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Keeping calm when riding the rapids: Optimism and perceived partner withdrawal
Author(s) -
PARISE MIRIAM,
DONATO SILVIA,
PAGANI ARIELA F.,
SCHOEBI DOMINIK
Publication year - 2017
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/pere.12172
Subject(s) - optimism , psychology , distress , social psychology , partner effects , developmental psychology , clinical psychology
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.