When one's partner wants out: Awareness, attachment anxiety and accuracy
Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
7-2023
Abstract
Can a person tell whether their romantic partner wants to break up and, if so, how is such accuracy associated with their own attachment anxiety? We examined these questions by proposing and assessing the construct of perceived partner dissolution consideration (PPDC), including its validity. We then assessed the extent to which partners were accurate in their perceptions of each other's dissolution consideration, focusing on the perceiver's attachment anxiety as a potential moderator. Specifically, in two studies involving couples, dyadic analyses of couple data showed that couple members significantly underestimated (negative mean-level bias) partner dissolution consideration and also projected their own dissolution consideration onto their partners. Couple members higher in anxiety were particularly accurate (tracking accuracy) in their assessments of dissolution consideration. Implications for partner perceptions and judgements of dissolution consideration on relationship functioning are considered.
Keywords
Close relationships, perceived dissolution consideration, attachment anxiety, truth and bias, relationship dissolution
Discipline
Gender and Sexuality | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
European Journal of Social Psychology
ISSN
0046-2772
Identifier
10.1002/ejsp.2969
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
TAN, Kenneth, MACHIA, Laura V., & AGNEW, Christopher R..(2023). When one's partner wants out: Awareness, attachment anxiety and accuracy. European Journal of Social Psychology, .
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3782
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2969