CAREER: Modeling the unique effects of verbal and physical contact on well-being

当人们无法与亲密的其他人保持联系时，他们的境况很差，这一点从大流行的社会孤立条件中变得很明显。朋友、家人和伴侣之间的日常身体接触的积极影响通常被认为是理所当然的，但当社会距离使人们在身体上疏远时，身体接触的重要性就变得重要起来。这个项目关注的是日常亲密身体接触的独特好处。这个项目的一个主要目的是测试为什么身体接触对个人和他们的关系有益。与言语表达感情不同的是，深情的身体接触对心理有什么影响？这项研究测试了身体和言语上的情感如何影响人们的心理模型(他们是否值得爱和关心，以及其他人是否值得支持和信任)以及他们的夫妻身份认同(他们是否从“我们”和“我们”的角度思考)。此外，这一研究项目还评估了由此导致的行为变化，这些变化增强了个人和人际关系的功能。该项目的第二个目标是测试人们心理模型的初始差异如何调节身体和语言情感的心理效果，以确定谁从亲密的身体接触中受益(或许谁不受益)。了解身体和言语情感背后的独特心理过程--如何以及对谁产生影响--将为帮助夫妻增进关系和个人幸福提供基础。这项研究项目使用多种方法，结合非实验(生态瞬时评估，观察者评级讨论)和实验设计，确定自然产生的身体情感和为期一周的身体情感干预的独特后果。指导这项研究的机械论模型假设：a)身体情感独特地将一种安全状态编码到现有的心理模型中，并独特地促进伴侣之间的自我他人重叠，这使得人们能够制定行为来增强他们的关系和个人幸福感。该项目结合了尖端的测量和分析战略，以评估身体影响的直接和长期后果。一个生态瞬间评估组件捕捉身体情感和自我他人重叠的日常水平。对夫妇讨论的时刻到时刻的分析揭示了身体情感(持续时间和强度的连续观察者评级)与安全心理模型(时间关联的连续情感安全感评级)之间的关联。此外，身体情感干预的后果正在使用敏感和客观的措施进行评估，包括一种隐含的依恋安全措施，该措施捕捉到心理模型的变化，以及对指导夫妇互动中发生的建设性关系行为的观察者评级。最后，这个研究项目通过分析相信和期望他人不能被信任的相当一部分人(回避依恋的人)来检验谁可能从身体上的爱中受益，或者可能不从身体上的爱中受益。这个项目的一个重要组成部分是致力于为学生提供发展方法和分析专业知识的机会。学生接受设计、实施和分析多方法研究的直接培训，这些研究结合了不同的测量、设计和评估时间框架。此外，该项目还支持开发和传播脚手架资源工具包，帮助本科生产生独立的研究提案。最终，这个项目促进了人们如何思考和驾驭他们的亲密关系的基本方面的知识，它可以为有效和可扩展的干预措施提供信息，以保护和提高个人和关系的福祉。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

People fare poorly when they are unable to remain in contact with close others, as has become clear from pandemic conditions of social isolation. The positive effects of routine physical contact between friends, family members, and relationship partners often are taken for granted, but the importance placed on physical contact was brought into focus when social distancing kept people physically apart. This project focuses attention on the unique benefits of everyday affectionate physical contact. A primary aim of this project is to test why physical contact is beneficial for individuals and their relationships. What are the psychological effects of affectionate physical contact that differentiate it from verbal expressions of affection? This research tests how physical and verbal affection influence the mental models people hold (beliefs about whether they are worthy of love and care and whether others are supportive and trustworthy) and their couple identity (whether they think in terms of "we" and "us"). Further, this program of research assesses resulting behavioral changes that enhance individual and relationship functioning. A second aim of this project is to test how initial differences in people's mental models modulate the psychological effects of physical and verbal affection to determine who benefits (and perhaps who does not benefit) from affectionate physical contact. Understanding the unique psychological processes underlying physical versus verbal affection – how and for whom effects occur – will provide a foundation to help couples enhance their relationships and personal well-being.This program of research uses a multi-method approach combining nonexperimental (ecological momentary assessments, observer-rated discussions) and experimental designs to identify the unique consequences of naturally occurring physical affection and a weeklong physical affection intervention. The mechanistic model guiding this research posits that a) physical affection uniquely encodes a state of security into existing mental models and uniquely fosters self-other overlap between partners, which b) enables people to enact behaviors that enhance their relationships and their personal well-being. This project incorporates cutting-edge measurement and analysis strategies to assess immediate and long-term consequences of physical affection. An ecological momentary assessment component captures daily levels of physical affection and self-other overlap. Moment-to-moment analyses of couple discussions reveal associations of physical affection (continuous observer ratings of duration and intensity) with secure mental models (time-linked continuous affect ratings of felt security). Additionally, the consequences of the physical affection intervention are being evaluated using sensitive and objective measures, including an implicit measure of attachment security that captures changes in mental models and observer ratings of constructive relationship behaviors that occur in guided couple interactions. Finally, this program of research examines who may or may not benefit from physical affection by analyzing the significant portion of people who believe and expect that others cannot be trusted (avoidantly-attached individuals). A significant component of this project is dedicated to providing opportunities for students to develop methodological and analytical expertise. Students receive direct training on designing, conducting, and analyzing multi-method studies that combine different measures, designs, and assessment timeframes. In addition, the project supports the development and dissemination of scaffolded resource toolkits that help undergraduate students produce independent research proposals. Ultimately, this project advances knowledge on fundamental aspects of how people think about and navigate their close relationships, and it can inform effective and scalable interventions to protect and enhance personal and relational well-being.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.