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18 - How Communal Relational Contexts Shape (and Are Shaped by) Emotional Lives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2026

By
Margaret S. Clark ,
Chance Adkins ,
Mujtaba K. Chughtai  and
Hannah Elizabeth
Edited by
Anita L. Vangelisti ,
Daniel Perlman  and
Susan Sprecher
Anita L. Vangelisti
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
Daniel Perlman
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Susan Sprecher
Affiliation:
Illinois State University
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Summary

People form different types of relationships with others. One common, valued, type is a communal relationship. In communal relationships, people assume responsibility for one another’s welfare and give and seek responsiveness non-contingently. Here we review ways in which communal relational contexts shape people’s emotional lives. In communal relationships, giving and receiving non-contingent responsiveness is linked to positive emotion, whereas failure to do so or behavior indicative of following inappropriate norms (e.g., norms governing transactional relationships) leads to negative emotion. In addition, the presence of communal partners often reduces threat and enhances the intensity of positive and negative reactions to environmental stimuli. Communal contexts are associated with greater expression of emotions signaling one’s own needs (which partners sometimes socially reference as signs of their own needs) and with expressing more indicative of empathy and care for the partner. All these effects can feed back and strengthen communal relationships.

Keywords

emotionsrelationshipscooperationresponsiveness

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The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships , pp. 373 - 398
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026

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