Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Veilleux, Jennifer C.

Committee Member

Ham, Lindsay S.

Second Committee Member

Beike, Denise R.

Keywords

Distress Tolerance; Interpersonal Connection; Social Context

Abstract

Many factors are associated with heightened psychopathology, including difficulties tolerating distress and having low social support. Emotional support has been argued as the most vital facet to the construct of social support. Through emotional support, people can feel more connected to another person and thus feel more cared for and valued. It is important to understand whether interpersonal closeness can cause increased momentary distress tolerance. The current study (n = 165) involved an experimental manipulation of perceived interpersonal closeness, where participants experienced either induction of perceived interpersonal closeness, a control condition, or an interpersonal disconnection induction. Interpersonal closeness was manipulated by having the participant engage in a conversation with a confederate which evoked emotional intimacy. The confederate followed a script that invoked either a friendly (interpersonal closeness) or unfriendly (interpersonal disconnection) perception from the participant. The control condition involved no interaction with the confederate except for being in the same room. Distress tolerance was then measured with the Emotional Image Task (EIT) which involves viewing emotionally evocative images and measuring both how long people view the image until they experience distress and how long they can tolerate that distress. Results did not find a direct influence of manipulated interpersonal closeness on distress tolerance measures; however it was found that various trait- level measures like agreeableness, extraversion, anxiety, depression, and stress related to differences in distress tolerance. Further research is needed to clarify the link between social support and distress tolerance, as the current study does not experimentally confirm previously found correlations.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS