Empathic Accuracy in Close Relationships

Ickes, William; Hodges, Sara D.

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398694.013.0016

Cited by 95 publications

(148 citation statements)

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“…Ickes & Simpson (1997) proposed that higher empathic accuracy is not always associated with more favorable outcomes. Interpersonal encounters are fraught with "danger zones" where the private feelings of others are potentially threatening.…”

Section: Dispositions As Moderators Of Associations Between Emotionalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

Côté

2014

Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav.

233

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Emotional intelligence (EI) is a set of abilities that pertain to emotions and emotional information. EI has attracted considerable attention among organizational scholars, and research has clarified the definition of EI and illuminated its role in organizations. Here, I define EI and describe the abilities that constitute it. I evaluate two approaches to measuring EI: the performance-based and self-report approaches. I review the findings about how EI is associated with work criteria, organizing the findings according to three overarching models: the validity generalization, situation-specific, and moderator models. The support for the latter two models suggests that the organizational context and employee dispositions should be considered in order to fully explain how EI relates to criteria. I identify controversies in this area, describe how findings address some controversies, and propose future research to address those that remain. I conclude by listing best practices for future research on the role of EI in organizations.

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Section: Dispositions As Moderators Of Associations Between Emotionalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

Côté

2014

Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav.

233

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The general aim of the current study was to examine the three principal questions concerning empathic accuracy in intimate relationships that form the basis for the core assumptions of the empathic accuracy model developed by Ickes and Simpson (1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, a partner may introduce such a topic, and initiate a potentially threatening 2 interaction. In such a situation, Ickes and Simpson (1997) assume that the non-initiator has two options, either the topic may be rejected and the non-initiator may try to escape from the situation, or, when escaping is impossible or inappropriate, this partner may try to minimize potential harm by avoiding or ignoring the threatening discussion. The empathic (in)accuracy model proposes that someone may engage in cognitive avoidance or empathic inaccuracy, when their partner's or their own thoughts/feelings are perceived as likely to cause distress because this defense strategy may be efficient in preserving a low level of personal and relational distress in the short-term (Ickes & Simpson, 1997).…”

Section: Partners' Levels Of Empathic Accuracymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Ickes and Simpson (1997) remarked that the relationship-protection motive might only be clearly evident for perceivers who are highly committed to their relationship, this moderating variable was not included in the final model. However, we assumed that the predicted negative association between empathic accuracy for relationship-threatening thoughts/feelings on relationship closeness would be moderated by a perceiver's level of commitment (H5a).…”

Section: Manageabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empathic accuracy is defined as the extent to which individuals can accurately infer another person's unspoken thoughts and feelings as they spontaneously occur during the course of natural interactions (Ickes, 1993, p. 588). Stemming from the contradicting assumptions concerning understanding introduced above, Ickes and Simpson (1997) designed a theoretical framework regarding empathic accuracy with the central aim of answering three principal questions: (1) Is the level of empathic accuracy manageable (e.g., dialing it up or down)? ; (2) If so, which factors will influence an individual's level of empathic accuracy?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The manageability of empathic (in)accuracy during couples’ conflict: Relationship-protection or self-protection?

et al. 2018

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The current study sought to expand upon research on motivated empathic (in)accuracy by testing assumptions underlying the empathic accuracy model, namely if a perceiver's level of empathic accuracy is variable and might be associated with different outcomes depending the situation. More specifically, the model assumes that (a) the perception of threat in the thoughts/feelings of an interaction partner can result in a lower level of empathic accuracy, and (b) empathic accuracy can both improve and harm situational well-being on the personal and relationship level. These assumptions were tested in a laboratory-based study in which couples participated in a conflict interaction task and reported on their thought processes during a videoreview task. All participants also completed a similar standard-stimulus task. A shift in participants' motivation to be accurate to a motivation to be inaccurate in response to perceived threat could not be detected. Men's higher levels of empathic accuracy for non-threatening feelings of their female partner were predictive of an increased feeling of closeness in men.Women's higher levels of empathic accuracy for non-threatening feelings of the male partner were predictive for a better mood in women. A harmful effect of empathic accuracy for threatening thoughts/feelings on situational well-being was not found.

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The reciprocal cycle of self‐concealment and trust in romantic relationships

Uysal

Lin

Bush

2012

Euro J Social Psych

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We propose that perceived partner concealment, self‐concealment from one's partner (i.e., keeping secrets from one's partner), and trust in one's partner form a reciprocal cycle in romantic relationships. In Study 1, participants in a romantic relationship (N = 94) completed a two‐time point survey within a span of 8 to 10 weeks. Results revealed that perceived partner concealment was associated with a loss of trust in partner, and low trust in partner was associated with an increase in self‐concealment from one's partner. Furthermore, the association between perceived partner concealment and self‐concealment from one's partner was mediated by trust. In Study 2, couples (N = 50) completed daily records for 14 consecutive days. Multilevel analyses indicated that on the days the individuals reported more self‐concealment, their partners reported lower trust in them. Moreover, on the days the partners reported lower trust, the partners also reported higher self‐concealment. These findings suggest that self‐concealment in romantic relationships can create a reciprocal cycle that involves loss of trust and more self‐concealment between partners, which would slowly deteriorate the relationship well‐being. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Empathic Accuracy in Close Relationships

Cited by 95 publications

References 0 publications

Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

The manageability of empathic (in)accuracy during couples’ conflict: Relationship-protection or self-protection?

The reciprocal cycle of self‐concealment and trust in romantic relationships

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