Non-close Others Research Articles

Social contexts are associated with higher emotional awareness than nonsocial contexts: Evidence in a sample of people with and without major depressive disorder.

Growing evidence suggests that social contexts may prompt qualitatively distinct experiences of emotions than nonsocial contexts. In this study of people's naturalistic daily emotional experiences, we examined in adults with and without major depressive disorder (MDD) whether experiencing emotions in a social context (with others) versus nonsocial context (without others) was associated with greater emotional clarity and attention to one's emotional experience (i.e., emotional awareness). Based on evidence that social stimuli are highly salient to social species, we predicted that interactions with social others-and especially close social others-would be associated with greater emotional awareness. We furthermore expected that individuals with MDD, who tend to have diminished emotional clarity and social deficits, might experience less emotional awareness in social settings than healthy controls. Across a 2-week experience sampling study that concluded in 2019, we assessed emotional awareness when people were interacting with others (vs. not) and interacting with close (vs. nonclose) others among adults with current MDD (n = 53), remitted MDD (n = 80), and healthy controls (n = 87). As expected, attention to emotion and emotional clarity were higher in social versus nonsocial contexts and when interacting with close versus nonclose others. Contrary to expectations that these effects would be weaker among those with current MDD, the current MDD group showed enhanced emotional clarity in social versus nonsocial settings compared to the other two groups. Insofar as emotional clarity is beneficial to well-being, these findings suggest those with MDD may especially benefit from social contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The more useful, the more close: Instrumental deliberation boosts closeness with non-close others

Three studies examined whether contemplating the usefulness that non-close and close others may provide for one’s personal goals would promote or hinder interpersonal closeness. The results consistently demonstrated that such instrumental deliberation increased people’s closeness with distant others (Studies 1–3); and the effect lasted until the next day (Study 2). For close others, however, the evidence was weaker. Moreover, perceived instrumentality, as a product of such elaboration, was more strongly related to the increase in closeness with non-close than with close others. Study 3 further showed that instrumental deliberation enhanced humanness perceptions of non-close others and reduced unethical behavior towards them. We discussed the potential implications of these findings for the understanding of instrumentality, objectification and interpersonal relationships.

Examining the strategy-situation fit of emotion regulation in everyday social contexts.

The strategy-situation fit hypothesis suggests that emotion regulation strategies are only beneficial to mental health if they meet contextual demands. Previous studies support this assumption but focused on properties of the emotional stimulus and reported cross-sectional associations with mental health, thus neglecting the social context and long-term mental health outcomes. To address these limitations, we examined (1) whether reappraisal, social sharing, and suppression varied depending on the social context (i.e., being alone, among close others, or nonclose others) and (2) whether specific strategy-context associations were linked to current, and (3) long-term mental health. The study consisted of two ecological momentary assessment (EMA) periods, separated by one year, and the second period occurred during COVID-19-related governmentally imposed social restrictions. This design allowed us to examine emotion regulation following social context changes. Our results indicate that emotion regulation varied by the social context. Reappraisal was used more frequently when being alone, suppression occurred more among nonclose others, and social sharing increased with close others. Regarding current mental health, more suppression was linked to higher depressive symptoms only when used in the presence of close others. In contrast, using suppression when being alone was linked to lower depressive symptoms. Finally, analyses with long-term outcomes revealed improved mental health when participants increased their use of reappraisal when being alone, and decreased reappraisal after a higher presence of close others. These findings could reflect the unique regulatory costs and benefits of different social situations and highlight the role of context-specific reappraisal for longer-term adaptiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Prosocial advice to close versus non-close others.

Six studies (two pre-registered, total N=1861) examined whether individuals would be more likely to give advice to close rather than non-close others against engaging in prosocial behaviours. The results consistently showed that participants were less inclined to advise close (vs. non-close) others to donate blood (Studies 2 and 3), to donate money (Study 5) and to engage in volunteer activities (Studies 1-6). Moreover, Studies 3, 5 and 6 also provided evidence suggesting that prosocial advice given to close others was more contingent on cost judgements than that given to non-close others. These findings have significant implications for the understanding of social influences on prosocial behaviours.

