2 SUPPORTIVE RESPONSES TO POSITIVE EVENT DISCLOSURES 905 tangible, and informational assistance from the social network has come to be known as social support. An abundance of research shows that the perception that one has supportive others to turn to in times of stress (i.e., perceived support) buffers against the harmful effects of stress (e.g., Cohen, 1992; Collins & Feeney, 2000; Sarason, Sarason, & Gurung, 1997). Of the different types of support, emotional support may play a particularly important role in the stress adjustment link (Uchino, Cacioppo, & Kiecolt- Glaser, 1996). Moreover, in terms of the quality of close relationships, perceptions that a partner provides good support in times of distress are correlated with better functioning relationships (e.g., Barbee & Cunningham, 1995; Collins & Feeney, 2000, 2004; Cutrona, 1986; Pasch et al., 1997; Reis & Franks, 1994). However, although it is apparent that believing others will be available in bad times is beneficial for the person and the relationship, the associations among enacted support, perceived support, and well-being are mixed (e.g., Lakey, McCabe, Fisicaro, & Drew, 1996). In fact, many studies show that actual support transactions are not associated with better adjustment, or worse, they are negatively correlated with well-being (e.g., Barbee, Rowlett, & Cunningham, 1998; Bolger, Zuckerman, & Kessler, 2000; Coyne, Wortman, & Lehman, 1988). One possible reason that receiving social support may have neutral or detrimental effects is that it may be a signal to the recipient that he or she is unable to cope with the stressor, which can be a blow to self-worth and self-esteem (e.g., Fisher, Nadeler, & Whitcher-Alagna, 1982). Moreover, because a romantic partner is often a primary support provider, the perception of a diminished sense of self-worth in the eyes of the partner (real or imagined) may be especially problematic. For example, Murray and colleagues (e.g., Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 2000; Murray et al., 2005) have shown that feeling inferior to one s partner is associated with less commitment, less relationship satisfaction, and less love for the partner. These costs may offset the tangible or emotional benefits of a partner s assistance. Bolger, Zuckerman, and Kessler (2000) reasoned that one way around the catch-22 inherent in support receipt may be to provide help to a distressed partner without his or her awareness. Bolger and colleagues have labeled this invisible support and have offered evidence that the most effective support is that which goes unnoticed by the distressed recipient. However, it may be difficult to provide support to a distressed individual without his or her knowledge. For example, in a daily experience study, when partners reported providing support to distressed New York Bar examinees, the distressed examinees reported receiving that support 65% of the time, and they even reported receiving support on 44% of the days that their partners denied providing it (Bolger et al., 2000, Table 1). We propose that another way around this apparent catch-22 is for the provision of support to occur in a situation free of threats to self-worth. That is, individuals who receive supportive responses from their partners in response to positive event disclosures can reap the relational benefits associated with perceived support without the blow to self-esteem. In contrast to negative event disclosure discussions, supportive responses to positive events actually highlight and play up the capitalizer s strengths. Note that there are still risks involved in sharing a positive event; the partner could respond in an unsupportive manner or not respond at all. However, these risks are equivalent to the risks of a partner responding in an unsupportive manner when a negative event is shared. Thus, there are unique threats to the self associated with seeking social support in times of stress that are not inherent in capitalization situations. Finally, because supportive responses to positive events can and should be out in the open (see below), enacted support may be more strongly linked to perceptions of support; which is in contrast to findings in traditional social support research that show that the link between enacted and perceived support is neither consistent nor clear (e.g., Kaul & Lakey, 2003). Reactions to Capitalization Attempts and Perceived Responsiveness What constitutes a supportive response to capitalization attempts? In previous work, we used a modified framework that was originally used to describe responses to another person s negative behavior (e.g., Hirschman, 1970; Rusbult, Zembrodt, & Gunn, 1982) to categorize responses along two dimensions: constructive destructive and active passive. Therefore, responses to capitalization attempts can be differentiated into four types: active constructive (e.g., enthusiastic support), passive constructive (e.g., quiet, understated support), active destructive (e.g., demeaning the event), and passive destructive responses (e.g., ignoring the event). These four different responses are illustrated in the following example. Maria comes home from her job as an associate in a law firm and excitedly tells her husband, Robert, that the senior partners called her into a meeting today and assigned her to be the lead lawyer for an important case filed on behalf of their most prestigious client. An active constructive response from Robert might be, Wow, this is great news! Your skills and hard work are definitely paying off; I am certain that your goal to make partner will happen in no time. What is the case about? A passive constructive response could be a warm smile followed by a simple, That s nice, dear. An active destructive response might be, Wow, I bet the case will be complicated; are you sure you can handle it? It sounds like it might be a lot of work; maybe no one else wanted the case. You will probably have to work even longer hours this month. A passive destructive response might be, You won t believe what happened to me today, or What do you want to do for dinner? Previous studies have found that only responses that were perceived to be active and constructive were associated with personal well-being and