Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty
We propose that, although deeply personal, meaning is facilitated by interpersonal processes. Namely, we theorize that experiencing a sense of shared reality with a close partner (i.e., perceiving an overlap in inner states about the world in general) reduces uncertainty about one’s environment, whi...
| Autores: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/118620 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10171/118620 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Meaning Romantic relationships Shared reality Uncertainty Meaningfulness |
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Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertaintyEnestrom, M.C. (M. Catalina)|||/items/d85c3f9e-36cf-4b27-bbb4-c3855d3c84e6Rossignac-Milon, M. (Maya)|||/items/46487125-fd91-4533-a499-f61e9aa85148Forest, A.L. (Amanda L.)|||/items/1d9de068-a71b-4639-90ae-deb0750cfb2eLydon, L.E. (John E.)|||/items/9165698a-fab6-4fdd-819f-b21d1c885dc7MeaningRomantic relationshipsShared realityUncertaintyMeaningfulnessWe propose that, although deeply personal, meaning is facilitated by interpersonal processes. Namely, we theorize that experiencing a sense of shared reality with a close partner (i.e., perceiving an overlap in inner states about the world in general) reduces uncertainty about one’s environment, which in turn promotes meaning in work and life. In the current research, we test this hypothesis across five mixed-method studies (e.g., longitudinal, experimental). We find cross-sectional evidence for this association in a couples’ study (Study 1: N = 103 romantic dyads) and in ecologically rich samples of people experiencing highly uncertain situations, specifically Black people consistently facing racism in the United States (Study 2: N = 190 participants) and frontline health care workers directly treating COVID-19 patients during the height of the pandemic (Study 3: N = 139 participants). Further, we provide causal evidence for this association in two experiments (Studies 4 and 5: N₄ = 364 participants, N₅ = 389 participants). Taken together, this work suggests that shared reality with close partners has real-world benefits, reducing uncertainty and promoting meaning. In addition, we show that experimentally heightening shared reality, by reducing uncertainty, can promote a greater sense of meaning in life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)American Psychological AssociationDadun. Depósito Académico Digital Universidad de Navarra20252025-06-0120252025-06-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10171/118620reponame:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarrainstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/1186202026-06-21T12:47:57Z |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| title |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| spellingShingle |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty Enestrom, M.C. (M. Catalina)|||/items/d85c3f9e-36cf-4b27-bbb4-c3855d3c84e6 Meaning Romantic relationships Shared reality Uncertainty Meaningfulness |
| title_short |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| title_full |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| title_fullStr |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| title_sort |
Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Enestrom, M.C. (M. Catalina)|||/items/d85c3f9e-36cf-4b27-bbb4-c3855d3c84e6 Rossignac-Milon, M. (Maya)|||/items/46487125-fd91-4533-a499-f61e9aa85148 Forest, A.L. (Amanda L.)|||/items/1d9de068-a71b-4639-90ae-deb0750cfb2e Lydon, L.E. (John E.)|||/items/9165698a-fab6-4fdd-819f-b21d1c885dc7 |
| author |
Enestrom, M.C. (M. Catalina)|||/items/d85c3f9e-36cf-4b27-bbb4-c3855d3c84e6 |
| author_facet |
Enestrom, M.C. (M. Catalina)|||/items/d85c3f9e-36cf-4b27-bbb4-c3855d3c84e6 Rossignac-Milon, M. (Maya)|||/items/46487125-fd91-4533-a499-f61e9aa85148 Forest, A.L. (Amanda L.)|||/items/1d9de068-a71b-4639-90ae-deb0750cfb2e Lydon, L.E. (John E.)|||/items/9165698a-fab6-4fdd-819f-b21d1c885dc7 |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
Rossignac-Milon, M. (Maya)|||/items/46487125-fd91-4533-a499-f61e9aa85148 Forest, A.L. (Amanda L.)|||/items/1d9de068-a71b-4639-90ae-deb0750cfb2e Lydon, L.E. (John E.)|||/items/9165698a-fab6-4fdd-819f-b21d1c885dc7 |
| author2_role |
author author author |
| dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv |
Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital Universidad de Navarra |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Meaning Romantic relationships Shared reality Uncertainty Meaningfulness |
| topic |
Meaning Romantic relationships Shared reality Uncertainty Meaningfulness |
| description |
We propose that, although deeply personal, meaning is facilitated by interpersonal processes. Namely, we theorize that experiencing a sense of shared reality with a close partner (i.e., perceiving an overlap in inner states about the world in general) reduces uncertainty about one’s environment, which in turn promotes meaning in work and life. In the current research, we test this hypothesis across five mixed-method studies (e.g., longitudinal, experimental). We find cross-sectional evidence for this association in a couples’ study (Study 1: N = 103 romantic dyads) and in ecologically rich samples of people experiencing highly uncertain situations, specifically Black people consistently facing racism in the United States (Study 2: N = 190 participants) and frontline health care workers directly treating COVID-19 patients during the height of the pandemic (Study 3: N = 139 participants). Further, we provide causal evidence for this association in two experiments (Studies 4 and 5: N₄ = 364 participants, N₅ = 389 participants). Taken together, this work suggests that shared reality with close partners has real-world benefits, reducing uncertainty and promoting meaning. In addition, we show that experimentally heightening shared reality, by reducing uncertainty, can promote a greater sense of meaning in life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2025 2025-06-01 2025 2025-06-01 |
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journal article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 |
| dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
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article |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10171/118620 |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10171/118620 |
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Inglés eng |
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Inglés |
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eng |
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open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 |
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openAccess |
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application/pdf |
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American Psychological Association |
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American Psychological Association |
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reponame:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
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Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
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Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra |
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Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra |
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