Putting responsiveness in context: How a partner's responsiveness baseline shapes perceived responsiveness

Abstract

Perceived responsiveness has been described as a “bedrock of intimacy.” For responsive acts to be optimally beneficial, recipients must perceive them as responsive. Thus, understanding the factors that influence perceptions of responsiveness is critical for promoting high-quality relationships. To date, little research has examined how relationship-specific variables affect how people interpret responsive acts. This paper examine how one such contextual factor—perceptions of a partner's typical level of responsiveness (responsiveness baseline)—shapes interpretations of responsive and unresponsive acts. Two studies employing complementary paradigms provide converging evidence that individuals who perceive their partner as having a high (vs. low) responsiveness baseline perceive greater situational responsiveness when interpreting responsive (but not unresponsive) acts from their partner. These findings reveal a novel, relationship-specific contextual influence on perceptions of responsiveness and highlight the importance of considering behavioral baselines when examining how people interpret interpersonal behavior.