| Popis: |
Power, the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts at influence, has implications for a wide variety of individual- and relationship-level outcomes. One potential mechanism through which power may be associated with these various outcomes is motivation orientations. High power has been linked to greater approach oriented motivation and low power has been linked to greater avoidance-orientated motivation. However, current research has mostly relied on self-report or artificially created relationships (and the power dynamics therein) in the lab to measure the associations between power and motivation orientations. By utilizing a framework provided by the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat, the current study sought to examine how power is related physiological responses indicative of psychological challenge (i.e., approach) and threat (i.e., avoidance) during extra-dyadic problem discussions between romantic partners. The primary hypothesis that higher actor power would be associated with more approach-oriented challenge and less avoidanceoriented threat was not supported. However, we found that for disclosers with high-power partners, greater actor power was associated with physiological responses consistent withmore avoidance-oriented threat and less approach-oriented challenge. Additionally, we found support for our secondary hypothesis that high actor power was associated with self-reported appraisals more consistent with approach-oriented challenge. This research is the first to examine the relationship between power and in vivo indices of challenge and threat during interactions between couples and advances our understanding of how power elicits motivational orientations and influences the stress response system by highlighting the importance of situational attributes that may undermine power during self-disclosure with a high-power partner. |
