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Risking the social bond: motivations to defend or to repair when dealing with displeasing information

Løkkeberg, Stine Torp, Gausel, Nicolay, Giner-Sorolla, Roger, Leach, Colin Wayne (2021) Risking the social bond: motivations to defend or to repair when dealing with displeasing information. Current Psychology, . ISSN 1046-1310. E-ISSN 1936-4733. (doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01678-8) (KAR id:87844)

Abstract

Our choice to withhold or disclose displeasing information to another can motivate concern about damage to our social bonds. In two experiments, using two different samples of university students in Norway, (N = 174 and N = 217), we found that withholding unpleasant information led to greater concern for self-image and social image than did disclosure. We also found that withholding elicited more shame, inferiority and rejection than disclosure, and in Experiment 2, withholding elicited more defensive motivation than disclosure. Consistent with our model, defensive motivation was mostly explained by concern for social image, whereas relationship repair motivation was mostly explained by concern for self-image and felt shame. We discuss implications for the literature on shame and social bonds.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s12144-021-01678-8
Uncontrolled keywords: displeasing; withholding; disclosing; shame; rejection; repair; defensiveness
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders: University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
Depositing User: Roger Giner-Sorolla
Date Deposited: 30 Apr 2021 10:33 UTC
Last Modified: 14 Apr 2023 10:41 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/87844 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Giner-Sorolla, Roger.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6690-8842
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