Authors
Eri Sasaki, Nickola C Overall, Harry T Reis, Francesca Righetti, Valerie T Chang, Rachel ST Low, Annette ME Henderson, Caitlin S McRae, Emily J Cross, Shanuki D Jayamaha, Michael R Maniaci, Camille J Reid
Description
Feeling loved (loved, cared for, accepted, valued, and understood) is inherently dyadic, yet most prior theoretical perspectives and investigations have focused on how actors feeling (un) loved shapes actors’ outcomes. Adopting a dyadic perspective, the present research tested whether the established links between actors feeling unloved and destructive behavior depended on partners’ feelings of being loved. Does feeling loved need to be mutual to reduce destructive behavior, or can partners feeling loved compensate for actors feeling unloved? In five dyadic observational studies, couples were recorded discussing conflicts, diverging preferences or relationship strengths, or interacting with their child (total N= 842 couples; 1,965 observed interactions). Participants reported how much they felt loved during each interaction and independent coders rated how much each person exhibited destructive behavior …