higher relationship quality, whereas the other three types of responses were negatively associated with these outcomes (Gable et al., 2004). In this study, we examined possible explanations for why responses perceived as active and constructive were beneficial to close relationships, whereas passive or destructive ones were detrimental. We reasoned that active and constructive responses convey two types of information to the discloser. First, active constructive responses communicate positive information about the event itself through confirmation of the event s importance and elaboration on potential implications of the event. Second, active-constructive responses convey positive information about the responder s relationship with the capitalizer through displayed knowledge of the personal significance of the event to the capitalizer and a demonstration of the responder s own feelings toward the capitalizer. On the other hand, passive or destructive responses fail to convey this information or, worse, convey the reverse. A passive or destructive response may signify (explicitly or implicitly) that (a) the event itself is not significant, either in the
3 906 GABLE, GONZAGA, AND STRACHMAN present or in its future value; (b) the responder does not have intimate knowledge of what is important to the capitalizer; or (c) the capitalizer s emotions, thoughts, and life are not of concern to the responder. In short, sharing personal positive events provides prime opportunities to obtain understanding, validation, and caring a construct termed perceived partner responsiveness to the self in Reis and Shaver s (1988) transactional model of intimacy. Perceived responsiveness to the self (responsiveness, for short) includes three overlapping elements: beliefs about others understanding of oneself, including one s qualities, opinions, goals, emotions, and needs; thoughts about the degree to which others value, respect, and validate the self; and the perception that others care about and support the self. As Reis, Clark, and Holmes (2004) pointed out in a comprehensive literature review, the perception that close others appreciate and care for us lies at the heart of many processes in close relationships, including expectancies in social interaction, self-verification theory, individual differences in attachment security, and communal relationships (Holmes, 2002; Swann, 1990; Collins & Read, 1990; and Clark & Mills, 1979, respectively). Given that responsiveness seems to be central to relationship functioning, we hypothesized that capitalization exchanges play a significant role in the development and maintenance of healthy relationships. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether perceptions of partner responsiveness during discussions of personal positive events and negative events predicted relationship health. We also hypothesized that when partners reacted in an active constructive manner to disclosers positive events, as coded by outside observers, the disclosers would report more perceived responsiveness than when their partners reacted in a passive or destructive manner. The Context of Positive Events and Positive Emotions When positive events occur, individuals are likely to experience positive emotions. For example, previous research has shown that when rewarding events occur, people experience an increase in positive affect, but negative affect remains unchanged (e.g., Gable, Reis, & Elliot, 2000). Fredrickson s (1998, 2001) broaden-andbuild functional model of positive emotions posits that positive emotions broaden an individual s scope of cognition, attention, and action and build the individual s physical, intellectual, and social resources. Isen and colleagues (Isen & Daubman, 1984; Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987) research provided early evidence for the broadening aspects of positive emotions such that induced positive emotions led to more flexible and creative processing. More recently, Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) found that broader and more flexible coping was associated with increased positive emotional experiences. Although most empirical investigations have focused on broadening functions, a recent study of post September 11th resilience found that experiencing some positive emotions (such as interest, hope, contentment) following the terrorist attacks led to increases in psychological resources (such as optimism, life satisfaction; Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003). We suggest that capitalization presents opportunities to build social resources. That is, when an individual discloses a positive event to his or her partner, and the partner responds in an active constructive manner, both partners experience positive emotions, and the relationship itself becomes stronger. These relationship resources, such as commitment, satisfaction, intimacy, and love, can be drawn on in the future. Thus, the context of positive events seems central to relationship health. The Current Investigation We tested our hypotheses with an observational study. Specifically, dating couples participated in four videotaped interactions. They each took turns sharing a recent positive event and a recent negative event. After each interaction, the discloser rated how understood, validated, and cared for (i.e., perceived responsiveness) he or she had felt during the interaction. Before their interactions, we assessed the well-being of the participants relationship using standard measures and the participants perceptions of how their partners typically respond to the participants capitalization attempts. We had three primary hypotheses: Hypothesis 1. The measure of how a partner typically reacts to positive event disclosures would predict perceived partner responsiveness during the positive event discussion but not during the negative event discussion (i.e., discriminant validity). Hypothesis 2. Ratings of responsiveness in the positive event discussion would be a better predictor of relationship well-being than ratings of responsiveness in the negative event disclosure. Hypothesis 3. Our new behavioral coding system designed to assess active versus passive and constructive versus destructive behavior