IMPACT OF DOMINANCE AND NURTURANCE ON ACCOMMODATION IN

IMPACT OF DOMINANCE AND NURTURANCE ON ACCOMMODATION IN HETEROSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. Brunel University London & Deletha P. Hardin The University of Tampa… 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 1

…with Zeeshan Aslam Dominique Cameron-Quest Danielle Clahar-Raymond Kelly Dieu Winifred Appiah Frimpong Sophia Gordon Hana Jiryes-Johnson Marya Karimzada Zuzanna Krzemien Joshua Maguire Ahlam Malfouz Saira Mohammad Sara Nasir Terasa O’Halloran Ilana Sichel Roshana Wickremaratchi Abigail Williams Abigail Wright Binnur Yildirim Brunel University London 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 2

INTRODUCTION: HARRY STACK SULLIVAN’S INTERPERSONAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY • Harry Stack Sullivan’s interpersonal theory: personality is the "relatively enduring pattern of recurrent interpersonal situations which characterize a human life“ (1953, p. 111). • Leary (1957): interpersonal theory suggests that certain traits are especially likely to be reflected in individuals’ behavior toward relationship partners. 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 3

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DOMINANCE AND NURTURANCE AS TWO MAJOR INTERPERSONAL TRAITS • Wiggins (1979): conceptually, and demonstrated empirically, dominance (i. e. , individuals’ tendency to behave in ways that benefit themselves) and nurturance (i. e. , individuals’ tendency to behave in ways that benefit persons other than, or in addition to, themselves) are two major interpersonal traits. 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 5

CLEAR HYPOTHESIS REGARDING NURTURANCE AS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE PREDICTOR OF ACCOMMODATION • Kelley (1983): nurturance is a trait that promotes “commonality of interest” (p. 16) between individuals and their partners. 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 6

CLEAR HYPOTHESIS REGARDING NURTURANCE AS A SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE PREDICTOR OF ACCOMMODATION • Hypothesis: nurturance would be a significant positive predictor of accommodation (i. e. , individuals’ response to partners’ anger/criticism with relationshipmaintaining, not relationship-threatening, behavior; see Rusbult et al. , 1991). 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 7

RESEARCH QUESTION REGARDING DOMINANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF ACCOMMODATION • Kelley (1983): dominance is a trait that “shift[s] the control from… joint to individual control” (p. 17), such that individuals gain control over their partners. • Individual control can cut both ways in terms of accommodation, promoting “threats” as well as “promises. ” 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 8

RESEARCH QUESTION REGARDING DOMINANCE AS A PREDICTOR OF ACCOMMODATION • Research question: How, if at all, does dominance affect accommodation? 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 9

METHOD: PARTICIPANTS Sample 1 • 323 individuals • 124 men, 192 women, seven individuals who did not report their gender • Average = 23. 17 years (SD = 7. 70) • 51. 1% were of European descent • [final N = 289] 24/07/2016 Sample 2 • 448 individuals • 155 men, 284 women, nine individuals who did not report their gender • Average = 28. 92 years (SD = 13. 08) • 51. 3% were of European descent • [final N = 372] Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 10

METHOD: MATERIALS In both samples, participants completed: • 32 -item International Personality Item Pool. Interpersonal Circle (IPIP-IPC; Markey & Markey, 2009) – measure the interpersonal traits of dominance and nurturance – reliabilities for the eight 4 -item subscales generally were. 60 or higher. • 12 -item accommodation inventory (Rusbult et al. , 1991) – reliabilities for the four 3 -item subscales consistently were 24/07/2016. 60 or higher. Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 11

METHOD: PROCEDURE • Prior to conducting the present study, the first author obtained ethics approval from the Psychology Ethics Committee within the first author’s academic institution. • Participants were recruited within the greater London area; both samples constituted convenience samples. • Participation was voluntary; no financial or other incentives were offered to participants. 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 12

RESULTS: HYPOTHESIS SUPPORTED REGARDING NURTURANCE AS SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE PREDICTOR OF ACCOMMODATION • Results of structural equation analyses (using LISREL; Joreskog & Sorbom, 2012) indicated that, in both samples, the higher-order dimension of nurturance was a significant positive predictor of the higherorder dimension of accommodation. • Hypothesis regarding nurturance was supported. 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 13

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RESULTS: RESEARCH QUESTION ANSWERED REGARDING DOMINANCE AS INCONSISTENTLY RELATTED TO ACCOMMODATION • Results of structural equation analyses also indicated that, in Sample 2 only, the higher-order dimension of dominance was a significant negative predictor of the higher-order dimension of accommodation. • [In Sample 1, the effect of dominance on accommodation was near zero. ] 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 15

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CONCLUSION: INTERPERSONAL TRAITS AS RELEVANT TO UNDERSTANDING A MAJOR INTERDEPENDENCE PROCESS • Interpersonal traits of dominance and nurturance, derived from interpersonal theory (Sullivan, 1953), are relevant to understanding a major interdependence process from the standpoint of interdependence theory (Kelley, 1979; Kelley & Thibaut, 1978; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959) – namely, accommodation. 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 17

THANKS! 24/07/2016 Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. 18