersonal affect factor differ between the two. We contend that this pattern of consistency is due to similarity of role demands which may cause depressive symptoms to present more uniformly among PWD caregivers in contrast to heterogeneous groups of young and older adults. Overall, our findings support the higher-order factor structure of CES-D responses within a population at elevated risk for depression.

Meeting Your Match: How Attractiveness Similarity Affects Approach Behavior in Mixed-Sex Dyads

This experimental study investigated approach behavior toward opposite-sex others of similar versus dissimilar physical attractiveness. Furthermore, it tested the moderating effects of sex. Single participants interacted with confederates of high and low attractiveness. Observers rated their behavior in terms of relational investment (i.e., behavioral efforts related to the improvement of interaction fluency, communication of positive interpersonal affect, and positive self-presentation). As expected, men displayed more relational investment behavior if their own physical attractiveness was similar to that of the confederate. For women, no effects of attractiveness similarity on relational investment behavior were found. Results are discussed in the light of positive assortative mating, preferences for physically attractive mates, and sex differences in attraction-related interpersonal behaviors.

A classification of controlled interpersonal affect regulation strategies.

Controlled interpersonal affect regulation refers to the deliberate regulation of someone else's affect. Building on existing research concerning this everyday process, the authors describe the development of a theoretical classification scheme that distinguishes between the types of strategy used to achieve interpersonal affect regulation. To test the theoretical classification, the authors generated a corpus of 378 distinct strategies using self-report questionnaires and diaries completed by student and working samples. Twenty participants then performed a card-sort of the strategies. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to determine how well the theoretical classification represented spontaneous understandings of controlled interpersonal affect regulation. The final classification primarily distinguished between strategies used to improve versus those used to worsen others' affect, and between strategies that engaged the target in a situation or affective state versus relationship-oriented strategies. The classification provides a meaningful basis for organizing existing research and making future conceptual and empirical distinctions.

When Competence Is Irrelevant: The Role of Interpersonal Affect in Task-Related Ties

This paper examines the role of a person's generalized positive or negative feelings toward someone (interpersonal affect) in task-related networks in organizations. We theorize that negative interpersonal affect renders task competence virtually irrelevant in a person's choice of a partner for task interactions but that positive interpersonal affect increases a person's reliance on competence as a criterion for choosing task partners, facilitating access to organizational resources relevant to the task. Using social psychological models of interpersonal perception and hierarchical Bayesian models, we find support for this theory in social network data from employees in three organizations: an entrepreneurial computer technology company, staff personnel at an academic institution, and employees in a large information technology corporation. The results suggest that competence may be irrelevant not just when outright dislike colors a relationship. Across organizational contexts and types of task-related interaction, people appear to need active liking to seek out the task resources of potential work partners and fully tap into the knowledge that resides in organizations. We discuss contributions of our study to research on the interplay of psychological and structural dimensions of organizational life.

The vicissitudes of affect in Horney's theory

Karen Horney, a Neo-Freudian analyst who immigrated from Germany to the USA, undertook the difficult task of developing a theory that remained concrete psychology without resorting to biology or to metapsychological entelechies. Although her basic construct, as in Freud, is a conflict between nature and culture, nature for her is the naturally endowed real self, which the neurotic abandons bowing to cultural pressures. This process of desertion is teleological and based on imagination, and is also creative. It entails the pursuit of a god-like idealized image of the self shaped according to narrow and despoiled values. Being interpersonal, Horney's theory avoids third-person objectification which creates a false distance; it thus remains (inter)subjective. A theory of interpersonal affect, it is dramatic before being dynamic. It also abandons claims to universality as it does to the “objectivity” of the natural sciences. Horney's focus on alienation brings her close to Hegel and Marx, a neglected fact, and she pioneered feminist and self-help theories. The difficulty in reading Horney is not her abstruseness, since her theory refuses technicism. It resides rather in that resistance created by what Althusser called interpellation: one feels her finger pointed at oneself as one reads.

Handicapping: The effects of its source and frequency.

