Trust and communicated attributions in close relationships.

John K. Rempel, Michael G Ross, John G. Holmes·2001·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037//0022-3514.81.1.57

Abstract

The attributional statements intimate partners communicate to one another were examined as a function of trust. In discussions by 35 married couples, 850 attributions and corresponding events were coded on dimensions of valence, globality, and locus. Results of regression and contingency analyses indicate that attributional statements expressed in high-trust relationships emphasized positive aspects of the relationship. Medium-trust couples actively engaged issues but focused more on negative events and explanations. Low-trust couples expressed more specific, less affectively extreme attributional statements that minimized the potential for increased conflict. Results could not be accounted for by relationship satisfaction. These findings also highlight the importance of focusing on features of the events for which attributions are expressed.

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    Gillath, Omri, Hart, Joshua, Noftle, Erik E., Stockdale, Gary D. · 2009 · Journal of Research in Personality
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    Campbell, Lorne, Stanton, Sarah CE · 2019 · Current Opinion in Psychology
  5. Cognition is a matter of trust: Distrust tunes cognitive processes
    Mayo, Ruth · 2015 · European Review of Social Psychology

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Trust and communicated attributions in close relationships. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037//0022-3514.81.1.57
The paper
Rempel, J. K., Ross, M. G., & Holmes, J. G. (2001). Trust and communicated attributions in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.81.1.57

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Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.