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12 - Self-Esteem, Negative Expressivity, and Partner Responsiveness

from Part III - Interdependence, Goal Pursuit, and Person Factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2020

By
Kassandra Cortes  and
Joanne V. Wood
Edited by
Laura V. Machia ,
Christopher R. Agnew  and
Ximena B. Arriaga
Laura V. Machia
Affiliation:
Syracuse University, New York
Christopher R. Agnew
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
Ximena B. Arriaga
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
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Summary

People with low self-esteem perceive their partner’s are less responsive to their needs. A widespread assumption in the literature has been that these perceptions are “all in their heads” – a projection of their own insecurities – and that their partners are actually just as responsive as are partners of people with high self-esteem. Contrary to this assumption, however, we describe research demonstrating that, in specific interactions, people with low self-esteem's partners are indeed less responsive to disclosers’ negative self-disclosures. We review evidence for the role of self-esteem in global and specific perceptions of responsiveness and actual received partner responsiveness, discuss reasons for such findings, and suggest future work to untangle mechanisms accounting for people with low self-esteems’ lower received responsiveness. We end by discussing implications for close relationships.

Keywords

Self-esteempartner responsivenessnegative expressivityperceived responsivenesslow self-esteem
Type
Chapter
Information
Interdependence, Interaction, and Close Relationships , pp. 246 - 266
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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