A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.

The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.

A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment

To facilitate a multidimensional approach to empathy the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) includes 4 subscales: Perspective-Taking (PT) Fantasy (FS) Empathic Concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD). The aim of the present study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of these 4 subscales. Hypothesized relationships among the IRI subscales between the subscales and measures of other psychological constructs (social functioning self-esteem emotionality and sensitivity to others) and between the subscales and extant empathy measures were examined. Study subjects included 677 male and 667 female students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes at the University of Texas. The IRI scales not only exhibited the predicted relationships among themselves but also were related in the expected manner to other measures. Higher PT scores were consistently associated with better social functioning and higher self-esteem; in contrast Fantasy scores were unrelated to these 2 characteristics. High EC scores were positively associated with shyness and anxiety but negatively linked to egotism. The most substantial relationships in the study involved the PD scale. PD scores were strongly linked with low self-esteem and poor interpersonal functioning as well as a constellation of vulnerability uncertainty and fearfulness. These findings support a multidimensional approach to empathy by providing evidence that the 4 qualities tapped by the IRI are indeed separate constructs each related in specific ways to other psychological measures.

Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach.

This article explores the possibility that romantic love is an attachment process--a biosocial process by which affectional bonds are formed between adult lovers, just as affectional bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Key components of attachment theory, developed by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others to explain the development of affectional bonds in infancy, were translated into terms appropriate to adult romantic love. The translation centered on the three major styles of attachment in infancy--secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent--and on the notion that continuity of relationship style is due in part to mental models (Bowlby's "inner working models") of self and social life. These models, and hence a person's attachment style, are seen as determined in part by childhood relationships with parents. Two questionnaire studies indicated that relative prevalence of the three attachment styles is roughly the same in adulthood as in infancy, the three kinds of adults differ predictably in the way they experience romantic love, and attachment style is related in theoretically meaningful ways to mental models of self and social relationships and to relationship experiences with parents. Implications for theories of romantic love are discussed, as are measurement problems and other issues related to future tests of the attachment perspective.

/pdf/romantic-love-conceptualized-as-an-attachment-process-1v0qssoz83.pdf

Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process

In this article, I review the diverse ways in which perceived self-efficacy contributes to cognitive development and functioning. Perceived self-efficacy exerts its influence through four major processes. They include cognitive, motivational, affective, and selection processes. There are three different levels at which perceived self-efficacy operates as an important contributor to academic development. Students' beliefs in their efficacy to regulate their own learning and to master academic activities determine their aspirations, level of motivation, and academic accomplishments. Teachers' beliefs in their personal efficacy to motivate and promote learning affect the types of learning environments they create and the level of academic progress their students achieve. Faculties' beliefs in their collective instructional efficacy contribute significantly to their schools' level of academic achievement. Student body characteristics influence school-level achievement more strongly by altering faculties' beli...

https://www.itma.vt.edu/courses/tel/resources/bandura(1993)_self-efficacy.pdf

Perceived Self-Efficacy in Cognitive Development and Functioning

In this article I evaluated the psychometric properties of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3). Using data from prior studies of college students, nurses, teachers, and the elderly, analyses of the reliability, validity, and factor structure of this new version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale were conducted. Results indicated that the measure was highly reliable, both in terms of internal consistency (coefficient alpha ranging from .89 to .94) and test-retest reliability over a 1-year period (r = .73). Convergent validity for the scale was indicated by significant correlations with other measures of loneliness. Construct validity was supported by significant relations with measures of the adequacy of the individual's interpersonal relationships, and by correlations between loneliness and measures of health and well-being. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a model incorporating a global bipolar loneliness factor along with two method factors reflecting direction of item wording provided a very goo...

UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure

The development of an adequate assessment instrument is a necessary prerequisite for social psychological research on loneliness. Two studies provide methodological refinement in the measurement of loneliness. Study 1 presents a revised version of the self-report UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale, designed to counter the possible effects of response bias in the original scale, and reports concurrent validity evidence for the revised measure. Study 2 demonstrates that although loneliness is correlated with measures of negative affect, social risk taking, and affiliative tendencies, it is nonetheless a distinct psychological experience.

The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and Discriminant Validity Evidence

Research on loneliness has been hindered by the lack of a simple and reliable assessment technique. The development of the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a short, 20-item general measure of loneliness is reported. The measure has high internal consistency(coefficient alpha = .96) and atest-retest correlation over a two-month period of .73. Concurrent and preliminary construct validity are indicated by correlations with self-reports of current loneliness and related emotional states, and by volunteering for a "loneliness clinic."

Developing a measure of loneliness.

Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching.

We developed a 12-item, short form of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) across 6 studies. In Study 1, we examined the reliability and factor structure of the measure. In Studies 2 and 3, we cross-validated the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short form measure; whereas in Study 4, we examined test-retest reliability over a 1-month period. In Studies 5 and 6, we further assessed the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short version of the ECR when administered as a stand-alone instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that 2 factors, labeled Anxiety and Avoidance, provided a good fit to the data after removing the influence of response sets. We found validity to be equivalent for the short and the original versions of the ECR across studies. Finally, the results were comparable when we embedded the short form within the original version of the ECR and when we administered it as a stand-alone measure.

https://depts.washington.edu/uwcssc/sites/default/files//hw00/d40/uwcssc/sites/default/files/Experiences%20in%20Close%20Relationships%20Scale_0.pdf

Daniel W. Russell

Papers

UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure

The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and Discriminant Validity Evidence

Developing a measure of loneliness.

Type of social support and specific stress: Toward a theory of optimal matching.

The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-Short Form: Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure