Authors
Francesca Righetti, Madoka Kumashiro, Sarah B Campbell
Publication date
2014/9
Journal
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume
40
Issue
9
Pages
1107-1118
Publisher
Sage Publications
Description
When people pursue important goals, they are often surrounded by close others who could provide help and support for the achievement of these goals. The present work investigated whether people are more likely to be open to such interpersonal goal support from a romantic partner when they perceive their goals as being easy versus difficult. Using a multiple methods approach, three studies revealed that, compared with the pursuit of easy goals, when people pursue difficult goals, they are less likely to seek out and be open to support from their romantic partner. Studies 2 and 3 revealed that the effect of goal difficulty on openness to support was partially mediated by loss in self-efficacy. Finally, Study 3 revealed that lack of openness to support can have detrimental long-term consequences for the relationship, as it undermines relationship well-being.
Total citations
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Scholar articles
F Righetti, M Kumashiro, SB Campbell - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2014