Emre Selcuk

Mental Representations of Attachment Figures Facilitate Recovery Following Upsetting Autobiographical Memory Recall

A growing literature shows that even the symbolic presence of an attachment figure facilitates the regulation of negative affect triggered by external stressors. Yet, in daily life, pernicious stressors are often internally generated--recalling an upsetting experience reliably increases negative affect, rumination, and susceptibility to physical and psychological health problems. The present research provides the first systematic examination of whether activating the mental representation of an attachment figure enhances the regulation of affect triggered by thinking about upsetting memories. Using 2 different techniques for priming attachment figure representations and 2 types of negative affect measures (explicit and implicit), activating the mental representation of an attachment figure (vs. an acquaintance or stranger) after recalling an upsetting memory enhanced recovery--eliminating the negative effects of the memory recall (Studies 1-3). In contrast, activating the mental representation of an attachment figure before recalling an upsetting memory had no such effect (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, activating the mental representation of an attachment figure after thinking about upsetting memories reduced negative thinking in a stream of consciousness task, and the magnitude of the attachment-induced affective recovery effects as assessed with explicit affect measures predicted mental and physical health in daily life (Study 3). Finally, a meta-analysis of the 3 studies (Study 4) showed that the regulatory benefits conferred by the mental representation of an attachment figure were weaker for individuals high on attachment avoidance. The implications of these findings for attachment, emotion regulation, and mental and physical health are discussed.

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Diurnal Cortisol Profiles 10 Years Later

Several decades of research have demonstrated that marital relationships have a powerful influence on physical health. However, surprisingly little is known about how marriage affects health—both in terms of psychological processes and biological ones. Over a 10-year period, we investigated the associations between perceived partner responsiveness—the extent to which people feel understood, cared for, and appreciated by their romantic partners—and diurnal cortisol in a large sample of married and cohabitating couples in the United States. Partner responsiveness predicted higher cortisol values at awakening and steeper (i.e., healthier) cortisol slopes at the 10-year follow-up. These associations remained strong after we controlled for demographic factors, depressive symptoms, agreeableness, and other positive and negative relationship factors. Furthermore, declines in negative affect over the 10-year period mediated the prospective association between responsiveness and cortisol slope. These findings suggest that diurnal cortisol may be a key biological pathway through which social relationships affect long-term health.

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Moderates the Association Between Received Emotional Support and All-Cause Mortality

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate whether perceived partner responsiveness (PPR) moderates the association between received partner emotional support (RPES) and all-cause mortality in a national U.S. sample. METHOD Data were from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, a national probability survey of health and aging. Participants included respondents who were married or cohabiting with a romantic partner. RESULTS Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that after adjusting for demographics, physical health status, health behaviors, psychological symptoms, and personality traits, high RPES was associated with increased mortality risk among participants who reported low PPR, but it was unrelated to mortality risk among participants who reported high PPR. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first to document that perceived partner responsiveness moderates the association between received partner emotional support and mortality risk, thus contributing to the literature on the contextual factors altering the effects of received support on health outcomes.

Comparing Old and Young Adults as They Cope with Life Transitions: The Links between Social Network Management Skills and Attachment Style to Depression

Smaller social networks are associated with poorer health and well-being, especially as people negotiate life transitions. Many older adults, however, tend to have smaller networks, without the expected negative outcomes. To understand better how older adults avoid such outcomes we measured social network management skills, attachment style, and depression among individuals going through a life transition. Older adults who recently became caregivers were compared with young adults who recently transitioned to college. Although older adults initiated fewer and terminated more social ties (being selective in their choice of network members), both age groups had an equal number of close network members. A closer look revealed that securely attached older adults maintained their social ties, and in turn, sustained low levels of depression. These findings emphasize the importance of attachment style and network skills to mental health in general, and among older adults specifically.

Does Partner Responsiveness Predict Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-being? A 10-Year Longitudinal Study

Motivated by attachment theory and recent conceptualizations of perceived partner responsiveness as a core feature of close relationships, the present study examined change in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being over a decade in a sample of more than 2,000 married adults across the United States. Longitudinal analyses revealed that perceived partner responsiveness- the extent to which individuals believe that their partner cares for, appreciates, and understands them-predicted increases in eudaimonic well-being a decade later. These results remained after controlling for initial hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, age, gender, extraversion, neuroticism, and perceived responsiveness of family and friends. Affective reactivity, measured via an 8-day diary protocol in a subset of the sample, partially mediated this longitudinal association. After controlling for covariates, perceived partner responsiveness did not prospectively predict hedonic well-being. These findings are the first to document the long-term benefits of perceived partner responsiveness on eudaimonic well-being.

