Self-Respect and Pro-Relationship Behavior in Marital Relationships
regarding this work should be addressed to Madoka Kumashiro, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3270([email protected].
This research was supported in part by a grant to the third author from the Templeton Foundation (Grant No. 5158).
Abstract
ABSTRACT This work advances an interdependence theoretic analysis of the role of self-respect in ongoing close relationships. Self-respect is defined as the tendency to perceive the self as a principled person who is worthy of honor and high regard and is argued to rest on moral integrity. Consistent with predictions, results from a study of marital relationships revealed that individual self-respect is positively associated with both the individual's and the partner's pro-relationship behavior (accommodation, forgiveness, conciliation). Mediation analyses revealed that self-respect not only exhibits direct associations with each person's behavior, but also exhibits indirect associations with each person's behavior, via the impact of each person's actions on reciprocal pro-relationship behavior from the partner. Mediation was more reliably observed for the association of self-respect with partner behavior than for the association with individual behavior. Both individual pro-relationship behavior and partner pro-relationship behavior are positively associated with couple well-being, which in turn is positively associated with personal well-being (life satisfaction, physical health, psychological adjustment). These associations were evident in both within-participant and across-partner analyses and for both self-report and interaction-based measures of behavior. Self-respect reliably accounts for unique variance beyond variance attributable to self-esteem.
REFERENCES
- Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.
- Baumeister, R. F. (1998). The self. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology ( 4th ed.; pp. 680–740). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Baumeister, R. F., Bushman, B. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2000). Self-esteem, narcissism, and aggression: Does violence result from low self-esteem or from threatened egotism? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 26–29.
- Baumeister, R. F., & Exline, J. J. (1999). Self-control as the moral muscle. Journal of Personality, 67, 1165–1194.
- Baumeister, R. F., Smart, L., & Boden, J. M. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103, 5–33.
- Baumeister, R. F., Stillwell, A., & Wotman, S. R. (1990). Victim and perpetrator accounts of interpersonal conflict: Autobiographical narratives about anger. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 994–1005.
-
Bem, D. J. (1972). Self-perception theory.
In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 6, pp. 1–62). New York: Academic Press.
10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60024-6 Google Scholar
- Berscheid, E., & Reis, H. T. (1998). Attraction and close relationships. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology ( 4th ed.; Vol. 2, pp. 193–281). New York: Random House.
- Biernat, M., Vescio, T. K., & Manis, M. (1998). Judging and behaving toward members of stereotyped groups: A shifting standards perspective. In C. Sedikides, J. Schopler, & C. A. Insko (Eds.), Intergroup cognition and intergroup behavior (pp. 151–175). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Campbell, W. K., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). Is loving the self necessary for loving another?: An examination of identity and intimacy. In G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp. 437–456). Oxford: Blackwell.
- Cohen, S. (1988). Psychosocial models of the role of social support in the etiology of physical disease. Health Psychology, 7, 269–297.
- Cohen, S., & Hoberman, H. M. (1983). Positive events and social supports as buffers of life change stress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 13, 99–125.
- Coopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem. San Francisco: Freeman.
- Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review, 108, 593–623.
- Derogatis, L. R. (1994). SCL-90-R: Symptom Checklist-90-R: Administration, scoring, and procedures manual ( 3rd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: National Computer Systems, Inc.
- Deutsch, M. (1999). A personal perspective on the development of social psychology in the twentieth century. In A. Rodrigues & R. V. Levine (Eds.), Reflections on 100 years of experimental social psychology (pp. 1–34). New York: Basic Books.
- Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.
- Fleming, J. S., & Courtney, B. E. (1984). The dimensionality of self-esteem: II. Hierarchical facet model for revised measurement scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 404–421.
- Frei, J. R., & Shaver, P. R. (2002). Respect in close relationships: Prototype definition, self-report assessment, and initial correlates. Unpublished manuscript. University of California at Davis, Davis, CA.
- Gaines, S. O., Jr, Reis, H. T., Summers, S., Rusbult, C. E., Cox, C. L., Wexler, M. O., Marelich, W. D., & Kurland, G. J. (1997). Impact of attachment style on reactions to accommodative dilemmas in close relationships. Personal Relationships, 4, 93–113.
- Gottman, J. M. (1979). Marital interaction: Experimental investigations. New York: Academic Press.
- Gottman, J. M., Coan, J., Carrere, S., & Swanson, C. (1998). Predicting marital happiness and stability from newlywed interactions. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 5–22.
- Greenberg, J., & Musham, C. (1981). Avoiding and seeking self-focused attention. Journal of Research in Personality, 15, 191–200.