Using a sample of 246 working adults, the authors created a 2 x 2 x 2 experimental design to isolate the influence of performance outcome, source of handicapping, and frequency of handicapping on reactions to handicapping in organizations. Dependent measures were observers' allocations of credit/blame, interpersonal affect, and the perceived credibility of the explanation. Results showed direct effects on observer impressions for all 3 independent variables, along with a significant Source x Frequency interaction. Handicapping information presented by others yielded more favorable observer impressions than did self-handicapping, and frequent handicapping decreased observer impressions. The least credible handicapping strategy was multiple self-handicaps. A significant 3-way interaction showed that source and frequency affected perceived credibility differently, depending upon whether actual performance was a success or a failure.

Hierarchical Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Bem Sex Role Inventory

This study examines the structural validity of scores from the Bem Sex Role Inventory using a maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Six hundred and sixty-five graduate and undergraduate students participate in the study. A seven firstorder factor model almost identical to the model reported in a previous CFA study is used as the baseline comparison model. The data for testing these models are obtained from an exploratory sample randomly selected from the whole sample. A hierarchical factor structure model with seven first-order factors (compassionate, interpersonal affect, shy, dominant, decisive, athletic, and self-sufficient) and two second-order factors (masculinity and femininity) fit the data quite well. The fit indices based on the validation sample collectively indicate a very good fit. The results of this study are notably consistent with the hierarchical factor models suggested in two previous CFA studies.

WHEN TASK COMPETENCE IS IRRELEVANT: THE ROLE OF INTERPERSONAL AFFECT IN INSTRUMENTAL TIES.

The article aims to understand the role of interpersonal affect in networks of instrumental action in organizations. According to the article research on organizational networks has rarely focused ...

Borderline Personality Disorder Across the Life Span

SUMMARY Borderline personality disorder is characterized by affective dysregulation, intense, unstable interpersonal relationships, impulsivity and unstable identity. It overlaps considerably with both PTSD and bipolar spectrum disorders. Research on true late-life BPD is limited, but suggests that some of the core features of BPD including interpersonal difficulties, unstable affect and anger remain relatively unchanged, while impulsivity and identity disturbance decline or change their mode of expression in late life. Diagnosis of BPD in late life requires flexible application of the standard diagnostic criteria as well as a thorough longitudinal history. The etiology of BPD is best explained as a combination of genetic, neurobiological vulnerability combined with childhood trauma, abuse or neglect that leads to dysregulated emotions, distorted cognitions, social skills deficits, and few adaptive coping strategies. Treatment options include pharmacotherapy (especially mood stabilizers, SSRIs and atypical antipsychotics) and psychotherapeutic interventions that focus on distress tolerance, affective regulation, changing distorted beliefs, and introducing new social and relationship problem-solving skills (especially Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Schema Focused Cognitive Therapy). In late-life care environments, such as nursing homes and other residential facilities, staff need to be empowered to set appropriate limits on problematic behavior while maintaining empathy and validating the painful affect patients often experience.

Interpersonal Affect: Does It Really Bias Performance Appraisals?

Interpersonal affect, a like-dislike relationship between a supervisor and his/her subordinate, has traditionally been conceptualized as a source of bias in performance appraisals. However, some researchers have argued that affect may not be a bias, especially where it develops as a result of past performance. In this field study, using data from 190 supervisors, we further delineate the relationship between affect and performance ratings. Both affect and performance level were found to have significant effects on performance ratings. Results also indicated that raters are able to separate their liking for a subordinate from actual performance when assigning performance ratings, suggesting that affect may not operate as a bias in the appraisal process.

The effects of job characteristics and working conditions on job performance

In performance evaluation literature, although the combination of some variables such as age, gender, experience, observation time, and interpersonal affect has been widely considered in determining employee performance, no investigation has indicated the influence of workplace conditions on job performance. This study reports the effects of job characteristics (physical efforts and job grade), and working conditions (environmental conditions and hazards) in addition to experience and education level on task performance and contextual performance. A total of 154 employees in 18 teams at a medium-sized metal company participated in this study. Seven criteria for task performance and 16 for contextual performance were used for measuring employee performance. The results showed that there were substantial relationships between employee performance both job grade and environmental conditions. Poor workplace conditions (physical efforts, environmental conditions, and hazards) result in decreasing employee performance consisted of following organization rules, quality, cooperating with coworkers to solve task problems, concentrating the tasks, creativity, and absenteeism. Relevance to industry Unpleasant working conditions in workshops have different effects on each of the job performance indicators. This study highlighted that training program designed to enhance job performance of the employees working under poor workplace conditions should focus on organizational rules in terms of occupational health and safety.

