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Interpersonal regulation of relationship partners’ security: A causal chain analysis

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Abstract

Security in relationship partners’ positive regard promotes high-quality close relationships, and insecurity in partners’ regard undermines relationship quality. Hence, people may be motivated to dispel their close partners’ insecurity. The current research used an experimental-causal-chain design to test a novel model of the interpersonal regulation of relationship partners’ security. Manipulated perceptions of relationship partners’ insecurity increased the activation of security regulation goals (i.e., goals to improve partners’ security and dispel their insecurity) and selective attention to threat-relevant information (Study 1). In turn, manipulated security regulation goals increased the expression of positive regard for relationship partners, particularly in negatively evaluated and important domains (Study 2). In turn, manipulated expression of positive regard increased partners’ relationship security and satisfaction, particularly when partners had chronic doubts about the extent to which they were valued (Study 3). These studies provide compelling causal evidence for a relationship-protective response to detection of partner insecurity; people try to dispel the relationship threat posed by an insecure partner by adopting security regulation goals, which motivate expressions of positive regard that increase partner security.

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Notes

  1. Due to an oversight in programming the experiment, relationship type information was not collected. However, the study advertisements requested that participants bring a friend or romantic partner to the study.

  2. Sample size for this and the subsequent studies was determined by funding constraints and availability of participants in the participant pool. Data collection was not continued after data analysis.

  3. Participants were also randomly assigned to write about ways in which they needed, depended on, and were influenced by their study partner. However, this manipulation did not have a main effect on any study variable, nor did it interact with the partner insecurity manipulation. Hence, it is not discussed further.

  4. In addition to the four insecurity questions, there was a filler question included on the second page of the questionnaire: “I often keep my thoughts and feelings to myself.” The experimenter circled “yes’ to this question in both experimental conditions.

  5. The indirect effect was tested by constructing 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals based on 2000 bootstrap samples using the AMOS 17.0 program. The model constrained all paths and variances to equality across the two partners, consistent with recommended procedures for structural equation modeling with interchangeable dyads (Olsen and Kenny 2006). Gender did not significantly moderate the effects of the insecure partner manipulation on security regulation goals or information seeking.

  6. Gender did not moderate the linear private evaluation X condition interaction effect, nor did gender moderate the perception of partner investment X linear private evaluation X condition interaction effect. Hence, tendencies to express more positive evaluation in the security regulation condition than in the control condition when private evaluations were negative, and particularly when the domain was important to the partner, did not vary as a function of gender. However, gender did moderate the quadratic private evaluation X condition interaction effect. The quadratic moderating effect of private evaluation was significant for women, p < .001, but not for men, but the linear moderating effect of private evaluation did not vary across gender. Relationship type (romantic versus not romantic) was also explored as a moderator. Relationship type did not moderate the effect of condition on average expressed evaluations. It also did not moderate the condition X linear private evaluation and condition X quadratic private evaluation interactions.

  7. The measure of trust included a fourth item that was negatively worded. This item was eliminated from the trust measure because it reduced Cronbach’s α to .58.

  8. It is possible that these findings are explained by the positive regard manipulation having a stronger effect on actors’ expressed evaluations when partners were low in chronic perceived regard. However, partners’ chronic perceived regard did not moderate the effect of the manipulation on actors’ average expressed evaluations or minimum expressed evaluations, p > .57.

  9. Gender was explored as a moderator. Gender did not significantly moderate effects of condition on average evaluations, minimum evaluations, the interaction between private evaluation and condition, or effects of condition on partners’ perceived regard and satisfaction. Relationship type (romantic versus not romantic) was also explored as a moderator. Relationship type did not significantly moderate effects of condition on actors’ expressed evaluations, minimum evaluations, the interaction between private evaluation and condition, or the effects of condition on partners’ perceived regard and satisfaction.

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Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by National Science Foundation, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (Grant Number 1145349).

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  1. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Edward P. Lemay Jr. & Joshua Everett Ryan

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Lemay, E.P., Ryan, J.E. Interpersonal regulation of relationship partners’ security: A causal chain analysis. Motiv Emot 42, 774–793 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-9700-8

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