TY - JOUR
T1 - Cautious to a fault : self-protection and the trajectory of marital satisfaction
AU - Murray, Sandra L.
AU - Holmes, John G.
AU - Derrick, Jaye L.
AU - Harris, Brianna
AU - Griffin, Dale W.
AU - Pinkus, Rebecca T.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - A contextual model of self-protection is proposed to explain when adhering to cautious "if-then" rules in daily interaction erodes marital satisfaction. People can self-protect against partner non-responsiveness by distancing when a partner seems rejecting, promoting a partner's dependence when feeling unworthy, or by devaluing a partner in the face of costs. The model implies that being less trusting elicits self-protection, and that mismatches between self-protective practices and encountered risk accelerate declines in satisfaction. A longitudinal study of newlyweds revealed that the fit between self-protection practices and risk predicted declines in satisfaction over three years. When people self-protected more initially, satisfaction declined more in low-risk (i.e., low conflict, resilient partner) than high-risk relationships (i.e., high conflict, vulnerable partner). However, when people self-protected less initially, satisfaction declined more in high-risk than low-risk relationships. Process evidence was consistent with moderated mediation: In low-risk relationships only, being less trusting predicted higher levels of self-protective caution that forecast later declines in satisfaction.
AB - A contextual model of self-protection is proposed to explain when adhering to cautious "if-then" rules in daily interaction erodes marital satisfaction. People can self-protect against partner non-responsiveness by distancing when a partner seems rejecting, promoting a partner's dependence when feeling unworthy, or by devaluing a partner in the face of costs. The model implies that being less trusting elicits self-protection, and that mismatches between self-protective practices and encountered risk accelerate declines in satisfaction. A longitudinal study of newlyweds revealed that the fit between self-protection practices and risk predicted declines in satisfaction over three years. When people self-protected more initially, satisfaction declined more in low-risk (i.e., low conflict, resilient partner) than high-risk relationships (i.e., high conflict, vulnerable partner). However, when people self-protected less initially, satisfaction declined more in high-risk than low-risk relationships. Process evidence was consistent with moderated mediation: In low-risk relationships only, being less trusting predicted higher levels of self-protective caution that forecast later declines in satisfaction.
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/529746
U2 - 10.1016/j.jest.2012.10.010
DO - 10.1016/j.jest.2012.10.010
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-1031
VL - 49
SP - 522
EP - 533
JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
IS - 3
ER -