Implicit Dependency Regulation: Self-Esteem, Relationship Closeness, and Implicit Evaluations of Close Others

Authors

Tracy DeHart, Loyola University ChicagoFollow
Brett Pelham, University at Buffalo
Sandra Murray, State University of New York

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Publication Title

Social Cognition

Volume

22

Issue

1

Abstract

We argue that people possess implicit evaluations of close others and that dependency regulation processes moderate these implicit evaluations. Study 1 revealed that implicit evaluations of romantic partners for people with high explicit self-esteem were not contingent on how things were currently going in their relationships. In contrast, the implicit evaluations of romantic partners for people with low explicit self-esteem were contingent on how things were currently going in their relationships. That is, people with low self-esteem liked their partners’ name letters only if the relationship was currently going well. Study 2 revealed a conceptually similar pattern of results for implicit evaluations of people’s best friends. We suggest that these findings reflect an unconscious form of dependency regulation.

Comments

Author Posting. © Guilford Press, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of Guilford Press for personal use, not for redistribution. The article was published in Social Cognition, Volume 22, Issue 1, 2004, http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/soco.22.1.126.30986

Recommended Citation

DeHart, T., Pelham, B., & Murray, S. (2004). Implicit Dependency Regulation: Self-Esteem, Relationship Closeness, and Implicit Evaluations of Close Others. Social Cognition, 22(1), 126-146. doi:10.1521/soco.22.1.126.30986

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Copyright Statement

© Guilford Press, 2004.