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Optimism in close relationships: How seeing things in a positive light makes them so.

2006; American Psychological Association; Volume: 91; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.143

1939-1315

Sanjay Srivastava, Kelly McGonigal, Jane M. Richards, Emily A. Butler, James J. Gross,

Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Does expecting positive outcomes -especially in important life domains such as relationships --make these positive outcomes more likely?In a longitudinal study of dating couples, we tested whether optimists (who have a cognitive disposition to expect positive outcomes) and their romantic partners are more satisfied in their relationships, and if so, whether this is due to optimists perceiving greater support from their partners.In cross-sectional analyses, both optimists and their partners indicated greater relationship satisfaction, an effect that was mediated by optimists' greater perceived support.When the couples engaged in a conflict conversation, optimists and their partners saw each other as engaging more constructively during the conflict, which in turn led both partners to feel that the conflict was better resolved one week later.In a oneyear followup, men's optimism predicted relationship status.Effects of optimism were mediated by the optimists' perceived support, which appears to promote a variety of beneficial processes in romantic relationships.Optimism in Close Relationships 3 Optimism in Close Relationships: How Seeing Things in a Positive Light Makes Them So I have heard of reasons manifold Why Love needs be blind, But this the best of all I hold -His eyes are in his mind.Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1811) Individuals' perceptions of the social world are more than just objective reports of an external reality -social perceptions are shaped in the mind of the perceiver, a fact that can have very real consequences for social life.Romantic relationships, in particular, have long been observed by poets and writers to be substantially affected by the cognitive dispositions of the individuals involved.As Coleridge might say, lovers' eyes are in their minds.In this article, we present an investigation of the consequences of one particular cognitive disposition, namely optimism, within romantic relationships.Is optimism associated with happier and longer-lasting romantic relationships?To answer this question, our research was designed to test two related hypotheses.First, we tested the hypothesis that optimists and their partners would have relationships that are more satisfying, characterized by better conflict resolution, and longer-lasting. 1Second, we tested the hypothesis that the reason why optimists have better relationship outcomes is that they perceive their partners as more supportive.We tested these hypotheses in crosssectional analyses of couples' reports about their relationships, in analyses of how couples responded to a conflict conversation, and in a one-year followup of relationship dissolution.