Principles of Relationship Differentiation
Abstract
The authors propose a model of relationship differentiation that is based on two psychological mechanisms, the regulation of emotional closeness and the monitoring of reciprocity. Both combined are expected to define relationship systems of differential reproductive significance: Relative to others, kin relationships are predicted by higher closeness and lower reciprocity, cooperative (non-kin) relationships by lower closeness and higher reciprocity, and partner relationships by both higher closeness and higher reciprocity. These assumptions could be confirmed by two studies involving 455 young adults and 171 middle-aged couples from different family forms (i.e., traditional and patchwork families, involuntary and motivated childless couples). Effects varied primarily due to parental investment such that parental partners become less distinguishable from kin, or, in other words, more like “elected kin”. Results highlight the flexibility of relationship differentiation.
References
2007). Is friendship akin to kinship?. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 274–365.
(1978). Patterns of attachment. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
(2001). Personal relationships in late modernity. Personal Relationships, 8, 325–339.
(2008). Flexibility, friendship, and family. Personal Relationships, 15, 1–16.
(1992). Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the stucture of interpersonal closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 596–612.
(1981). The evolution of cooperation. Science, 211, 1390–1396.
(2000). Research on the nature and determinants of marital satisfaction: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 964–980.
(2006). Selective investment theory: Recasting the functional significance of close relationships. Psychological Inquiry, 17, 1–29.
(2000). Acquisition of the algorithms of social life: A domain-based approach. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 187–219.
(1993). Perceived reciprocity, social support, and stress at work: The role of exchange and communal orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 801–811.
(2000). Gewollte Kinderlosigkeit aus psychologischer Perspektive
([Voluntary childlessness from a psychological perspective] . Reproduktionsmedizin, 16, 28–36.1984). Record keeping in two types of relationship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 549–557.
(1992). Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. In , The adapted mind (pp. 163–228). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
(1997). Kinship: The conceptual hole in psychological studies of social cognition and close relationships. In , Evolutionary psychology (pp. 265–296). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
(2003). What does sexual orientation orient? A biobehavioral model distinguishing romantic love and sexual desire. Psychological Review, 110, 173–192.
(2007). Centering predictor variables in cross-sectional multilevel models: A new look at an old issue. Psychological Methods, 12, 121–138.
(2003). The nature of human altruism. Nature, 425, 785–791.
(1992). The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations. Psychological Review, 99, 689–723.
(2005). The evolution and function of adults attachment: A comparative and phylogenetic analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 731–746.
(2009). Benefits of negative social exchanges for emotional closeness. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 64B, 612–621.
(1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161–178.
(1964). The genetic evolution of social behavior. I and II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7, 1–52.
(2007). Adoptive parents, adaptive parents: Evaluating the importance of biological ties for parental investment. American Sociological Review, 72, 95–116.
(2007). More kin, less support: Multipartnered fertility and perceived support among mothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 69, 237–253.
(1979). Towards understanding relationships. London: Academic Press.
(1998). Do older adults’ network members continue to provide instrumental support in unbalanced relationships?. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 59–75.
(1995). The effect of different forms of centering in hierarchical linear models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 30, 1–21.
(2009). Interpersonal functioning across the lifespan: Two principles of relationship regulation. Advances in Life Course Research, 14, 40–51.
(1997). The meaning of social interactions in the transition from acquaintanceship to friendship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 536–548.
(2003). Blood is thicker than water: Kinship orientation across adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 310–321.
(2004). Die Bevorzugung von genetischen Verwandten im Lebenslauf: Längsschnittliche Befunde zu Plastizität und Stabilität der nepotistischen Orientierung bei jüngeren und älteren Erwachsenen
([The preference of kin across the life span: longitudinal results of plasticity and stability of nepotism of younger and older adults] . Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 35, 115–129.2008). Psychology of human kin recognition: Heuristic cues, erroneous inferences, and their implications. Review of General Psychology, 12, 215–235.
(2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(2003). Interdependence, interaction, and relationships. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 351–375.
(1972). Stone age economies. Chicago, IL: Aldine & Atherton.
(2004). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. London: Sage.
(2001). A comparison of emotional consequences of and change in equity over time using global and domain-specific measures of equity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 477–501.
(2005). Evolving the psychological mechanisms for cooperation. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 36, 499–518.
(1959). The social psychology of groups. New York, NY: Wiley.
(2003). Continuation of exchange with neighbors in later life: The importance of the neighborhood context. Personal Relationships, 10, 535–550.
(1992). Support networks before and after retirement. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 9, 433–445.
(1978). Equity: Theory and research. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
(in press ). The interdependence of family relationships and friendships relates to higher well-being. Personal Relationships.