Margaret S. Clark

Bio: Margaret S. Clark is an academic researcher from Yale University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Interpersonal relationship & Social psychology (sociology). The author has an hindex of 48, co-authored 134 publications receiving 12037 citations. Previous affiliations of Margaret S. Clark include University of Colorado Boulder & Franklin & Marshall College.

Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships.

Abstract: Communal relationships, in which the giving of a benefit in response to a need for the benefit is appropriate, are distinguished from exchange relationships, in which the giving of a benefit in response to the receipt of a benefit is appropriate. Based on this distinction, it was hypothesized that the receipt of a benefit after the person has been benefited leads to greater attraction when an exchange relationship is preferred and decreases attraction when a communal relationship is desired. These hypotheses were supported in Experiment 1, which used male subjects. Experiment 2, which used a different manipulation of exchange versus communal relationships and female subjects, supported the hypotheses that (a) a request for a benefit after the person is aided by the other leads to greater attraction when an exchange relationship is expected and decreases attraction when a communal relationship is expected, and (b) a request for a benefit in the absence of prior aid from the other decreases attraction when an exchange relationship is expected.

Affect, accessibility of material in memory, and behavior: a cognitive loop?

Abstract: Two studies investigated the effect of good mood on cognitive processes. In the first study, conducted in a shopping mall, a positive feeling state was induced by giving subjects a free gift, and good mood, thus induced, was found to improve subjects' evaluations of the performance and service records of products they owned. In the second study, in which affect was induced by having subjects win or lose a computer game in a laboratory setting, subjects who had won the game were found to be better able to recall positive material in memory. The results of the two studies are discussed in terms of the effect that feelings have on accessibility of cognitions. In addition, the nature of affect and the relationship between good mood and behavior (such as helping) are discussed in terms of this proposed cognitive process.

The Difference between Communal and Exchange Relationships: What it is and is Not

Abstract: Replying to Batson (this issue), who argues that the difference between communal and exchange relationships is less than might be imagined, the authors review the communal/exchange distinction, discuss what it does and does not mean, and address specific issues raised by Batson. They conclude, contrary to claims by Batson, that (a) ingratiation cannot account for all the findings supporting the communal/exchange distinction; (b) if desire for a communal relationship leads to ingratiation, that does not contradict the distinction; (c) if communal norms are followed for other than altruistic reasons, that does not undermine the distinction, (d) the difference between communal and exchange relationships is not limited to the breadth of benefits exchanged; (e) the difference between communal and exchange relationships is not limited to a difference in etiquette; rather, the communal/exchange distinction provides a theoretical explanation for the difference in etiquette.

Interpersonal Processes in Close Relationships

Abstract: INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610 INTERDEPENDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................................... 611 Definitions of Relationships and of Closeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 611 Norms Governing the Giving and Acceptance of Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. 612 EMOTION . . . . . . . . . . ............ ..... ......... .......................... ....................... ......... 618 Perceivers' Emotions, Impressions of Others, and Social Interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 INTIMACy..... . . . . . . ........ . ... . . . . ....... . . . . . . . .......... . . . . . . ..... . . . . ......... . . . .. ..... . . . ..... 628 Components of Intimacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628 Examining Intimacy on Diff erent Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630 Sex Diff erences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636 Is Intimacy All Good? . . . . . . . . .......... .............................. .................. ......... 636 LOVE. . . . . . ........... . ............ . . . .. . . . . ........ . . . . .. .......... . . . . . ........ . . . . ........ . . . . . . ...... 637 Descriptions of Love: Prototypes and Varieties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... ...... 638 Interpersonal Processes in the Experience of Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN RELATIONSHIP PROCESSES ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645 Systematically Relating Personality Variables to Relationships: The Case of Self-Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 Examining Interaction Between People with Specified Dispositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647 New Individual-Diff erence Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648 Neglected Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651 New Research-Design Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652 New Procedures and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656 CONCLUDING COMMENTS................ .. ....... .............. . .............. . . . ............. 660

The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.

Abstract: A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.

Cognitive Therapy of Depression

Abstract: 1. An Overview 2. The Role of Emotions in Cognitive Therapy 3. The Therapeutic Relationship: Application to Cognitive Therapy 4. Structure of the Therapeutic Interview 5. The Initial Interview 6. Session by Session Treatment: A Typical Course of Therapy 7. Application of Behavioral Techniques 8. Cognitive Techniques 9. Focus on Target Symptoms 10. Specific Techniques for the Suicidal Patient 11. Interview with a Depressed Suicidal Patient 12. Depressogenic Assumptions 13. Integration of Homework into Therapy 14. Technical Problems 15. Problems Related to Termination and Relapse 16. Group Cognitive Therapy for Depressed Patients Steven D. Hollon and Brian F. Shaw 17. Cognitive Therapy and Antidepressant Medications 18. Outcome Studies of Cognitive Therapy Appendix: Materials *The Beck Inventory *Scale for Suicide Ideation *Daily Record of Dysfunctional Thoughts *Competency Checklist for Cognitive Therapists *Possible Reasons for Not Doing Self-Help Assignments *Research Protocol for Outcome Study at Center for Cognitive Therapy *Further Materials and Technical Aids

Social relationships and health.

Abstract: Recent scientific work has established both a theoretical basis and strong empirical evidence for a causal impact of social relationships on health. Prospective studies, which control for baseline health status, consistently show increased risk of death among persons with a low quantity, and sometimes low quality, of social relationships. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies of humans and animals also suggest that social isolation is a major risk factor for mortality from widely varying causes. The mechanisms through which social relationships affect health and the factors that promote or inhibit the development and maintenance of social relationships remain to be explored.

Illusion and well-being: a social psychological perspective on mental health

Abstract: Many prominent theorists have argued that accurate perceptions of the self, the world, and the future are essential for mental health. Yet considerable research evidence suggests that overly positive selfevaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism are characteristic of normal human thought. Moreover, these illusions appear to promote other criteria of mental health, including the ability to care about others, the ability to be happy or contented, and the ability to engage in productive and creative work. These strategies may succeed, in large part, because both the social world and cognitive-processing mechanisms impose niters on incoming information that distort it in a positive direction; negative information may be isolated and represented in as unthreatening a manner as possible. These positive illusions may be especially useful when an individual receives negative feedback or is otherwise threatened and may be especially adaptive under these circumstances. Decades of psychological wisdom have established contact with reality as a hallmark of mental health. In this view, the well-adjusted person is thought to engage in accurate reality testing, whereas the individual whose vision is clouded by illusion is regarded as vulnerable to, if not already a victim of, mental illness. Despite its plausibility, this viewpoint is increasingly difficult to maintain (cf. Lazarus, 1983). A substantial amount of research testifies to the prevalence of illusion in normal human cognition (see Fiske& Taylor, 1984;Greenwald, 1980; Nisbett & Ross, 1980; Sackeim, 1983; Taylor, 1983). Moreover, these illusions often involve central aspects of the self and the environment and, therefore, cannot be dismissed as inconsequential. In this article, we review research suggesting that certain illusions may be adaptive for mental health and well-being. In particular, we examine evidence that a set of interrelated positive illusions—namely, unrealistically positive self-evaluations, exaggerated perceptions of control or mastery, and unrealistic optimism—can serve a wide variety of cognitive, affective, and social functions. We also attempt to resolve the following para