When closeness matters in dating relationships: or does it?

Abstract

Research has shown that spouses attribute a greater proportion of responsibility and blame for conflict to their partner relative to themselves. Yet, the responsibility and blame attributions of dating individuals have not been examined. One goal of the present study was to investigate the responsibility and blame attributions of heterosexual dating individuals for a particular conflict scenario. A second goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of closeness on responsibility and blame attributions. Based on the tenets of self-expansion theory, it was predicted that closeness would attenuate partner responsibility and blame attributions. That is, the more individuals had included aspects of their partner into their self-concept, the more likely they should be to distribute the responsibility and blame equally among self and partner. Lastly, a third goal of the present study was to examine the effects closeness has on conflict resolution strategies of dating individuals. It was predicted that closer individuals would favor constructive conflict resolution strategies, whereas less close individuals would favor destructive conflict resolution strategies. A total of 245 undergraduates who were involved in a heterosexual dating relationship completed a series of questionnaires after reading a hypothetical conflict scenario. Four conflict scenarios were developed such that either the self or the partner instigated a conflict that would, or would not, have a negative impact on the overall relationship. Results indicated that dating individuals attributed a greater proportion of responsibility and blame to the person who instigated the conflict (partner or self) than to the other person in the relationship. Closeness, however, was not found to attenuate partner responsibility and blame attributions, but was found to affect conflict resolution strategies of dating individuals. As predicted, closer individuals were found to favor constructive resolution strategies, while less close individuals were found to favor destructive conflict resolution strategies. Suggestions for future research are discussed in terms of theories of relationship development and the role responsibility and blame attributions play in same-sex relationships.