Do inflammation and relational motivation coordinate having better sex? The interplay between C-reactive protein and relational approach motivation on sexual well-being.

Much evidence on heightened inflammation and social behavior focuses on social withdrawal. Building on recent theory (Muscatell and Inagaki, 2021), we focused instead on the socially affiliative experience of sex. We investigated the interplay between immunology and motivation on sexual well-being among 158 individuals in romantic relationships.

Higher interleukin-6 is associated with greater momentary social connection in close relationships in daily life.

Recent evidence has documented associations between higher levels of inflammation and social approach behaviors toward close others in laboratory-based tasks. Yet it is unknown if this translates to interactions with close others in daily life. Given that momentary experiences of social connection have both relational and health consequences, this is a critical gap in our knowledge.

Interparental Positivity Spillover Theory: How Parents' Positive Relational Interactions Influence Children.

Interparental interactions have an important influence on child well-being and development. Yet prior theory and research have primarily focused on interparental conflict as contributing to child maladjustment, which leaves out the critical question of how interparental positive interactions-such as expressed gratitude, capitalization, and shared laughter-may benefit child growth and development. In this article, we integrate theory and research in family, relationship, and affective science to propose a new framework for understanding how the heretofore underexamined positive interparental interactions influence children: interparental positivity spillover theory (IPST).

Experienced gratitude is a catalyst for upward spirals of perceived partner responsiveness.

Considering the role of responsiveness in interpersonal processes has opened new frontiers for the science of gratitude. This article focuses on how responsive behavior feeds into experiences of gratitude, and how the emotion of gratitude provides fuel to catalyze perceptions of the grateful person's responsiveness, not only to the kind benefactor but also to incidental witnesses. We discuss the implications of a likely growth cycle of mutual responsiveness for dyads and groups.

The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scales probably do not validly measure need frustration.

In basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), the separable constructs of need satisfaction and need frustration are theorized as pivotally related to psychopathology and broader aspects of well-being. The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scales (BPNSFS; Chen et al., 2015) have rapidly emerged as the dominant self-report measure in the BPNT domain, with translated versions available in a wide range of languages and a plethora of versions adapted for specific populations and life contexts.

Meta-analytic evidence that attachment insecurity is associated with less frequent experiences of discrete positive emotions.

Objective: Individual differences in attachment insecurity can have important implications for experiences of positive emotions. However, existing research on the link between attachment insecurity and positive emotional experiences has typically used a composite measure of positive emotions, overlooking the potential importance of differentiating discrete emotions.

Method: We conducted a meta-analysis of 10 cross-sectional samples (N = 3215), examining how attachment insecurity is associated with self-reported frequency of experiencing positive emotions, with a distinction made between more social (i.

Everyday co-presence with a romantic partner is associated with lower C-reactive protein.

Social relationships are an important driver of health, and inflammation has been proposed as a key neurobiological mechanism to explain this effect. Behavioral researchers have focused on social relationship quality to further explain the association, yet recent research indicates that relationship quality may not be as robust a predictor as previously thought. Here, building on animal models of social bonds and recent theory on close relationships, we instead investigated merely being in the physical presence of one's romantic partner.

Gratitude expressions improve teammates' cardiovascular stress responses.

Gratitude expressions play a key role in strengthening relationships, suggesting gratitude might promote adaptive responses during teamwork. However, little research has examined gratitude's impact on loose tie relationships (like coworkers), and similarly little research has examined how gratitude impacts physiological stress responding or biological responses more generally. The present research uses an ecologically valid, dyadic teamwork paradigm to test how gratitude expressions impact in vivo physiological challenge and threat stress responding, assessed via a challenge-threat index composed of cardiac output and total peripheral resistance.

Better together: Integrative analysis of behavioral gratitude in close relationships using the three-factorial interpersonal emotions (TIE) framework.

Several lines of research document various relational and personal benefits of gratitude and its key behavioral manifestation, gratitude. Integrating these lines, we propose the three-factorial interpersonal emotions (TIE) analytical framework, using two directions of gratitude behavior-expression and receipt of the expression-perspectives of both individuals reporting those behaviors-the acting self and the observing partner-and two temporal scopes to examine gratitude-the dispositional and the situational (operationalized as one's 2-week average thanking behavior and daily variations around the average, respectively). These describe eight (2 × 2 × 2) prototypical aspects of behavioral manifestations of interpersonal emotions such as expressed gratitude.

New parental positivity: The role of positive emotions in promoting relational adjustment during the transition to parenthood.

The transition to parenthood can be a challenging time for new parent couples, as a baby comes with changes and stress that can negatively influence new parents' relational functioning in the form of reduced relationship satisfaction and disrupted partner social support. Yet, the transition to parenthood is also often experienced as a joyous time. In this research, we draw on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions to suggest that new parents' positive emotions are not merely an enjoyable distraction, but are instead central to their relational adjustment.

Perceived Partner Responsiveness Forecasts Behavioral Intimacy as Measured by Affectionate Touch.