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Better Sleep Quality Through Lower Anxiety

The present study investigated whether perceived partner responsiveness—the extent to which individuals feel cared for, understood, and validated by their partner—predicted subjective sleep problems and objective (actigraph-based) sleep efficiency through lower anxiety and depression symptoms. A life span sample of 698 married or cohabiting adults (35–86 years old) completed measures of perceived partner responsiveness and subjective sleep problems. A subset of the sample (N = 219) completed a weeklong sleep study where actigraph-based measures of sleep efficiency were obtained. Perceived partner responsiveness predicted lower self-reported global sleep problems through lower anxiety and depression and greater actigraph-assessed sleep efficiency through lower anxiety. All indirect associations held after controlling for emotional support provision to the partner, agreeableness, and demographic and health covariates known to affect sleep quality. These findings are among the first to demonstrate how perceived partner responsiveness, a core aspect of romantic relationships, is linked to sleep behavior.

Impressions Based on a Portrait Predict, 1-Month Later, Impressions Following a Live Interaction

When it comes to person perception, does one “judge a book by its cover?” Perceivers made judgments of liking, and of personality, based on a photograph of an unknown other, and at least 1 month later, made judgments following a face-to-face interaction with the same person. Photograph-based liking judgments predicted interaction-based liking judgments, and, to a lesser extent, photograph-based personality judgments predicted interaction-based personality judgments (except for extraversion). Consistency in liking judgments (1) partly reflected behavioral confirmation (i.e., perceivers with favorable photograph-based judgments behaved more warmly toward the target during the live interaction, which elicited greater target warmth); (2) explained, at least in part, consistency in personality judgments (reflecting a halo effect); and (3) remained robust even after controlling for perceiver effects, target effects, and perceived attractiveness. These findings support the view that even after having “read a book,” one still, to some extent, judges it by its “cover.”

A Social Psychological Perspective on the Links Between Close Relationships and Health

The association between the quality of people’s close relationships and their physical health is well established. But from a psychological perspective, how do close relationships impact physical health? This article summarizes recent work seeking to identify the relationship processes and psychological mediators and moderators of the links between close relationships and health, with an emphasis on studies of married and cohabitating couples. We begin with a brief review of a recent meta-analysis of the links between marital quality and health. We then describe our strength and strain model of marriage and health, homing in on one process—partner responsiveness—and one moderator—adult attachment style—to illustrate ways in which basic relationship science can inform our understanding of how relationships impact physical health. We conclude with a brief discussion of promising directions in the study of close relationships and health.

Trait Reappraisal Predicts Affective Reactivity to Daily Positive and Negative Events.

Past research on emotion regulation has provided evidence that cognitive reappraisal predicts reactivity to affective stimuli and challenge tests in laboratory settings. However, little is known about how trait reappraisal might contribute to affective reactivity to everyday positive and negative events. Using a large, life-span sample of adults (N = 1755), the present study addressed this important gap in the literature. Respondents completed a measure of trait reappraisal and reported on their daily experiences of positive and negative events and positive and negative affect for eight consecutive days. Results showed that trait reappraisal predicted lower increases in negative affect in response to daily negative events and lower increases in positive affect in response to daily positive events. These findings advance our understanding of the role of reappraisal in emotion regulation by showing how individual differences in the use of this strategy relate to emotional reactions to both positive and negative events outside the laboratory.

A Net of Friends: Investigating Friendship by Integrating Attachment Theory and Social Network Analysis

The current article focuses on attachment style—an individual difference widely studied in the field of close relationships—and its application to the study of social networks. Specifically, we investigated whether attachment style predicts perception and management of social networks. In Study 1, we examined the associations of attachment style with perceptions of network tie strength and multiplexity. In Studies 2a and 2b, we investigated the association between attachment style and network management skills (initiating, maintaining, and dissolving ties) and whether network management skills mediated the associations of attachment style with network tie strength and multiplexity. In Study 3, experimentally enhancing attachment security made people more likely to initiate and less likely to dissolve social ties (for the latter, especially among those high on avoidance or anxiety). As for maintenance, security priming also increased maintenance; however, mainly among people high on attachment anxiety or low on attachment avoidance.