of the partner would predict the discloser s reports of perceived responsiveness in the positive event discussion. Participants Method Seventy-nine couples were recruited via advertisements in the campus newspaper and flyers posted throughout the campus of a large public university. The recruitment materials specified that participation required couples to have been dating exclusively for a minimum of 6 months. Although advertisements did not specify sexual orientation, only heterosexual couples responded to the ads and participated in the study. On average, participants had been dating 25.1 months (SD 22.3 months, Mdn 18, range 6 98). The mean age of the women was 21.3 years (SD 2.69 years) and the mean age of the men was 22.2 years (SD 2.80 years). Participants were of diverse ethnicity (41.1% White, 36.1% Asian/ Pacific Islander, 6.3% Hispanic, 5.1% African American, and 10.1% other or declined to answer) that reflected, roughly, the ethnic composition of the university community. Approximately one third of participants (38.0%) described themselves as full-time students, 13.9% were employed fulltime, 3.2% were unemployed, and the remaining participants split their time between school and employment. Forty-three percent of the couples were cohabitating; 3 couples were engaged. Couples received $50 for participation in the study. General Laboratory Session Procedure Couples attended a single laboratory session that lasted approximately 1.5 hr. After a brief introduction to the study and completion of consent procedures, couples were led into separate rooms to complete the packet of demographic, individual difference, and relationship measures. After completing the measures, couples were reunited and seated in two chairs angled
4 SUPPORTIVE RESPONSES TO POSITIVE EVENT DISCLOSURES 907 to face each other. Two small cameras were mounted on the wall approximately 4 feet above the ground, with one camera pointed at each participant at an angle to allow for full frontal recording. The cameras were visible to the couple and captured an image of the participants from the top of their heads to their feet. The cameras were controlled by experimenters in an adjacent control room who could see and hear the activities in the experiment room, adjust the cameras to follow participants if they shifted positions in their chairs, and communicate with couples via an intercom. Couples then participated in seven separate interactions, each lasting a maximum of 5 min. After each interaction, they completed brief questionnaires independently; we used appropriate measures to ensure particpants confidentiality. Measures in Initial Packet Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts Scale (PRCA; Gable et al., 2004). Participants completed the PRCA scale, a recently developed and validated 12-item scale measuring perceptions of a partner s typical response to the sharing of positive events. Participants rated each item using the stem, When I tell my partner about something good that has happened to me..., anda7-point scale on which 1 is labeled as not at all true and 7 is labeled as very true. The scale includes three active constructive responses (e.g., I sometimes get the sense that my partner is even more happy and excited than I am ), three passive constructive responses, (e.g. My partner tries not to make a big deal out of it but is happy for me ), three active destructive responses (e.g., My partner reminds me that most good things have their bad aspects as well ), and three passive destructive responses (e.g., My partner often seems disinterested ). Previous research has shown that active and constructive responses are positively correlated with relationship well-being, whereas the remaining three types are negatively correlated with relationship wellbeing (Gable et al., 2004). Thus, a single composite capitalization score was created by subtracting the mean of the passive constructive, active destructive, and passive destructive scales from the active constructive scales. Higher numbers indicated more active constructive and less passive destructive responses. The composite scores ranged from 2.22 to 6.00 for men and from 3.22 to 5.67 for women, and the scale showed good reliability for both men (.84) and women (.81). Relationship quality measures. Participants completed three measures of the quality of their relationship with their partners. They completed the seven-item (e.g., How good is your relationship compared with most? ) Relationship Satisfaction Scale (Hendrick, 1988). Statements were rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (low satisfaction/never/not at all/none) to7 (very high satisfaction/very often/a great deal/very many), and reliabilities were good for both men (.90) and women (.92). Participants also completed a seven-item commitment measure (e.g., I want our relationship to last for a very long time. ) from the Investment Model Scale (Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998) on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all true/never true) to7(very true/true all of the time), and reliabilities were good for both men (.91) and women (.92). Passionate love was also measured using seven items (e.g., I have an endless appetite for affection from my partner from the Passionate Love Scale (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986) on a scale ranging from 1 (not al all true of our relationship/never true) to7(very true/true all of the time), and reliabilities were good for both men (.85) and women (.83). Principal component analyses were computed separately for men and women, and all three measures loaded on a single factor for both sexes (loadings.93,.89, and.86 for men and.94,.91, and.86 for women, respectively). The single factor accounted for 79.8% of the variance in male responses and 81.3% of the variance in female responses. Thus, a single composite score was calculated by averaging the three measures into one score, Time 1 relationship well-being (RWB). Individual difference measures. For discriminant validity purposes, we included two sets of individual difference measures variables that would theoretically be predicted to influence partners active constructive behavior after the disclosure