Affectionate touch is an important behavior in close relationships throughout the lifespan. Research has investigated the relational and individual psychological and physical benefits of affectionate touch, but the situational factors that give rise to it have been overlooked. Theorizing from the interpersonal process model of intimacy, the current studies tested whether perceived partner responsiveness forecasts affectionate touch in romantic couples.

Does Meditation Training Influence Social Approach and Avoidance Goals? Evidence from a Randomized Intervention Study of Midlife Adults.

Objective: Social approach and avoidance goals - which refer to individual differences in the desire to pursue rewards versus avoid negative experiences in social relationships - have numerous implications for the health and quality of social relationships. Although endorsement of these goals largely arises from people's pre-dispositions towards approach and avoidance, in this research we proposed that meditation training has the potential to beneficially influence the extent to which people adopt approach and avoidance goals. Specifically, we hypothesized that individuals who were randomly assigned to receive training in mindfulness or loving-kindness meditation would report differences in social approach goals and avoidance goals, as compared to those in a wait-list control condition, and that these effects would be mediated by differences in positive and negative emotions.

Enjoying the sweet moments: Does approach motivation upwardly enhance reactivity to positive interpersonal processes?

In intimate relationships, greater social approach motivation is associated with a host of personal and relational benefits. Why is this the case? Although previous research suggests approach motivation primarily influences relational outcomes via increased exposure to positive relational events, in this research, based on approach-avoidance motivational theory, we revive the upward reactivity hypothesis, which suggests approach motivation upwardly enhances people's affective and relational experiences in response to positive social events. Specifically, we hypothesized that people with greater social approach motivation would react more positively to positively valenced interactions with their partner, and that this would occur even when accounting for their global levels of key outcomes.

When does activism benefit well-being? Evidence from a longitudinal study of Clinton voters in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Contrary to the expectations of many, Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A new perspective on the social functions of emotions: Gratitude and the witnessing effect.

We propose a novel theoretical and empirical approach to studying group-level social functions of emotions and use it to make new predictions about social consequences of gratitude. Here, we document the : In social groups, emotional expressions are often observed by third-party witnesses-family members, coworkers, friends, and neighbors. Emotional expressions coordinate group living by changing third-party witnesses' behavior toward first-party emotion expressers and toward second-party people to whom emotion is expressed.

On thanksgiving: Cultural variation in gratitude demonstrations and perceptions between the United States and Taiwan.

We propose a methodological paradigm for testing the functions of an emotion using culture. Taking gratitude as an example, we predicted that, for gratitude to function, people in Confucian cultures would use self-improvement (cultivating personal skills and living up to social roles) to communicate gratitude, whereas people in individualist cultures would use bodily contact. Indeed, whereas Taiwanese (Confucian) and American (individualist) participants showed gratitude similarly via verbal acknowledgment and reciprocating kindness (Studies 1 and 2), participants from both countries also demonstrated their uniquely hypothesized respective cultural behaviors when showing gratitude, prioritizing such behaviors more in daily life than did participants from the comparison culture (Study 1).

: Rationale, design, and implementation of a randomized control trial for young adults.

Research shows that daily experiences of awe, curiosity, gratitude, joy, and love can put the average person on a trajectory of growth, success, and positive social connection, and can also prevent those who are suffering from following a downward spiral. Nonetheless, data show that most people are not functioning at optimal capacity. In fact, just 20% of people may be categorized as "flourishing," with the vast majority of people merely "languishing," at risk for mental health issues, or with clinical levels of mental health concerns.

Loving-kindness meditation slows biological aging in novices: Evidence from a 12-week randomized controlled trial.

Combinations of multiple meditation practices have been shown to reduce the attrition of telomeres, the protective caps of chromosomes (Carlson et al., 2015). Here, we probed the distinct effects on telomere length (TL) of mindfulness meditation (MM) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM).

Oxytocin and Social Bonds: The Role of Oxytocin in Perceptions of Romantic Partners' Bonding Behavior.

In this research, we tested hypotheses about the role of oxytocin in adult human bonding. Inspired by revisiting the research on pair bonding in microtine voles that fueled psychologists' interest in the role of oxytocin in social life, we drew on recent theory from affective and relationship science to identify a well-defined bonding context for human romantic relationships. We then paired these behaviors and subjective psychological responses with a measure of naturally circulating oxytocin.

Influences of oxytocin and respiratory sinus arrhythmia on emotions and social behavior in daily life.

The literature concerning biological influences on positive social behavior shows that, in nonthreatening contexts, tonic oxytocin (OT) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) each predict positive, affiliative behaviors toward certain others and are associated with positive health outcomes. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the degree to which the positive affiliative correlates of OT and RSA can be distinguished when observed at the level of everyday life events. A sample of midlife adults (N = 73) provided tonic indices of these biological characteristics, as well as perceptions of a variety of common life events alongside reports of their emotions during those events.

Positive Psychology in Context: Effects of Expressing Gratitude in Ongoing Relationships Depend on Perceptions of Enactor Responsiveness.

Recent correlational evidence implicates gratitude in personal and relational growth, for both members of ongoing relationships. From these observations, it would be tempting to prescribe interpersonal gratitude exercises to improve relationships. In this experiment, couples were randomly assigned to express gratitude over a month, or to a relationally-active control condition.