Invited Talk
What Makes Close Relationships Good and Good for You?
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Margaret S. Clark
Yale University |
Having close relationships is good for our health and ability to reach goals. The evidence is clear. But what is a good relationship? How does having one promote mental and physical health as well as progress toward goals? The answers to these questions are much less clear. First, a definition of a high quality relationship expressed not in terms of static characteristics but rather in terms of the presence of a set of dynamic interpersonal processes will be set forward. All are based on mutual trust and caring. Some center on caring for the self and making it easy for the partner to care for one. Some center on providing non-contingent caring for one's partner. Some center on creating and focusing upon enjoyable joint activities and products in which thoughts of the self and partner entities fade into the background. It will be argued that beyond trust and caring the ability to flexibly move between self-focus, partner-focus and a focus on emergent activities and products that arise from the interaction of self and partner is crucial to establishing good relationships. Second, a set of pathways which may lead from the sorts of good relationship proocesses discussed to mental and physical health as well as making progress toward goals will be suggested along with some preliminary evidence supporting the existence of these pathways.
2010 Program Committee
Tyler S. Lorig, Washington and Lee University (Chair); Nalini Ambady, Tufts University; Abigail Baird, Vassar College; Sian Beilock, University of Chicago; Daniel Klein, Stony Brook University, The State University of New York; Richard Lewis, Pomona College; Kris Preacher, University of Kansas; Deidra Schleicher, Purdue University; Timothy Strauman, Duke University; Tracy Zinn, James Madison University