of a positive event: attachment dimensions and the Big Five personality variables. Attachment. Participants completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998). This standard 36-item attachment measure assesses the two primary dimensions of attachment: avoidance (.86 for men and.91 for women) and anxiety (.89 for men and.91 for women). Participants responded to each statement on a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to7(strongly agree). Personality. Personality was measured with the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991). This 44-item measure assesses five major dimensions of personality. Participants are asked to rate the degree to which they agree or disagree with each of the statements on a scale ranging from 1 (disagree strongly) to5(agree strongly). These dimensions are extraversion (8 items measuring qualities such as sociability), agreeableness (9 items measuring qualities such as helpfulness and unselfishness), conscientiousness (9 items measuring qualities related to reliability), neuroticism (8 items measuring predisposition to anxiety), and openness to experience (10 items measuring qualities such as curiosity about new things). The scales showed good reliability for both men and women in the present sample: alphas for men were.82,.80,.79,.81, and.79 and alphas for women were.87,.78,.80,.81, and.79, respectively. The BFI scales have shown convergent validity with other measures of personality and predict meaningful life outcomes (John & Srivastava, 1999). Measures and Procedure for Videotaped Interactions Participants completed seven videotaped interactions. In the first interaction, couples were asked to describe their first date in an unstructured discussion for up to 5 min. This interaction was designed to allow couples to become acquainted with the cameras and videotape task and is not discussed further. In the last two of the seven interactions, each member of the couple took a turn describing their favorite characteristic of the partner. This interaction was designed so that all couples ended the laboratory session on a positive note and is not discussed further. The four interactions in the middle of the laboratory session are the focus of the current study. In Interactions 2 5, each member of the couple took turns discussing a recent personal negative event and a recent personal positive event. The order of these discussions was randomly assigned and counterbalanced such that in 21 couples, the woman discussed her positive event first; in 21 couples, the man discussed his positive event first; in 20 couples, the woman discussed her negative event first; and in 17 couples, the man discussed his negative event first. The next discussion was the other partner discussing his or her event in the same category. Then, the participants took turns discussing the other event, with the same individual who went first in the first round going first in the second round. We examined mean differences of all the interaction variables (see below) and found no significant mean differences that were based on order (all ps.05). Pre-event instruction and measures. Before completing the personal positive event discussion, participants were given the following instructions: In these next set of interactions, we are interested in how couples discuss positive things that happen to them. We are not interested in how couples discuss positive things that happen to the both of you, such as going on vacation, or something that the other has done for you. Rather, we are interested in how couples talk about the positive events that one member has in his or her life. We would like you to choose some recent positive event from your life. Your positive event may be something that happened to you recently or in the past that continues to make you happy, something going on now, or something you anticipate will happen in the future. Examples of positive events would be receiving a good grade in a class, a work promotion, or a financial windfall; being offered a job, internship, or scholarship; being accepted into graduate school; or even being given a compliment from someone other than your partner. Please pick something
5 908 GABLE, GONZAGA, AND STRACHMAN that has been on your mind recently, no matter how big or small you may think it is. Each participant was then given a form to complete on which he or she was asked to briefly describe the positive event and to rate how important the event was on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not very important )to7 (extremely important). The average positive event importance rating was 5.54 (SD 1.34) for women and 5.75 (SD 1.49) for men. Personal positive events were content-coded by trained raters, whose rate of agreement was 100%. The positive events discussed were academic accomplishments (37.1%), work or financial success (29.8%), family and friends (8.6%), personal travel (4.0%), receiving compliments (3.3%), athletic accomplishments (3.3%), and other accomplishments and miscellaneous positive events (e.g., health, housing, receiving gifts; 13.9%). We also asked participants the degree to which they had previously discussed this event with their partner on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to4(a fair amount) to7(a great deal). All but 4 participants (1 man, 3 women) had previously discussed their positive event with their partner, and 85% of participants reported discussing it a fair amount or more. The average rating on the previous discussion item was 5.09 (SD 1.67) for women and 5.75 (SD 1.49) for men. Each participant then took a turn discussing his or her positive event (see description below). Before completing the personal negative event discussion, participants were given the following instructions: In these next set of interactions, we are interested in how couples discuss their personal concerns. We are not interested in the concerns you may have about your relationship or your partner, but rather we are interested in concerns that affect one of you. We would like you to choose some current problem, concern, or stressor you are facing in your life. This may be something that happened before but continues to bother you, something going on