Perceived emotion invalidation predicts daily affect and stressors

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Perceived emotion invalidation is linked to the development or worsening of a variety of emotional and physical health conditions. However, prior studies are largely cross-sectional and whether there are day-to-day effects of generally feeling invalidated is unknown. Design We examined the relations between perceived emotion invalidation and momentary affect, average daily affect, and the experience of daily stressors among a sample of young adults using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Methods Participants (n = 86) completed measures of perceived emotion invalidation and emotional reactivity at baseline then completed one week of EMA including: (1) 7x/day reports of current affect and social context and (2) 1x/day index of experienced stressors and their intensity. Results Higher perceived emotion invalidation predicted lower momentary positive affect. Perceived invalidation also interacted with social context such that higher emotion invalidation predicted greater negative affect when participants were with non-close others (i.e., co-workers, acquaintances). Only participants with high perceived emotional invalidation experienced increased stress alongside heightened daily negative affect. Conclusions These results provide preliminary evidence that feeling emotionally invalidated may predict affective experiences, including how emotions are momentarily experienced and how life stressors are interpreted when they are later reflected on.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Prosocial Beliefs and Prevention Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Controlling the COVID-19 pandemic has required communities to engage in prosocial action, including behaviors that may inconvenience individuals, but protect the collective (e.g., mask wearing, social distancing). The purpose of this study was to understand to what extent COVID-19 prosocial beliefs and behavior differ by race/ethnicity and why this might be the case. A US nationally representative sample of 410 adults completed a survey about COVID-19 beliefs and prevention behaviors between June 12 and 18, 2020. Compared to White respondents, Black respondents perceived the risk of COVID-19 to be greater to the US population; and both Black and Latinx respondents thought it was more important to protect a variety of non-close others (e.g., people in their city or state). Black and Latinx respondents engaged in several prevention behaviors, including social distancing, to a greater extent than White respondents. There were indirect effects of Black vs. White race on engaging in protective behaviors through greater perceived risk to others and beliefs in the importance of protecting distal others. Results indicate that targeted messages promoting prevention, including vaccination with pro-social messages, may resonate with communities of color. They also suggest that lower levels of prosocial beliefs among White people have likely hindered the US response to the epidemic.

Interpersonal Emotion Regulation: an Experience Sampling Study.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-021-00044-y.

Are Older Adults More Optimistic? Evidence From China, Israel, and the United States.

ObjectivesOptimistic bias refers to the phenomenon that individuals believe bad things are less likely to happen to themselves than to others. However, whether optimistic bias could vary across age and culture is unknown. The present study aims to investigate: 1) whether individuals exhibit optimistic bias in the context of COVID-19 pandemic; 2) and whether age and culture would moderate such bias.Method1051 participants recruited from China, Israel and the US took the online survey. Risk perceptions consists of three questions: estimating the infected probability of different social distance groups (i.e., self, close others, and non-close others), the days that it would take for the number of new infections to decrease to zero and the trend of infections in regions of different geographical distances (i.e., local place, other places inside participants’ country and other countries). Participants in China and the US also reported their personal communal values measured by Schwartz’s Value Survey.ResultsResults from HLM generally confirmed that 1) all participants exhibited optimistic bias to some extent, and 2) with age, Chinese participants had a higher level of optimistic bias than Israeli and US participants. Compared to their younger counterparts, older Chinese are more likely to believe that local communities are at lower risk of COVID-19 than other countries.DiscussionThese findings support the hypothesis that age differences in risk perceptions might be influenced by cultural context. Further analysis indicated that such cultural and age variations in optimistic bias were likely to be driven by age-related increase in internalized cultural values.

Impact of maternal betrayal trauma on parent and child well-being: Attachment style and emotion regulation as moderators.

While high betrayal (HB) traumas (i.e., traumas perpetrated by close others) are associated with reduced maternal and child well-being compared to low betrayal (LB) traumas (i.e., traumas that are noninterpersonal or perpetrated by nonclose others), moderators of these relationships have not yet been examined. The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between maternal lifetime betrayal trauma and parent and child well-being while also examining attachment style and emotion regulation as potential moderators. Australian mothers (N = 174) of school-age children (5-12 years) completed online self-report measures assessing betrayal trauma, well-being, attachment style, and emotion regulation strategies. HB traumas were significantly associated with greater maternal distress and trauma symptoms, reduced child well-being, greater attachment anxiety, and greater difficulties with emotion regulation but were not significantly different with regard to parenting stress, social support satisfaction, or attachment avoidance when compared with LB traumas. Emotion regulation difficulties moderated the relationship between betrayal trauma history and maternal distress. These results indicate that mothers with HB trauma histories who also have difficulties with emotion regulation may experience greater levels of distress compared to mothers with HB trauma histories who use more adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Accordingly, it may be especially important for victims of HB traumas to address trauma-related misappraisals regarding the self and others while strengthening the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Age differences in emotion regulation strategy use, variability, and flexibility: An experience sampling approach.

