This research tested a social projection model of perceived partner responsiveness to needs. According to this model, people project their own care and supportiveness for a partner onto their perceptions of their partner's caring and supportiveness. In 2 dyadic marriage studies, participants' self-reported responsiveness to the needs of a spouse predicted perceptions of the spouse's responsiveness to the self more strongly than did the spouse's self-reported responsiveness. These projected perceptions of responsiveness, in turn, appeared to promote perceivers' relationship satisfaction. These effects were independent of individual differences in attachment, self-esteem, depression, and communal orientation. A daily-diary component suggested that people projected their own chronic responsiveness as well as their daily enacted support onto perceptions of the specific benefits received from their spouses. A 3rd study found that experimentally manipulated feelings of difficulty in recalling examples of own support provision reduced perceptions of partner responsiveness. Results suggest that projection of own responsiveness is an important determinant of perceived social support and is a means by which caring perceivers maintain satisfying and subjectively communal relationships.

In 5 studies, the authors tested predictions that (a) people project their own felt communal responsiveness onto partners, perceiving partners to be just as caring and supportive as they are, and (b) projected perceptions guide perceivers' orientation toward further promotion of communal relationships. In Study 1, a manipulation of felt communal responsiveness toward a partner affected perceptions of the partner's responsiveness to the self, which in turn predicted evaluation of the partner. In Study 2, a manipulation of responsiveness toward a new acquaintance biased perceptions of the acquaintance's responsiveness to the self, which in turn predicted attraction and warmth toward the new acquaintance. In Studies 3 and 5, participants' own felt communal responsiveness toward a friend appeared to bias their perceptions of the friend's communal responsiveness, which in turn predicted self-disclosure, evaluation of the friend (Studies 3 and 5), and support provision (Study 5). Initial projected perceptions of a friend's (Study 3) and of a spouse's (Study 4) communal responsiveness also predicted longitudinal changes in perceivers' communal responsiveness. Results suggest that those who care for partners often project that care and that this projection guides their relationship promotion.

The current research tested whether individuals high in attachment anxiety react to relationship threats in ways that can help them feel secure and satisfied in their relationship. Individuals higher in attachment anxiety experienced greater hurt feelings on days they faced partner criticism or conflict (Study 1) and during observed conflict discussions (Study 2). These pronounced hurt feelings triggered exaggerated expressions of hurt to induce guilt in the partner. Partners perceived the hurt feelings of more anxious individuals to be more intense than low anxious individuals' hurt and, in turn, experienced greater levels of guilt (Study 1). More anxious individuals were also rated by objective coders as exhibiting more guilt-induction strategies during conflict, which led to increases in partner guilt (Study 2). Moreover, partner guilt helped anxious individuals maintain more positive relationship evaluations. Although greater partner guilt had detrimental effects for individuals low in anxiety, more anxious individuals experienced more stable perceptions of their partner's commitment and more positive relationship evaluations when their partner felt more guilt. Unfortunately, these benefits were accompanied by significant declines in the partner's relationship satisfaction. These results illustrate that anxious reactions to threat are not uniformly destructive; instead, the reassuring emotions their reactions induce in relationship partners help anxious individuals feel satisfied and secure in their partner's commitment.

The internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of the d2 Test, a cancellation test of attention and concentration, was examined in a sample of 364 U.S. adults. Test-taking strategy, new process scores for assessing performance constancy, and relations to gender and education were explored. Results suggested that the d2 Test is an internally consistent and valid measure of visual scanning accuracy and speed. Overall performance scores were related to a proxy measure of test-taking strategy in the expected direction, and new acceleration and deterioration measures exhibited convergent validity. Suggested directions for future research include discrimination of attentional processes that support immediate and sustained visual scanning accuracy and speed, further examination of the impact of test-taking strategies on overall performance measures, and additional construct validity examinations for the new process measures.

This research compared the experiences and consequences of hurt feelings and anger in 3 retrospective studies (Studies 1a, 1b, and 2), a dyadic daily diary study (Study 3), and a dyadic behavioral observation study (Study 4). Although victims felt both hurt and angry in response to perpetrators' behaviors that signaled relational devaluation (Studies 1-4), hurt and anger differed in terms of victims' subjective experiences and behaviors, perpetrators' responses, and relationship consequences. Hurt was characterized by the experience of commitment, dependence, and vulnerability; goals to restore the perpetrator's acceptance; and constructive behavior. Moreover, victims' hurt was associated with perpetrators evaluating victims and victims' commitment more positively, with perpetrators' feelings of guilt and empathy and with perpetrators' constructive responses. Hurt also had positive consequences for relationships. In contrast, victims' anger was generally independent of commitment and characterized by the experience of control, invulnerability, and low dependence; goals to change perpetrators' behavior; and victims' destructive behavior. Furthermore, victims' anger was associated with perpetrators perceiving victims to be less committed and elicited reciprocated anger and destructive behaviors from perpetrators. These findings suggest that despite relational devaluation being a cause of both hurt and anger, these feelings have distinct social functions. Hurt reflects a desire to maintain interpersonal connection and repair relationships, which will often successfully elicit repair attempts by perpetrators, whereas anger reflects a desire to control others via antagonistic destructive behaviors, which exacerbate interpersonal difficulties.