Seeing I to I: A Pathway to Interpersonal Connectedness.

Abstract

The authors introduce the construct of I-sharing-the belief that one shares an identical subjective experience with another person-and the role it plays in liking. In Studies 1-3, participants indicated their liking for an objectively similar and an objectively dissimilar person, one of whom I-shared with them and the other of whom did not. Participants preferred the objectively similar person but only when that person I-shared with them. Studies 4 and 5 highlight the role that feelings of existential isolation and the need for closeness play in people's attraction to I-sharers. In Study 4, people with high needs for interpersonal closeness responded to I-sharers and non-I-sharers with great intensity. In Study 5, priming participants with feelings of existential isolation increased their liking for Isharers over objectively similar others. The results highlight the importance of shared subjective experience and have implications for interpersonal and intergroup processes.

A transactional approach to relationships over time between perceived HIV stigma and the psychological and physical well-being of people with HIV

“…Measures of positive aspects of psychological functioning included the Rosenberg SelfEsteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Grifin, 1985), and two measures of how connected (versus isolated) individuals feel from other people, the Existential Isolation Scale (Pinel, Long, Landau, Alexander, & Pyszczynski, 2006), and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Hays & Dimatteo, 1987 …”

Brief assessment of negative dysmorphic signs

“…The spontaneous human fascination with “synchronicity”19 helps in recovering behavioral harmony through the experience of interpersonal connectedness 20. According to the “circumplex model of personality”, all social interactions are distributed along two orthogonal axes, ie, power/dominance and love/affiliation 21.…”

We're warmer (they're more competent): I‐sharing and African‐Americans' perceptions of the ingroup and outgroup

“…In study after study (Crimin, Pinel, & Long, 2008; Pinel & Long, 2008; Pinel, Long, Landau, Alexander, & Pyszczynski, 2006; Pinel, Long, Landau, & Pyszczynski, 2004), people prefer the I-sharer to the person with whom they do not I-share, even when they differ from the I-sharer on important, objective characteristics (e.g., place of origin; sexual orientation; weight class). Moreover, our data show that manipulations of existential isolation increase people’s preference for an I-sharer over a Me-sharer, suggesting the unique role that existential isolation plays in liking for an I-sharer (Pinel et al, 2006, Study 5).…”