Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

3-2024

Abstract

Perceived reactions to sharing of good news (capitalization), can have important implications for romantic relationships. Typically, when European Americans perceive that their partners respond in an active constructive (versus passive and/or destructive,) manner, they tend to perceive their partners as more responsive and report higher relationship quality. However, cross-cultural differences in norms can influence peoples’ preference for different capitalization responses and whether different capitalization responses convey partner responsiveness. In a combined sample of European Americans, East, and South Asians (N = 915), we investigated whether links among capitalization responses, perceived partner responsiveness, and relationship quality differed by culture. People who perceived active constructive and passive destructive responses reported higher and lower levels of partner responsiveness and relationship satisfaction, respectively. Further, European Americans who perceived active destructive, and European Americans and East Asians who perceived passive constructive, responses, reported less partners responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. South Asians who perceived passive constructive responses reported greater partner responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. East and South Asians who perceived active destructive responses did not differ in relationship satisfaction. Our findings provide a cross-cultural perspective on the study of romantic couples’ positive event disclosure and expand capitalization research to an understudied sample of South Asians.

Keywords

Perceived responses to capitalization attempts, close relationships, cross-cultural, good news sharing

Discipline

Applied Behavior Analysis | Asian Studies | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Journal of Positive Psychology

Volume

19

Issue

2

First Page

277

Last Page

290

ISSN

1743-9760

Identifier

10.1080/17439760.2023.2169629

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2023.2169629

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