Ariela Francesca Pagani

When good things happen: Explicit capitalization attempts of positive events promote intimate partners’ daily well-being

Sharing good news with the partner improves individual and relational well-being. While prior research has confirmed the benefits of such capitalization processes, knowledge on how the type of events that are shared, and the way they are shared, affects individuals and relationships is limited. We investigated diary data from 49 married couples to examine associations between the explicitness in the disclosure of events that were either internal or external to the couple, and individual and relational well-being, above and beyond the effects of the events and their disclosure. Multilevel analyses suggested that self-esteem and relationship quality increased as a function of women’s and men’s reports of internal and external positive events, but not as a function of the mere disclosure of the event. Being explicit when disclosing a positive event to the partner, however, was positively associated with individual and relational well-being in women and in men, beyond the effects of the event and its disclosure. We discuss how the current research contributes to the understanding of the capitalization process and its contribution to well-being, underscoring the importance of communication skills.

Keeping calm when riding the rapids: Optimism and perceived partner withdrawal

Partners often encounter situations in which their needs and preferences diverge. Partners sometimes prefer to be on their own and withdraw from interactions, and these situations can cause distress. We hypothesized that optimists may navigate such situations more adaptively. Using momentary assessment and questionnaire data from 103 couples, we examined how spouses responded to perceived partner withdrawal and whether optimism moderated these responses. When spouses perceived the partner to withdraw, they reported less positive and more negative behaviors. Optimism moderated this effect beyond the effects of positive expectations, suggesting that optimists are less reactive to withdrawal. Partners with more positive expectations reported more benevolent behaviors, although they reported less benevolent behaviors on days of partner withdrawal than on other days.

Can imagined contact favor the "humanization" of the homeless?

Research on imagined contact, a new prejudice-reduction strategy, has demonstrated its beneficial effects on several aspects of intergroup relations. Emerging evidence has shown that this form of contact can positively affect humanness perceptions. The present study examined imagined contact as a means to improve humanity attributions to the homeless ― a stigmatized group strongly dehumanized. Participants (university students) were asked to imagine either a positive interaction with a homeless person or a control scene. Humanity attributions were assessed by using uniquely human (e.g., rationality) and non-uniquely human (e.g., impulsiveness) traits. As expected, after the mentally-simulated encounter, the homeless were perceived as more clearly characterized by uniquely human features. Practical implications of findings are discussed.

Committed to maintain: A brief measure of maintenance-oriented relationship commitment (MORC)

Personal commitment, or individual’s intrinsic attitudes toward the long-term development of the relationship, is known to predict relationship stability, and its capacity to motivate relationship maintenance behaviors likely accounts for these beneficial effects. However, commitment in relationships has been assessed typically as a global dimension, confounding efforts to differentiate it from relationship satisfaction and to evaluate how it might be linked to behaviors relevant for relationship maintenance. To address these shortcomings, the current article presents a brief measure devised specifically to assess a person’s motivation to routinely engage in relationship maintenance. Using data from two studies involving Italian (N = 320) and Swiss samples (N = 120), we evaluated the psychometric properties of the scale. The results confirmed a single-factor solution with metric invariance across the two samples for five of six items. Significant associations with reports on positive and negative interpersonal behaviors relevant to relationship maintenance supported the validity of the scale.

E' tutta colpa mia! Il self-serving bias nella relazione di coppia

Il self-serving bias e un bias cognitivo che porta gli individui a compiere attribuzioni di responsabilita interne in seguito ad un successo ed attribuzioni esterne in seguito ad un fallimento. Nel presente lavoro il self-serving bias e stato analizzato all’interno della relazione di coppia attraverso un compito sperimentale. Alla ricerca hanno partecipato 32 coppie intime e 32 pseudocoppie formate da due estranei abbinati dallo sperimentatore in laboratorio. I partecipanti, dopo avere svolto un compito dal risultato interdipendente, hanno ricevuto un feedback rispetto alla propria performance congiunta e hanno attribuito la responsabilita per l’esito del compito. I risultati hanno mostrato che le coppie manifestano l’otherserving bias ovvero tendono ad attribuire il merito per un successo al partner e la colpa per un fallimento a se stessi. Tale risultato e stato letto come un indicatore dell’identita di coppia dei partner.

Leaders' competence and warmth: Their relationships with employees' well-being and organizational effectiveness

The aim of this work was to investigate competence and warmth — the two basic dimensions of social judgment — as dimensions employees use to evaluate their supervisors. A mediation model was tested in which supervisor’s perceived competence and warmth were associated with relevant outcomes (lower burnout, weaker turnover intentions, more frequent citizenship behaviors) through the mediation of affective organizational commitment (AOC). In Study 1, data were collected from employees of a company in the water service sector. In Study 2, participants were financial promoters. In Study 3, the sample included employees from different organizations. As hypothesized, the perception of one’s supervisor as competent (Studies 1-3) and warm (Study 3) was related to employees’ lower burnout, weaker turnover intentions, more frequent prosocial behaviors through the mediation of AOC. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.