Life span developmental theories suggest that as individuals age, they accumulate knowledge about how to deploy emotion regulation (ER) strategies effectively and learn how to match their ER strategy use with changes in situational demands. Using an event-contingent experience sampling design wherein 150 adults Age 18 to 89 years reported on 64,213 social interactions (M = 427.41, SD = 145.66) during 9 weeks of daily life, this study examines (a) age-related differences in individuals' usual ER strategy use (reappraisal, suppression) during everyday social interactions, (b) age-related differences in how much individuals' use of these two strategies varies across social situations-ER variability, and (c) age-related differences in the extent to which ER strategy use covaries with relational (close vs. nonclose others) and emotional (happy, sad) contextual features of those social situations-ER flexibility. In line with a small body of prior work, usual ER strategy use did not differ across adulthood and ER variability was lower at older ages. Results from multilevel models of intraindividual covariation suggested that individuals flexibly matched their ER strategy implementation to changes in emotional context-especially when interacting with close others. The results also provided evidence that the intraindividual covariation between relational context and use of suppression was weaker at older ages. Beyond these specific findings, this study demonstrated the utility of experience sampling designs, event-contingent reports, and the measurement/modeling of intraindividual variation and covariation for study of emotional development across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of support provided by close others in the emergency department on threat perceptions

Objective: Having close others present in the emergency department (ED) can cause patients significant distress. The present study tested the hypothesis that close others provide more negative support than non-close others as a potential explanation for this effect.Design: Participants were 493 patients evaluated for an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the ED (MAge = 62.01, SDAge = 13.55; 49.49% male) and who arrived with close others (i.e. spouse/partner, child) or non-close others (e.g. neighbour). Patients self-reported support from companions and threat perceptions (in-ED and at recall approximately three days later).Main outcome measures: Positive support (comfort, responsiveness); negative support (made patients anxious, required comforting); threat perceptions (feeling helpless, vulnerable).Results: Close (vs non-close) others provided patients with marginally more positive support, but also required more comfort, B = 0.32, p = .050, and caused patients more anxiety, B = 0.24, p = .009. Anxiety was associated with patients’ Threat Perceptions: in-ED, B = 0.11, p = .002; recall, B = 0.14, p < .001; as was provision of comfort to support partners: recall, B = .06, p = .005.Conclusion: Negative support may be one mechanism underlying the association between close others and patient distress in the ED.

Bringing close others to the emergency department for an acute coronary event is associated with increased patient perception of threat.

Relationship quality is one of the most consistent psychosocial predictors of physical and mental health. Yet, little research examines relationship types or support within the immediate context of acute health events. We tested the unexplored role that close others play in patients' experience of threat during evaluation for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the Emergency Department (ED), as well as the indirect effect of close others on ACS-induced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were 871 patients evaluated for ACS at an urban academic ED (60.86 years old; 54.08% male; 56.37% Hispanic, 19.86% Black, 16.65% White). Threat perceptions were assessed in-ED and median 3 days later. ACS-induced PTSD was assessed median 41 days later using the PTSD checklist cued to a specific stressor. Non-overlapping categories were created representing close others in the ED (i.e., spouse/significant other, child), non-close others (e.g., neighbor), or no one. Patients who brought close others recalled experiencing greater threat in the ED: vs. no one, b = 0.11, p = .072; vs. non-close others, b = 0.16, p = .030. There was no direct effect of close others on ACS-induced PTSD; however, recalled threat mediated the effect of close others on development of ACS-induced PTSD, ps < .05. Close others were associated with recalling greater threat during ED evaluation, which predicted ACS-induced PTSD. ACS-induced PTSD is associated with medication nonadherence, event recurrence, and mortality, highlighting the need to develop a greater understanding of the impact stressful medical environments have on patients and close others.

The presence of companions during emergency department evaluation and its impact on perceptions of clinician–patient communication

ObjectivesResearch in outpatient setting suggests that the presence of companions during a medical encounter can improve clinician–patient communication. It is not known if the presence of companions has a similar...

