Daily Affective and Behavioral Forecasts in Romantic Relationships

Abstract

The current research examined accuracy and bias in daily forecasts within romantic relationships. Results of an extensive daily report study involving 200 romantic dyads and 4,822 daily observations suggested that predictions regarding affect and partner behavior that will occur tomorrow are somewhat accurate, predicted by actual experiences tomorrow, but are largely biased by current experiences. Participants appeared to project the current state of their relationship into the future, a temporal projection bias. This bias predicted forecasters' pro-relationship motivation and behavior. Forecasters were less likely to exhibit the temporal projection bias when they were high in relationship commitment, and they were more likely to exhibit the bias when they were high in need for cognitive closure, suggesting that motivation can constrain or amplify tendencies to project the present into the future. Implications for interpersonal relationships are discussed.

What if they are right? Network approval, expectations, and relationship maintenance behaviors

“…As predicted by Hypotheses 2, our results provide evidence for actor effects of expectations of partner behaviors on relationship maintenance behaviors. In line with previous work (Baker et al, ; Lemay, ; Lemay et al, ), our results indicate that men and women with more positive expectations of their partner's future behaviors reported a greater tendency to engage in relationship maintenance behaviors. Our results reveal that individuals are more inclined to these maintenance behaviors when they are more optimistic about the likelihood of their partners behaving positively and meeting their needs in the long run.…”

“…Decision‐making theories posit that expectations for the future play a central role in shaping behavioral responses in interpersonal situations, such as romantic relationships (Gilbert & Wilson, ; Scheier & Carver, ). Lemay (, p. 48) stated that “people pursue relationships that are expected to bring pleasure.” Indeed, positive relationship expectations tend to enhance the functioning of romantic relationships (Burnette, McCullough, Van Tongeren, & Davis, ; Helgeson, ; Lemay, ; Lemay, Lin, & Muir, ; Lemay & Venaglia, ; Murray & Holmes, ). Studies have shown that constructive relationship behaviors are often guided by positive mental representations of the future (Baker, McNulty, & VanderDrift, ; Lemay, ; Lemay et al, ).…”

“…Lemay (, p. 48) stated that “people pursue relationships that are expected to bring pleasure.” Indeed, positive relationship expectations tend to enhance the functioning of romantic relationships (Burnette, McCullough, Van Tongeren, & Davis, ; Helgeson, ; Lemay, ; Lemay, Lin, & Muir, ; Lemay & Venaglia, ; Murray & Holmes, ). Studies have shown that constructive relationship behaviors are often guided by positive mental representations of the future (Baker, McNulty, & VanderDrift, ; Lemay, ; Lemay et al, ). For instance, Baker et al () found that expected satisfaction was linked to engagement in relationship maintenance behaviors, such as constructive problem‐solving behaviors.…”

Expectations for future relationship satisfaction: Unique sources and critical implications for commitment.

“…Thus, not only should current satisfaction serve as a summary of the extent to which people’s prior experiences have met or not met their relationship goals, it should also partially inform people’s expectations about whether they will continue to meet or not meet their goals in the future. Consistent with these ideas, numerous studies indicate that current emotions play a powerful role in predicting people’s expectations regarding their future success (Erber, 1991; Feather, 1966; Feather & Saville, 1967; Forgas & Moylan, 1987; Johnson & Tversky, 1983; Ross, Lepper, Strack, & Steinmetz, 1977), and several studies of relationships specifically indicate that intimates’ relationship expectations are shaped by their current satisfaction (Lemay, 2016; Lemay, Lin, & Muir, 2015; McNulty & Karney, 2002, 2004; Neff & Geers, 2013). This overlap between current and expected satisfaction likely accounts for the associations between current satisfaction and commitment observed in prior research (Le & Agnew, 2003).…”

Toward understanding understanding: The importance of feeling understood in relationships

“…Cognitive factors contribute to misaligned perceptions of understanding in several ways. For example, people often project their self‐views onto their images of how they are viewed by others (Kenny & DePaulo, ; Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, ), think that others attend to their behavior more than others actually do (Gilovich, Medvec, & Savitsky, ), believe that their internal states are more observable than they actually are (Gilovich, Savitsky, & Medvec, ), anticipate that their partners' current behaviors will continue into the future (Lemay, Lin, & Muir, ), and think that their partners are more similar to themselves than they actually are (de Jong & Reis, ; Kenny & Acitelli, ; Murray, Rose, Bellavia, Holmes, & Kusche, ). All of these processes could foster inflated perceptions of others' understanding relative to their actual understanding.…”