Responsiveness and esteem support

Esteem support refers to verbal and nonverbal aid provided to another individual to enhance how they feel about themselves and their attributes, abilities, and accomplishments. Esteem support is often exchanged in the context of close relationships (e.g., marriage, family, friendship), and may be a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in psychology 2023-08, Vol.52, p.101591, Article 101591
Main Authors: Holmstrom, Amanda J., Lim, Jong In
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Esteem support refers to verbal and nonverbal aid provided to another individual to enhance how they feel about themselves and their attributes, abilities, and accomplishments. Esteem support is often exchanged in the context of close relationships (e.g., marriage, family, friendship), and may be a behavioral indicator of perceived partner responsiveness. Three theoretical models of esteem support offer guidance regarding associations between esteem support and perceived partner responsiveness: the optimal matching model of social support, the support gap model, and the cognitive-emotional theory of esteem support messages. We argue that effective esteem support is responsive, and that perceived partner responsiveness can foster an environment for exchanging esteem support in interpersonal relationships. These relationships should be examined explicitly in future research. •Esteem support may be a behavioral indicator of perceived partner responsiveness.•Listening is critical to providing high-quality esteem support.•More research is needed on the relational implications of esteem support processes.
ISSN:2352-250X
2352-250X
DOI:10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101591