now, or something you anticipate will happen in the future. Some examples could be a recent argument with a friend or family member, a grade in class, work or financial problems, or personal illness. Please pick something that has been on your mind recently, no matter how big or small you may think it is. Each participant was then given a form on which he or she was asked to briefly describe the negative event and to rate how important the event was on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not very important )to7(extremely important). The average negative event importance rating was 5.86 (SD 1.44) for women and 5.82 (SD 1.29) for men. Negative events focused on work or financial issues (41.4%), academic difficulties (27.6%), family or friends (21.7%), personal illness (3.3%), or other or general concerns (5.9%). We also asked participants the degree to which they had previously discussed this event with their partner on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to4(a fair amount) to7(a great deal). All but 4 participants (2 men, 2 women) had previously discussed their concern with their partner, and 84% of participants reported discussing it a fair amount or more. The average rating on the previous discussion item was 5.38 (SD 1.60) for women and 5.09 (SD 1.67) for men. Each participant then took a turn discussing his or her negative event (see the description below). Event discussions. As noted, the order of discussion of positive and negative events was counterbalanced. For example, in the negative event man first discussion, participants were given the following instructions after completing the pre negative event discussion form: In the first interaction, the discussion will be about (man s name) s concern. When you have finished with that discussion, you will complete another short form, and then you will repeat the process, except the discussion will center on the (woman s name) s concern. Again, while you are interacting, please feel free to talk about anything related to the personal concern. Some suggestions for the person who has the concern would be to discuss the circumstances surrounding the concern, how you feel and what you think about the concern, and any other details or issues that you think are important. When the discussion is about your partner s concern, you can respond to, add to, or talk about as much or as little as you would under normal circumstances. The couple then discussed the man s negative event for up to 5 min. Both members of the couple completed a postinteraction form (see below). Then, the couple discussed the woman s negative event for up to 5 min, and both members of the couple completed a postinteraction form (see below). The procedure was then repeated for the positive events, with identical instructions given. Postevent discussion responsiveness measure. After each discussion, the disclosing participants independently completed a measure of how responsive their partner had been during the interaction. 2 Specifically, they rated 10 items from Reis s (2003) 18-item Responsiveness Scale on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to5(very much). The measure was designed to assess how understood, validated, and cared for individuals feel when interacting with their intimate partners, and it is theoretically modeled on Reis and Shaver s (1988) Intimacy Model. The postevent form was completed independently by each partner. To ensure confidentiality, we instructed the couples to turn and angle away from each other and use clipboards. Experimenters observed the couples during this time via the video audio equipment to verify that forms were completed independently. Each time a form was completed, participants placed it inside a covered box next to their chairs to ensure continued confidentiality. The items were as follows: My partner... saw the real me; got the facts right about me; focused on the best side of me; was aware of what I was thinking and feeling; understood me; really listened to me; expressed liking and encouragement for me; valued my abilities and opinions; respected me; was responsive to my needs. The mean responsiveness score following the negative event was 4.33 (SD 0.58) for men (.94) and 4.33 (SD 0.73) for women (.89). The mean responsiveness score following the positive event was 4.20 (SD 0.82) for men (.94) and 4.37 (SD 0.67) for women (.95). 3 Coding of the responding partner s behavior in positive event interactions. The personal positive event discussions were coded for how active and constructive the responding partner was during the interaction in which the disclosing partner discussed his or her positive event (i.e., the partner listening to the positive event). Judges were given the following instructions on coding how passive or active the respondent was on a scale ranging from 1 (extremely passive) to7(extremely active): Rate the activity, both verbal and nonverbal, on the scale provided. This rating should be devoid of content, made irrespective of positivity or negativity of the interactions. Look for head nodding/shaking, emotional displays, animation, hand gestures, laughing or scoffing, questions, or statements. Judges were given the following instructions when coding how destructive or constructive the respondents were on a scale ranging from 1 (extremely destructive) to7(extremely constructive): Rate the valence of the verbal and nonverbal displays using the scale provided. Destructive units include negative suggestions and questions, turning the discussion away from the target, and displays of negative emotion. Constructive units include elaboration of positives, linking to other positive events, smiling, laughing. The eight judges completed a set of 10 cases and then discussed their ratings in a group (which also included authors Shelly L. Gable and Gian C. Gonzaga) and came to a consensus on the rating to be given to each 2 The nondisclosing participants also completed a form at this time, the contents of which are not the focus of this article. 3 Six couples mistakenly received the incorrect version of the post positive event discussion form. Therefore, the sample size for the post positive event discussion responsiveness ratings was 73 men and 73 women.