- Higgins, E. T. (1996). The “self digest”: Self-knowledge serving self-regulatory functions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1062–1083.
- Holmes, J. G., & Rempel, J. K. (1989). Trust in close relationships. In C. Hendrick (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 187–220). London: Sage.
- Ickes, W., Bissonnette, V., Garcia, S., & Stinson, L. L. (1990). Implementing and using the dyadic interaction paradigm. In C. Hendrick & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 11, pp. 16–44). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Kelley, H. H. (1983). Love and commitment. In H. H. Kelley, E. Berscheid, A. Christensen, J. H. Harvey, T. L. Huston, G. Levinger, E. McClintock, L. A. Peplau, & D. R. Peterson (Eds.), Close relationships (pp. 265–314). New York: W.H. Freeman.
- Kelley, H. H. (1984). The theoretical description of interdependence by means of transition lists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 956–982.
- Kelley, H. H., & Thibaut, J. W. (1978). Interpersonal relations: A theory of interdependence. New York: Wiley.
- Kenny, D. A., Kashy, D. A., & Bolger, N. (1998). Data analysis in social psychology. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology ( 4th ed.; Vol. 1, pp. 233–265). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
- Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C., Berry, A., & Harlow, T. (1993). There's more to self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190–1204.
- Kernis, M. H., Grannemann, B. D., & Barclay, L. C. (1989). Stability and level of self-esteem as predictors of anger arousal and hostility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 1013–1022.
- Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. M. (1995). Social anxiety. New York: Guilford.
- Leary, M. R., Tambor, E. S., Terdal, S. K., & Downs, D. L. (1995). Self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 518–530.
- Macklin, E. D. (1978). Review of research on nonmarital cohabitation in the United States. In B. I. Murstein (Ed.), Exploring intimate lifestyles (pp. 197–243). New York: Springer.
- Marangoni, C., & Ickes, W. (1989). Loneliness: A theoretical review with implications for measurement. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 93–128.
- Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (2000). Self-esteem and the quest for felt security: How perceived regard regulates attachment processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 478–498.
- Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Science, 6, 10–19.
- Oxford American Dictionary: Herald Colleges Edition (1980). New York: Avon Books.
- Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 598–609.
- Pinsker, H., Nepps, P., Redfield, J., & Winston, A. (1985). Applicants for short-term dynamic psychotherapy. In A. Winston (Ed.), Clinical and research issues in short-term dynamic psychotherapy (pp. 104–116). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
- Rogers, C. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.
-
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb02765.x Google Scholar
- Rusbult, C. E. (1993). Understanding responses to dissatisfaction in close relationships: The exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect model. In S. Worchel & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Conflict between people and groups: Causes, processes, and resolutions (pp. 30–59). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
-
Rusbult, C. E.,
Bissonnette, V. L.,
Arriaga, X. B., & Cox, C. L. (1998). Accommodation processes during the early years of marriage.
In T. N. Bradbury (Ed.), The developmental course of marital dysfunction (pp. 74–113). New York: Cambridge.
10.1017/CBO9780511527814.005 Google Scholar
- Rusbult, C. E., Davis, J. L., Finkel, E. J., Hannon, P., & Olsen, N. (2002). Forgiveness of betrayal in close relationships: A dual-process model of the transformation from self-interested impulses to relationship-oriented actions. Unpublished manuscript, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hills, NC.
- Rusbult, C. E., Morrow, G. D., & Johnson, D. J. (1987). Self-esteem and problem solving behavior in close relationships. British Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 293–303.
- Rusbult, C. E., Verette, J., Whitney, G. A., Slovik, L. F., & Lipkus, I. (1991). Accommodation processes in close relationships: Theory and preliminary empirical evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 53–78.
- Sheppard, V. J., Nelson, E. S., & Andreoli-Mathi, V. (1995). Dating relationships and infidelity: Attitudes and behavior. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 21, 202–212.
- Simpson, C. K., & Boyal, D. (1975). Esteem construct generality and academic performance. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 35, 897–907.
- Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28.
- Van Lange, P. A.M., & Kuhlman, D. M. (1994). Social value orientations and impressions of a partner's honesty and intelligence: A test of the might versus morality effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 126–141.
- Van Lange, P. A. M., Rusbult, C. E., Drigotas, S. M., Arriaga, X. B., Witcher, B. S., & Cox, C. L. (1997). Willingness to sacrifice in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1373–1395.
- Wieselquist, J., Rusbult, C. E., Foster, C. A., & Agnew, C. R. (1999). Commitment, pro-relationship behavior, and trust in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 942–966.
- Yovetich, N. A., & Rusbult, C. E. (1994). Accommodative behavior in close relationships: Exploring transformation of motivation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 30, 138–164.
