Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - When flattery gets you nowhere
T2 - discounting positive feedback as a relationship maintenance strategy
AU - Gagne, Faby
AU - Khan, Alisa
AU - Lydon, John
AU - To, Michelle
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - Intimates can rely on a number of strategies to protect their relationships from potential threats. In the present article, the authors investigate a new strategy: to discount flattering comments received from an attractive alternative to a dating partner by making a situational attribution. However, the authors did not expect everyone to adopt this strategy, as not everyone is likely sufficiently motivated to override both the tendencies to make dispositional attributions and to accept positive feedback from others. Dating and single participants were informed that an attractive alternative's positive impression of them had been made freely or under constraint. As expected, dating participants in the constraint condition were less likely than were those in the no-constraint condition to believe that the alternative's impression of them was genuine. In contrast, single participants believed that the confederate's impression of them was genuine, irrespective of their experimental condition. Self-esteem further moderated this effect. As hypothesised, only dating participants with low self-esteem were sufficiently motivated to recognise the situational constraint and discount the positive feedback. High self-esteem daters who were less inclined to discount the positive feedback instead protected their relationships by devaluing the alternative's attractiveness compared to singles.
AB - Intimates can rely on a number of strategies to protect their relationships from potential threats. In the present article, the authors investigate a new strategy: to discount flattering comments received from an attractive alternative to a dating partner by making a situational attribution. However, the authors did not expect everyone to adopt this strategy, as not everyone is likely sufficiently motivated to override both the tendencies to make dispositional attributions and to accept positive feedback from others. Dating and single participants were informed that an attractive alternative's positive impression of them had been made freely or under constraint. As expected, dating participants in the constraint condition were less likely than were those in the no-constraint condition to believe that the alternative's impression of them was genuine. In contrast, single participants believed that the confederate's impression of them was genuine, irrespective of their experimental condition. Self-esteem further moderated this effect. As hypothesised, only dating participants with low self-esteem were sufficiently motivated to recognise the situational constraint and discount the positive feedback. High self-esteem daters who were less inclined to discount the positive feedback instead protected their relationships by devaluing the alternative's attractiveness compared to singles.
KW - self-esteem
KW - relationship maintenance
KW - CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
KW - SELF-ESTEEM
KW - CULTURE
KW - DEVALUATION
KW - HYPOTHESIS
KW - devaluation
KW - VERIFICATION
KW - ENHANCEMENT
KW - CORRESPONDENCE BIAS
KW - ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATIVES
KW - COMMITMENT
KW - attribution
U2 - 10.1037/0008-400X.40.2.59
DO - 10.1037/0008-400X.40.2.59
M3 - Journal article
VL - 40
SP - 59
EP - 68
JO - Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science
JF - Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science
SN - 0008-400X
IS - 2
ER -