Taking Close Others’ Environmental Behavior Into Account When Striking the Moral Balance? Evidence for Vicarious Licensing, Not for Vicarious Cleansing

Research shows that people search for balance in their moral (e.g., environmentally friendly) behaviors such that they feel licensed to behave less morally after a previous moral act (licensing) and cleanse previous morally questionable behaviors by subsequently behaving more morally (cleansing). This article investigates whether this balancing may extend to close others, but not to nonclose others, and tests vicarious licensing and cleansing in the environmental domain. Study 1 showed that vicarious licensing effects are more likely when a close other displayed environmentally friendly (vs. neutral) behavior. Study 2 showed that environmental vicarious licensing effects are more likely for close than nonclose others. Studies 3 and 4 suggested that vicarious licensing effects, but not vicarious cleansing effects are more likely for close (vs. nonclose) others. Finally, a meta-analysis showed that overall these studies provide evidence for vicarious licensing effects, but not for vicarious cleansing effects in the environmental domain.

Revisiting and extending a response latency measure of inclusion of the other in the self

ABSTRACTAlthough the concept of inclusion of the other in the self (IOS) has been successfully assessed with explicit self-report measures, implicit procedures have been neglected in past literature. The present article explores the validity of such an implicit measure by proposing several extensions and adaptions. We addressed methodological problems of a me/not-me response latency task developed in this literature by proposing changes in material, calculation of indices and implemented the task in an online environment. We also addressed earlier problems with statistical power and proposed a more powerful way of statistical analyses using mixed models. The me/not-me task is based on the idea that higher overlap between self and other traits results in faster response times of characterizing such a trait as descriptive of the self. This relationship should be observed for close others but not for non-close others. In a sample of 339 U.S American adults, we experimentally manipulated the nature of the target (close vs. distant) and participants engaged in the adapted me/not-me paradigm. Results indicated that trait match had a stronger negative effect on response times for participants in the close condition. The effect was also stronger for participants rating the target higher on the IOS self-report scale. We also provided convergent validity of the me/not-me procedure with other constructs ostensibly measuring interpersonal closeness. Future applications and possible limitations are discussed.

Cross-cultural differences in emotion suppression in everyday interactions.

Previous research suggests that in collectivistic cultures, people tend to suppress their emotions more than in individualistic cultures. Little research, however, has explored cross-cultural differences in emotion regulation in everyday interactions. Using a daily social interaction method, we examined whether people from collectivistic backgrounds (Chinese exchange students and immigrants from the Moluccas, Indonesia) living in the Netherlands differed from those from individualistic backgrounds (Dutch natives) in emotion suppression during everyday interactions. We also examined whether this depended on their relationship with the interaction partner(s). We found that Chinese participants suppressed positive and negative emotions more than Dutch and Moluccan participants and that this was related to differences in interdependent and independent self-construal across the samples. We also found that Chinese participants suppressed positive emotions less in interactions with close others, whereas Dutch participants suppressed negative emotions more with non-close others. No such differences were found for Moluccans. Our findings support the idea that people from collectivistic cultures suppress emotions more than those from individualistic cultures, but they also suggest that this depends on who the interaction partner is. Furthermore, they suggest that emotion suppression may change when people with collectivistic backgrounds have been raised in individualistic cultures.

Notification pending: Online social support from close and nonclose relational ties via Facebook

Previous research has often assumed social support as a unique affordance of close relationships. Computer-mediated communication alters the availability of relationally nonclose others, and may to enable additional sources or social support through venues like social networking sites. Eighty-eight college students completed a questionnaire based on their most recent Facebook status updates and the comments those updates generated. Items queried participants’ perception of each response as well as the participants’ relationship closeness with the responder. Individuals perceived as relationally close provide significant social support via Facebook; however, individuals perceived to be relationally nonclose provided equal social support online. While SNSs has not eroded the importance of close relationships, results demonstrate the social media tools may allow for social support to be obtained from nonclose as well as close relationships, with access to a significant proportion of nonclose relationships.

Orbitofrontal Cortex and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Are Modulated by Motivated Social Cognition

Neural research on social cognition has not examined motivations known to influence social cognition. One fundamental motivation in social cognition is positivity motivation, that is, the desire to view close others in an overly positive light. Positivity motivation does not extend to non-close others. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study is the first to identify neural regions modulated by positivity motivation. Participants compared the personalities of a close other (i.e., romantic partner) and a non-close other (i.e., roommate) with their average peer. Romantic partners were perceived as above average under certain conditions; roommates were perceived as similar to an average peer across conditions. Neural regions previously associated with social cognition did not significantly relate to positivity motivation. Instead, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and, to a lesser extent, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activation increased when social targets were perceived as similar to an average peer. Furthermore, OFC activity negatively correlated with the extent to which a social target was perceived as above average. Intimacy with the social target modulated the extent to which ventral ACC distinguished positive from negative stimuli. The results expand current knowledge about neural regions associated with social cognition and provide initial information needed to create neural models of social cognition.

