Intrapersonal Conflicts, Social Problem-Solving, and Perspective Taking Abilities in Romance

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Topic - Social Cognition

Abstract

Studies have examined social problem-solving in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. The literature indicates that social perspective taking during social problem-solving improves with age, little research has focused on adolescence, a time when romantic relationships gain increasing importance and likely bring different degrees of personal difficulty (Christoff et al., 1985). As social conflicts during this time are novel, approaches to problem solving may be impacted by intrapersonal conflicts or desires rather than based on strategies learned from previous situations. Additionally, we see that adolescents demonstrate an inconsistent ability to take other perspectives across a range of different social problem-solving contexts (e.g., employer, peer, romantic; Selman et al., 1986). Indeed, even when adolescents frame an interpersonal problem in terms of both the self and other perspective (i.e., collaborative exchange), they often do not formulate strategies that reflect this other perspective knowledge (Selman et al., 1986). It is possible that an individual’s intrapersonal conflicts or desires within an argument might influence social problem-solving. Considering and coordinating perspectives during a conflict is likely easier to do when one’s own desires for the outcome of a problem are facilitated by context of the disagreement (e.g., plans with friend not seen in a long time vs. informal plans with romantic partner). It would be more difficult, however, to stop focusing on the self when one’s desires for the outcome are incompatible with the context of the disagreement (e.g., plan with friend not seen in a long time vs. planned formal celebration with their romantic partner).
In the current study we examined how intrapersonal desires (facilitating vs. incompatible) influenced social perspective taking ability during a social conflict. In the facilitating situation, the details of the conflict facilitate the individual to make a collaborative decision and consider the other person’s perspective (i.e., a good outcome for the self will also involve a good outcome for the other). In contrast, in the incompatible version, the details of the conflict urge consideration of the self perspective over the other perspective, which makes it more likely that the conflict will continue. The sample included 146 participants aged 17 to 25 years (Mage = 19.56 years; SD = 1.92) who had estimated IQ and language competence within the average range. Interestingly, social perspective taking during a romantic conflict was comparable regardless of the presence of an inherent intrapersonal conflict. This suggests that intrapersonal desires may not impact perspective taking ability when trying to resolve a problem with a romantic partner. Our findings indicate that older adolescents and emerging adults are able to consider the social perspectives of their romantic partner regardless of the potential negative outcomes for themselves. It’s possible that individual differences in perspective reflect a choice to engage rather than the ability to engage, which may explain the inconsistent performance seen when adolescents are asked to take other perspectives across a range of different social problem-solving contexts.

Authors

• Keely Owens-Jaffray, Trent University
  Presenting Author

• Nancie Im-Bolter, Trent University
  Non-Presenting Author