Directive and Interpretive Functions of World Beliefs in Dyadic Interaction: Providing and Perceiving Social Support

The current research examines the functions of world beliefs in the context of observed social support interactions between romantic partners and their implications for affective experience and psychological well-being. Both members of romantic couples (N = 235 couples) discussed personal problems while being recorded. When listening to their partner's problems, participants who saw the world as Enticing (i.e., full of rewards and worth exploring) were more responsive to their partner's bids for support. When discussing their problems, participants who saw the world as generally Good and Enticing perceived that their partner was more supportive, which predicted more positive mood at the end of the conversation and greater well-being a year later. These results provide novel evidence for behavioral and interpretive functions of world beliefs in the context of social support interactions and suggest that world beliefs may influence affective experience and well-being through their impact on support perceptions.