Abstract:
High-quality close relationships are one of the strongest predictors of health and well-being, yet much is still unknown about how we create and maintain them. In an effort to understand how we can have relationships that do not just survive, but thrive, I will present some of my research that (1) considers the role of prosocial processes, such as gratitude and responsiveness, in helping us to maintain high quality relationships and (2) identifies barriers to this prosociality. In particular, I focus on contextual barriers that are external the relationship, namely, poor sleep and stress.