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Relationship Ecology and Negative Communication in Romantic Relationships: A Self-Evaluation Maintenance Perspective

University of Georgia, heather{at}sysanalyst.com

Steven R. H. Beach

University of Georgia, srhbeach{at}uga.cc.uga.edu

Abraham Tesser

University of Georgia

The present study examined the effect of performance feedback on couple’s problem-solving interactions. A couple’s performance ecology was defined in terms of self-evaluation maintenance theory. A performance ecology is balanced when self outperforms partner on dimensions relevant to self but irrelevant to partner and when partner outperforms self on dimensions relevant to partner but irrelevant to self. As predicted, a linear trend was identified between ecology level of imbalance and negative behavior. The results indicate the potential importance of examining the performance ecology in romantic relationships.

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