Interpersonal relationship

About: Interpersonal relationship is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22392 publications have been published within this topic receiving 937957 citations. The topic is also known as: interpersonal status & relationship.

Sense of Relatedness as a Factor in Children's Academic Engagement and Performance.

Abstract: Children’s sense of relatedness is vital to their academic motivation from 3rd to 6th grade. Children’s (n 641) reports of relatedness predicted changes in classroom engagement over the school year and contributed over and above the effects of perceived control. Regression and cumulative risk analyses revealed that relatedness to parents, teachers, and peers each uniquely contributed to students’ engagement, especially emotional engagement. Girls reported higher relatedness than boys, but relatedness to teachers was a more salient predictor of engagement for boys. Feelings of relatedness to teachers dropped from 5th to 6th grade, but the effects of relatedness on engagement were stronger for 6th graders. Discussion examines theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of relatedness as a key predictor of children’s academic motivation and performance. When explaining motivational dynamics in school, psychologists frequently point to differences in children’s underlying beliefs and capacities. Decades of research show that children’s self-perceptions, such as self-efficacy, goal orientations, or autonomy, are robust predictors of motivation and performance in school, both concurrently and over many years (for reviews, see Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Stipek, 2002). At the same time, however, researchers note the centrality of social factors in children’s motivation (Connell & Wellborn, 1991; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Eccles et al., 1998; Goldstein, 1999; Juvonen & Wentzel, 1996; Resnick et al., 1997; Weiner, 1990). Research from multiple traditions demonstrates the impact on children’s motivation and learning of relationships with parents (Steinberg, Darling, & Fletcher, 1995), teachers (Stipek, 2002), and peers (Hymel, Comfort, Schonert-Reichl, & McDougall, 1996). Recently, these two general lines of thinking, one about selfperceptions and one about interpersonal relationships, have converged in the study of the motivational consequences of children’s sense of self in relationships. Studied under a variety of labels, such as social cognitive views of motivation (Weiner, 1990), internal working models (Bretherton, 1985), relationship representations (Ryan, Stiller, & Lynch, 1994), classroom climate (Anderson, 1982), and perceived social support (Wentzel, 1999), the core notion is that a history of interactions with specific social partners leads children to construct generalized expectations about the nature of the self in relationships. Also referred to as a sense of relatedness (Connell, 1990), connectedness (Weiner, 1990), or belonging (Goodenow, 1993), these organized self-system processes include views about the self as lovable (or unworthy of love) and about the social world as trustworthy (or hostile). Children rely on these beliefs when predicting, interpreting, and responding to social exchanges, and these exchanges can in turn be used to confirm or revise children’s beliefs. A sense of relatedness may function as a motivational resource when children are faced with challenge or difficulties. In times of stress, children who experience trusted others as “backing them up” respond with more vigor, flexibility, and constructive actions. A sense of relatedness is the focus of the present study. Building on the growing body of work on the role of relationship representations, we attempted to explore the effects of a sense of relatedness, both generally and toward specific social partners, on children’s academic motivation and performance during middle childhood.

Avoidance of Intimacy: An Attachment Perspective

Abstract: A basic principle of attachment theory is that early attachment relationships with caregivers provide the prototype for later social relations. Working within an attachment framework, a new 4-group model of characteristic attachment styles in adulthood is proposed. In particular, two forms of adult avoidance of intimacy are differentiated: a fearful style that is characterized by a conscious desire for social contact which is inhibited by fears of its consequences, and a dismissing style that is characterized by a defensive denial of the need or desire for greater social contact. This distinction corresponds to two differing models of the self: people who fearfully avoid intimacy view themselves as undeserving of the love and support of others, and people who dismiss intimacy possess a positive model of the self that minimizes the subjective awareness of distress or social needs. The emotional and interpersonal ramifications of the two proposed styles of adult avoidance are discussed.

Childhood Experience, Interpersonal Development, and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Theory of Socialization.

Abstract: The concept of "reproductive strategy" drawn from the field of behavioral ecology is applied to the study of childhood experience and interpersonal development in order to develop an evolutionary theory of socialization. The theory is presented in terms of 2 divergent development pathways considered to promote reproductive success in the contexts in which they have arisen. One is characterized, in childhood, by a stressful rearing environment and the development of insecure attachments to parents and subsequent behavior problems; in adolescence by early pubertal development and precocious sexuality; and, in adulthood, by unstable pair bonds and limited investment in child rearing, whereas the other is characterized by the opposite. The relation between this theory and prevailing theories of socialization, specifically, attachment, social-learning, and discrete-emotions theory, is considered and research consistent with our evolutionary theory is reviewed. Finally, directions for future research are discussed.

Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks.

Abstract: Relatively few investigators have compared and contrasted the characteristics of different kinds of relationships in children's social networks. In the present study, 199 fifthand sixth-grade children completed Network of Relationships Inventories, which assessed 10 qualities of their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Consistent with Weiss's (1974) theory, children reported seeking different provisions from different individuals. Mothers and fathers were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, a sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Next to parents, grandparents were turned to most often for affection and enhancement of worth, and teachers were turned to most often for instrumental aid. Friends were the greatest source of companionship, and friends and mothers received the highest ratings of intimacy. Additionally, children reported having more power in their relationships with other children than in those with adults. Conflict was perceived as occurring most often in sibling relationships. Children reported being most satisfied with their relationships with mothers, and they thought that their relationships with mothers and fathers were most important. Discussion centers around the bases for the children's differentiations of their relationships and the implications for understanding social networks.