The Science of compassionate love: theory, research, and applications

Preface and Acknowledgments : Beverley Fehr (University of Winnipeg), Susan Sprecher (Illinois State University), and Lynn Underwood (Hiram College). Part I: Definitions, Theory, and Measurement . 1. Compassionate Love: A Framework for Research: Lynn G. Underwood (Hiram College). 2. Compassionate Love: Conceptual, Measurement, and Relational Issues: Beverley Fehr (University of Winnipeg) and Susan Sprecher (Illinois State University). 3. Measuring Prosocial Behavior, Altruism, and Compassionate Love on US Television: Stacy L. Smith (University of Southern California), Sandi W. Smith (Michigan State University), Katherine M. Pieper (University of Southern California), Edward Downs (Penn State University), Jina H. Yoo (University of Missouri St. Louis), Becka Bowden (Michigan Bankers Association), Amber Ferris (Kent State University), and Matthew C. Butler (Office of Health and Human Services, State of Michigan). Part II: The Sociodemographics of Compassionate Love . 4. Love and Caring in the United States: Trends and Correlates of Empathy, Altruism, and Related Constructs: Tom W. Smith (University of Chicago). 5. Compassionate Motivation and Compassionate Acts across the Adult Life Course: Evidence from US National Studies: Nadine F. Marks (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Jieun Song (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Part III: Compassionate Love in Close Relationships . 6. Empathy and Compassionate Love in Early Childhood: Development and Family Influence: Brenda L. Volling, Amy M. Kolak, and Denise E. Kennedy (all University of Michigan). 7. Compassionate Love in Early Marriage: Lisa A. Neff (University of Toledo) and Benjamin R. Karney (University of California, Los Angeles). Part IV: Compassionate Love for Non-Close Others . 8. A Behavioral Systems Perspective on Compassionate Love: Mario Mikulincer (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya), Phillip R. Shaver (University of California, Davis), and Omri Gillath (University of Kansas). 9. Compassionate Acts: Motivations for and Correlates of Volunteerism among Older Adults: Allen M. Omoto (Claremont Graduate University), Anna M. Malsch (Portland State University), and Jorge A. Barraza (Claremont Graduate University). 10. Compassionate Love for Individuals in Other Social Groups: Salena Brody (Collin County Community College), Stephen C. Wright (Simon Fraser University), Arthur Aron (State University of New York at Stony Brook), and Tracy McLaughlin-Volpe (Boston College). Part V: Compassionate Love in Health Care and Other Caregiving Contexts. 11. Compassionate Family Caregiving in the Light and Shadow of Death: Linda J. Roberts, Meg Wise, and Lori L. DuBenske (all University of Wisconsin-Madison). 12. Compassionate Clinicians: Exemplary Care in Hospital Settings: David R. Graber (Medical University of South Carolina) and Maralynne D. Mitcham (College of Health Professions). 13. Caregiving in Sociocultural Context: Norman D. Giesbrecht (University of Calgary). Part VI: Compassionate Love in an Intercultural Context. 14. Testing Aspects of Compassionate Love in a Sample of Indonesian Adolescents: Julie Vaughan, Nancy Eisenberg (both Arizona State University), Doran C. French (Illinois Wesleyan University), Urip Purwono (Universitas Padjadjaran), Telie A. Suryanti (associate consultant), and Sri Pidada (deceased). Part VII: Commentary. 15. Compassionate Love: Concluding Reflections: Daniel Perlman (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) and Rozzana Sanchez Aragon (National Autonomous University of Mexico). Index

The role of automaticity in determining the inclination to forgive close others

Hitherto, the literature on forgiveness has almost exclusively focused on the role of deliberative processes (e.g., attribution processes) in determining forgiveness. However, in the present article, we argue that in the context of close relationships, the inclination to forgive can be relatively automatically evoked in response to an offense. Four studies provide evidence relevant to this general hypothesis. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that the subliminal presentation of close others (versus non-close others or a control word) induces a relatively strong inclination to forgive various offenses. Study 3 provides insight into the cognitive processes that underlie the closeness–forgiveness link, demonstrating that thinking of (a transgression of) a close other (compared to a non-close other) leads to enhanced accessibility of the construct of forgiveness. Finally, Study 4 demonstrates that forgiving responses toward a close offender are less dependent on cognitive resources than are forgiving responses toward a non-close offender, suggesting that, in close relationships, the inclination to forgive arises in a relatively effortless, habitual manner. Implications for theorizing on how people forgive are being discussed.