8/18/2019 Intimacy is Argued to Be an Important Influence on Relationship Quality

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  Intimacy is argued to be an important influence on relationship quality, and its presence in

relationships gives a sense of ‘belonging’ to the individuals involved (Sprecher & Hendrick,

!!"#$ %hen intimacy occurs ith another person it produces positive affect states, such as

happiness, feelings of closeness and being validated and cared for ('eis & Shaver, )**#$

+onversely, a lack of intimacy in relationships can lead to feelings of depression, lo

relationship satisfaction, and loneliness (Sprecher & Hendrick, !!"#$ espite the evidence that

intimacy is associated ith many benefits, people differ in the e-tent to hich they desire

intimacy in their relationships (.artholome, ))!#$ /ttachment theory has recently been

 proposed as a theoretical frameork to e-plain individual differences in e-periencing intimacy

(0rager, !!!#$ .olby ()*!# proposed that the early care given to an infant is internalised to

 produce cognitive representations of the self and others, and these ‘orking models’ continue to

influence the interpretation of behaviour in interpersonal relationships across the lifespan$ %eis

()*# argued that important changes occur in adolescent relationships ith regard to both

intimacy and attachment1 and that peer relationships become of increasing importance$ .oth

adolescents and adults believe closeness, sharing and revealing private information are the most

important aspects of intimacy (2onsour, ))#$ /ccording to 'eis and Shaver’s ()**#

‘transactional’ model, intimacy is a process here one person ‘discloses’ information, and the

listener responds in a ay hich produces feelings of validation and support$ /t each point in

this process both partner’s goals, e-pectations and beliefs regarding interpersonal behaviourinfluence ho each interaction is perceived and interpreted$ 'esearchers (e$g$, 3rabill & 4erns,

!!!1 Sprecher & Hendrick, !!"# have no adopted the model proposed by 'eis and Shaver

()**# by using multiple measures of intimacy to capture the different processes involved$ /

central concept of attachment theory is that orking models influence the perceptions one holds

of the behaviour of others in interpersonal e-periences$ 5he model proposed by 'eis and Shaver

()**# allos the specific stages of the intimacy process, here orking models of other and

self can influence an individual’s motivation for intimacy and the interpretation of a partner’s

 behaviour, to be identified$ /ttachment orking models of other and self are proposed to have

differential effects on aspects of intimacy such as self6disclosure, receiving disclosure, intimacy

as an interpersonal goal, and perceptions of partner responsiveness$ 7or an e-change to be

 perceived as intimate one person must disclose revealing personal information about the self to

the listener$ 5he discloser is likely to be influenced by their orking model of other in that

8/18/2019 Intimacy is Argued to Be an Important Influence on Relationship Quality

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individuals ho believe that others are dependable and trustorthy are more likely to disclose

important self relevant information$ 8n the other hand, individuals ith a negative vie of others

ill be likely to disclose less to reduce the risk of re9ection$ Individuals ho e-pect others to

respond to their feelings in a supportive, as opposed to unsupportive, manner are likely to

disclose, secure in the belief that they ill be understood$ Intimate relationships also involve

reciprocal disclosure of personal information$ :mpirical studies have confirmed a greater

tendency of secure individuals, ho have a positive model of self and other and greater care

giver capacities, to receive disclosure from others (3rabill & 4erns, !!!# than attachment styles

ith a negative model of self$ 2ikulincer and colleagues (!!# found global measures of

attachment dimensions ere associated ith differential subsequent feelings of empathy and

 personal distress in reactions to other’s problem situations$ In particular, the model of self as

 positively related to empathic feelings$ Sanderson et al$ (!!;# have investigated the effect of

intimacy ‘goals’ on behaviour$ Individuals ho have high intimacy goals, focus on intimacy and

engage in patterns of behaviour that are conducive to creating intimacy in their relationships,

rather than the pursuit of other goals such as self6e-ploration or independence $ :-pectations

about the reliability and trustorthiness of others as conceptualised by attachment orking

model of other may provide an e-planation for individual differences in intimacy goals$

Individuals ith an e-pectation that others ill be available and responsive, characteristics of

secure attachment, are more likely to value and desire intimacy in their relationships$