Kory Floyd

The measurement of affectionate communication

Affection is central to the communicative processes of personal relationships. While several empirical investigations have examined the communication of affection, there is little consistency from study to study in how affectionate communication is operationally defined, making it difficult to interpret the findings of such research and to compare findings across studies. The present paper reports the results of a multi‐phase scale development procedure and two supplemental studies, involving a total of 781 participants, utilizing and validating a new self‐report measure of affectionate communication. The resulting scale, the Affectionate Communication Index, is offered as a practical and psychometrically sound operational definition for the overt communication of affection in personal relationships.

Human affection exchange: V. Attributes of the highly affectionate

The present study examines differences in the individual‐and social‐level characteristics of high‐affection and low‐affection communicators. One hundred nine adults completed extensive questionnaires about their happiness, attachment patterns, susceptibility to depression and stress, mental health, social activity, relationship satisfaction, and other variables. Results revealed that highly affectionate people are advantaged in numerous psychological, mental, emotional, social, and relational characteristics, relative to those who communicate little affection to others.

Human Affection Exchange: VIII. Further Evidence of the Benefits of Expressed Affection

Affection exchange theory speaks to the benefits that affectionate communication elicits, not only when it is received but also when it is communicated to others. Previous research has provided evidence for the individual and relational benefits of having a high trait affection level, yet these benefits may partially be accounted for by the affectionate behavior one elicits from others by being affectionate in the first place. We addressed the validity of this alternative hypothesis in this project, first by re-analyzing data in which we compared correlations between trait affection level and various benefits with the same correlations after controlling for received affection. Next, in three studies involving a total sample of 1,144 people, we further investigated the benefits of expressed affection, both on its own and when received affection is covaried out. Results indicated that affection expressed to others is associated with numerous individual and relational benefits, including increased happiness and self esteem, decreased fear of intimacy and susceptibility to depression, and higher relationship satisfaction. Many of these effects are attenuated—and some are intensified—when affection received from others is held constant.

Affection received from fathers as a predictor of men's affection with their own sons: Tests of the modeling and compensation hypotheses

The present study takes a developmental approach to predicting the amount of affectionate communication fathers give their own sons by examining the amount of affection men received from their own fathers. Two developmental orientations are addressed: the modeling hypothesis, which predicts that positive behavior patterns exhibited by parents will be replicated in their childrens own parenting, and the compensation hypothesis, which predicts that negative parenting behaviors are compensated for in childrens parenting of their own children. We combined these approaches to advance a hybrid prediction that, when applied to affectionate communication, calls for a curvilinear relationship between the affection men received from their own fathers and the affection they give their own sons. Five hundred six men who were fathers of at least one son participated in the current study, and the results provided direct support for a combined modeling‐compensation hypothesis.

Gender and Closeness Among Friends and Siblings

Friendships and sibling bonds are often the most enduring relationships in a persons life. This study examined what makes each relationship close and how gender and type of relationship affect the ways in which closeness is manifested. Contrary to previous research on American students, respondents in the present study did not indicate that they were closer to their friends than their siblings. Rather, closeness emerged as a function of similarity in friendships and as a function of dependability in sibling dyads. Similarly, women and men reported that their relationships were equally close; however, closeness was manifested differently for each.

Kissing in Marital and Cohabiting Relationships: Effects on Blood Lipids, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction

Affection exchange theory and previous research suggest that affectionate behavior has stress-ameliorating effects. On this basis, we hypothesized that increasing affectionate behavior would effect improvements in physical and psychological conditions known to be exacerbated by stress. This study tested this proposition by examining the effects of increased romantic kissing on blood lipids, perceived stress, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Fifty-two healthy adults who were in marital or cohabiting romantic relationships provided self-report data for psychological outcomes and blood samples for hematological tests, and were then randomly assigned to experimental and control groups for a 6-week trial. Those in the experimental group were instructed to increase the frequency of romantic kissing in their relationships; those in the control group received no such instructions. After 6 weeks, psychological and hematological tests were repeated. Relative to the control group, the experimental group experienced improvements in perceived stress, relationship satisfaction, and total serum cholesterol.

Affectionate Communication Received from Spouses Predicts Stress Hormone Levels in Healthy Adults

Recent research on the communication of affection illuminates its implications for mental and physical health. In particular, affectionate communication has been shown to covary with healthy hormonal variation and accelerated recovery from stress. The present study focuses on the association between marital affection and hormonal markers of stress regulation, including cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), and their ratio. Twenty healthy adults and spouses provided independent reports of their propensity for verbal, nonverbal, and support-based expressions of affection prior to providing saliva samples that were assayed for cortisol and DHEA-S. As hypothesized, spouses’ reports of verbal, nonverbal, and supportive affection significantly predicted participants’ waking cortisol levels, cortisol change, and cortisol:DHEA-S ratio. Participants’ own reports of affection were predictive of cortisol:DHEA-S ratio for verbal affection behaviors only, and were not predictive of participants’ waking cortisol, cortisol change, or DHEA-S. In addition, spouses’ reports of verbal, nonverbal, and supportive affection predicted participants’ evening cortisol levels. Results illustrate that affectionate communication from ones spouse is related to hormonal stress regulation and suggest the possibility that interventions designed to increase affectionate behavior in romantic relationships may have stress-ameliorating physiological effects.

Affectionate same-sex touch: the influence of homophobia on observers' perceptions.

Abstract The author extended the proposition (V. J. Derlega, R. J. Lewis, S. Harrison, B. A. Winstead, & R. Costanza, 1989) that the fear of being seen as homosexual accounts for the common finding that U.S. women engage in more same-sex touch than do U.S. men. The author proposed a theoretic model positing that the magnitude of homophobias influence on behavior and on reactions to behavior is proportional to the likelihood that the behavior is sexual in nature. An experiment involving reactions to same-sex embraces demonstrated that, although homophobia was negatively related to evaluations of same-sex affectionate touch, the magnitude of the relationship covaried with the probability that the touch was sexual. The implications of these findings for longer range theory development are discussed.

Affectionate communication in nonromantic relationships: Influences of communicator, relational, and contextual factors

Despite its importance for healthy relational development, the overt communication of affection is inherently risk‐laden and subject to normative expectancies for appropriateness. The present study examines a number of individual, relational, and contextual factors that individually and collectively influence the perceived appropriateness of communicating affection in nonromantic dyadic relationships. An experiment involving 386 subjects was conducted to assess the influence of biological sex, sex composition, relational type, and the privacy and emotional intensity of interactive contexts. Predictions regarding their influence were substantially supported.

Human affection exchange: XIII. Affectionate communication accelerates neuroendocrine stress recovery

Contemporary theory in interpersonal communication and health psychology supports the prediction that engaging in affectionate behavior within established relationships has a direct effect on the alleviation of stress symptoms following exposure to an acute stressor. Participants in this study were exposed to a series of standard laboratory stressors and were subsequently assigned either to an experimental group or to 1 of 2 control groups. Those in the experimental group were instructed to write a letter to a loved one in which they expressed their feelings of affection for that person. Those in 1 control group thought about a loved one but did not engage in any communicative behavior, and those in the other control group simply sat quietly. All 3 conditions were compared with respect to their levels of salivary free cortisol, an adrenal steroid hormone that is instrumental in the bodys neuroendocrine stress response. Results indicated that, compared to the control groups, those in the experimental group experienced accelerated cortisol recovery following exposure to the acute stressors.