Interpersonal Affect and Peer Rating Bias in Teams

This study assessed the consequences of performance feedback received from peers on a team member’s subsequent ratings of others, and the mediating influence of interpersonal affect. Undergraduate participants ( N = 142) working in 30 teams during a 7-week period were assigned collective bargaining and arbitration tasks. We found that a team member’s prior positive or negative peer feedback resulted in increased leniency or severity, respectively, and increased restriction in range when these same members subsequently rated fellow team members. Interrater agreement on ratings of peers at Time 3 was higher when raters received similar feedback (i.e., both received positive or negative feedback) from their peers at the Time 1. The mechanism through which feedback at Time 1 influenced rating biases at Time 3 was found to be interpersonal affect (measured at Time 2).

An attributional analysis of personal and interpersonal motivation for collaborative projects.

Attribution theory provides a framework for examining personal and interpersonal motivation for collaborative projects. Undergraduates were asked to read vignettes concerning student dyads engaged in collaborative projects. The vignettes systematically varied on outcome of the project, student self-ability, student self-effort, partner ability, and partner effort. Participants responded to Likert items measuring personal affect of shame, guilt, and pride; interpersonal affect of pity, anger, and gratitude; and expectations for performance on future projects. Ability and effort attributions were expected to lead to different emotional consequences and future expectations, because they differ on the dimensions of controllability and stability. Overall, student motivation was tied more closely to effort than ability. Specific results are discussed within the framework of attribution theory.

The role of interpersonal affect in performance appraisal: evidence from two samples – the US and India

The interpersonal affect, a li ke–dislike relationship between a supervisor and his/her subordinate, has traditionally been conceptualized as a source of bias in performance appraisals. However, some researchers have argued that the interpersonal affect may not be a bias, especially where it develops as a result of past performance. In this field study, using data from 190 supervisors in the US, and 113 supervisors in India, we delineate the relationship between interpersonal affect and performance ratings. In both samples, interpersonal affect and performance level were found to have significant effects on performance ratings. Results from the US sample indicated that raters are able to separate their liking for a subordinate from actual performance when a ssigning performance ratings, suggesting that the interpersonal affect does not operate as a bias in the appraisal process. Results from the Indian sample, however, suggest that supervisors inflate ratings of low performers, suggesting that local cultural norms may be operating as a moderator.

The English lexicon of interpersonal affect: Love, etc

Three studies were conducted to determine some aspects of the semantic structure of words referring to positive interpersonal affect. Two studies determined dimensions of difference and families of related words on the basis of the target persons associated with each. These results were compared with those from sorting on the basis of overall similarity of meaning. There was close agreement among the three studies, using different samples of words, indices of similarity, and judges. The relation of the similarity structure of the words to the dimensions of affective experience and to discrete, basic, emotion is discussed.

Elaborating the construct of transformational leadership: The role of affect

Despite being the most widely used and popular measure of transformational leadership, the MLQ has not received much attention in terms of possible method biases, either at the item or structural level. Based on a priori theory and empirical work, we examined the influence of affect on the measurement of transformational leadership, as assessed by the MLQ, and its structural relationships with important organizational outcomes in two separate studies. Results of the first study ( N=307) indicated that while temporary mood states have little impact either on measurement or structural relationships, target-specific affect (i.e., liking) influenced both. The effect of target-specific affect was fully replicated in a second study ( N=120) using an independent sample and a more conservative estimate of the liking effect. Overall, the results of this research suggest that transformational leadership, at least when assessed with the MLQ, is highly influenced by the interpersonal affect raters feel towards the target being rated (i.e., liking). These results are discussed in terms of their implications for future work on transformational leadership and affect.

The influence of interpersonal motivation and social interaction experiences on the reduction of negative interpersonal affect

The influence of interpersonal motivation and social interaction experiences on the reduction of negative interpersonal affect