Perceived Partner Responsiveness
The sense that a partner understands, values and supports who we are.
What it is
The idea, associated with Harry T. Reis, that relationships grow closer when people feel understood, respected and cared for. In diary studies by Jean-Philippe Laurenceau, Lisa Feldman Barrett and Paula Pietromonaco, perceived responsiveness carried part of the link between disclosure and intimacy.
In effect
In the article on reciprocity and self-disclosure, it is the part of an exchange that matters as much as the disclosure itself: meeting a feeling with a sign of understanding.
What it does not say
It describes what a person perceives, not what the partner intends. The diary studies show that it carried part of the link, not all of it.
Sources
- Laurenceau, J.-P., Barrett, L. F., & Pietromonaco, P. R. (1998). Intimacy as an interpersonal process: The importance of self-disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness in interpersonal exchanges. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 1238-1251.