If You Shared My Happiness, You Are Part of Me: Capitalization and the Experience of Couple Identity. (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pagani, Ariela F.; Parise, Miriam; Donato, Silvia; Gable, Shelly L.; Schoebi, Dominik
• Is Part Of: Personality & social psychology bulletin. Volume 46:Number 2(2020)
• Page Start: 258
• Page End: 269
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: capitalization -- couple identity -- relationship quality -- daily diary -- longitudinal design; Personality -- Periodicals; Social psychology -- Periodicals; 302
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167219854449
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-1672

Abstract

The way in which individuals react to a partner's disclosure of positive news (capitalization response) is associated with relational well-being. Two studies analyzed the role of couple identity in explaining the association between perceived capitalization responses and relationship quality. A daily diary study ( n = 90 couples) revealed that on days people perceived their partners' responses as active-constructive, they reported higher levels of couple identity. A longitudinal two-wave study ( n = 169 couples) showed that couple identity mediated the link between active-constructive (for both women and men) and passive-destructive responses (only for men) and relationship quality. Overall, our findings suggest that the experience of the partner's involvement and support in good times contribute to a sense of couple identity, which over the long turn, is associated with partners' relational well-being.