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Empathic accuracy and accommodative behavior among newly married couples
Author(s) -
Kilpatrick Shelley Dean,
Bissonnette Victor L.,
Rusbult Caryl E.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/1475-6811.09402
Subject(s) - psychology , perspective (graphical) , empathic concern , perspective taking , empathy , social psychology , developmental psychology , partner effects , femininity , structural equation modeling , statistics , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , psychoanalysis
An established method for assessing empathic accuracy was used to examine the consequences of accurate understanding during the early years of marriage. Structural equation modeling analyses simultaneously examined within–individual and across–partner associations among variables (actor effects and partner effects). During the first year of marriage, actor effects and partner effects were observed for two presumed consequences of empathic accuracy—accommodative behavior and couple well–being. Actor effects, partner effects, or both were observed for three possible determinants of empathic accuracy—commitment level, partner perspective–taking, and psychological femininity. Levels of empathic accuracy reliably declined following the first year of marriage, as did the strength of the above–noted associations with empathic accuracy.