research on unrequited love shows that

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Humorous coping with unrequited love: is perspective change important.

$\nWerner Greve$

Institute for Psychology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany

A large number of studies suggest that humor is associated with mental well-being and effective as a means of coping. However, it is less well-understood which mechanisms are effective for this particular function of humor. The present study examines whether processes of change of perspective, which are often regarded as constitutive for humor, could be an effective coping-factor when facing unrequited love as a specific psychological burden. In a questionnaire study, N = 148 persons aged 18–65 years ( w = 96) with actual or past experiences of unrequited love reported on their subjective burden due to this experience, their self-esteem and satisfaction with life, two scales for humor (Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale: MSHS, and a self-constructed scale: Humorous Change of Perspective, HCOP) and a coping scale which measure change of perspective in the confrontation with goal blockages (Flexible Goal Adjustment, FGA). Results indicated that the burden of unrequited love [operationalized objectively as actuality of experience (dichotomous) or subjectively as burden experienced] and both indicators of well-being were negatively associated. Multiple regression analyses showed that humor was a significant moderator of this relationship in nearly all combinations of operationalizations of humor and indicators of well-being: Higher levels of humor are associated with better well-being even when the perceived burden was high. In addition, the study examined whether the coping effect of humor can be partly or mainly attributed to the individual's capacity to perspective change as captured by FGA. When including this scale as a covariate in the regression models, the moderation effect for MSHS did not persist; however, for HCOP the moderation effect remained unchanged: the moderator effect of humorous change of perspective proved to be independent of FGA. Taken together the results suggest that perspective-changing skills play a significant role in the coping effect of humor in dealing with psychological burdens. However, depending on which humor facet is measured, the entailed perspective change may or may not appear to go beyond what the individual's FGA can account for. This suggests that the coping effect caused by humorous change of perspective includes aspects that are also discussed for other coping resources as well as its own, humor-specific aspects. Potential avenues for future studies are discussed both with respect to the necessity for replication and extension of the present study and to the determination of other potential alleviativing effects of other facets of humor.

Introduction

Humor as a resource.

The assumption that humor is not only enjoyable for all who experience it, but is also a useful resource for those who have it, is as old as human laughter ( Ruch, 2008 ; Hurley et al., 2011 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ). The finding that humor can be helpful when coping with stress, burdens, threats, and other challenges is more recent but widely documented. One does not have to agree with the traditional psychoanalytic assumption that humor is the most mature and most elegant defense mechanism ( Vaillant, 1993 ) to recognize the functionality of humor in burdensome situations. A large body of research indicates a positive relationship between humor and psychological well-being ( Martin and Lefcourt, 1983 ; Lefcourt and Martin, 1986 ; Nezu et al., 1988 ; Kuiper et al., 1993 ; Thorson et al., 1997 ; Cann et al., 1999 ; Ruch et al., 2010 ; Svebak, 2010 ; Cann and Collette, 2014 ; Samson et al., 2014 ; Fritz et al., 2017 ; for an overview, e.g., Ruch, 2008 ; Kuiper, 2012 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ). Accordingly, a strong sense of humor is associated with, for example, a more positive self-concept and self-esteem as well as higher life satisfaction ( Kuiper et al., 2004 ; Ruch et al., 2010 , 2018b ; Ozyesil, 2012 ). There is even evidence that humor supports physical health ( Svebak et al., 2006 ; Martin, 2008 ). Accordingly, Kuiper (2012) considers humor as a facet of individual resilience.

What is less clear, however, is how humorous coping with burdens can be explained. While the precise study of the processes at work here requires experimental designs, a helpful intermediate step may be to identify components of humor that make a difference in coping with burdens or threats. This requires a sufficiently sophisticated theory about the components of humor (possibly components of different varieties of humor); however, such a consensual theory of humor remains to be defined ( Hurley et al., 2011 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ), even though the debate about it predates psychology. Accordingly, the findings on the alleviative effect of humor are generally convergent, but in detail more heterogeneous than is desirable for a theoretical clarification of the factors that are effective here.

Several difficulties contribute to this. First, humor is regarded as a complex, multidimensional construct that includes emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and social components (e.g., Svebak, 1996 ; Thorson et al., 1997 ; Ruch, 2008 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ). Accordingly, there are a variety of forms or styles, uses or intentions, and functions or effects of humor are distinguished, each differentially related to a broad variety of concepts, including personality traits, emotions, or social effects ( Martin and Ford, 2018 ; Ruch et al., 2018a ; Heintz and Ruch, 2019 ; for an overview, e.g., Ruch, 2008 ). An example of this is the distinction between “benevolent” and “malevolent” forms, or uses of humor (e.g., Ruch and Heintz, 2016 ). Positively connoted uses (forms) of humor that also dominate everyday understandings of humor as a positive skill ( Craik et al., 1996 ; Perchtold et al., 2019 ) are typically associated with the aforementioned alleviative effects of humor are the. This conceptual heterogeneity is further reinforced by a variety of assessment methods that vary not only in their specific operationalization, but also with respect to the facets or functions of humor addressed (for instance, Ruch et al., 1996 , 2018a ; Martin et al., 2003 ; Kuiper et al., 2004 ; Heintz et al., 2018 ; for an overview, Martin and Ford, 2018 ).

In contrast, the question of which processes produce the alleviative effect of humor is less frequently studied. Martin (2007 , 2008) identifies three main mechanisms underlying the positive influence of humor on well-being: physiological effects caused by the activity of laughter, the experience of positive emotions such as joy or exhilaration, and cognitive aspects such as the change in perspective (see also Martin and Ford, 2018 ). A number of papers have argued that in the context of coping with burdensome experiences, in particular cognitive aspects of humor are particularly important (e.g., Svebak et al., 2006 ; Svebak, 2010 ). According to this line of reasoning, humor leads to the shift of cognitive attention in favor of positive cognitions and associated positive emotions ( Kuiper et al., 1993 ; Martin, 2007 ; Szabo, 2007 ; Strick et al., 2009 ; for an overview Ruch, 2008 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ). Individuals with a more highly developed sense of humor rated their problems as less stressful and experienced fewer negative emotions (e.g., anxiety) than did individuals with lowly developed sense of humor scores, indicating that humor facilitates a different (i.e., relieving) perspective on problems. This assumption agrees with the suggestion that the ability and willingness for a positive appraisal of the initially threatening or stressful situation ( Lazarus and Folkman, 1984 ) is significant for the coping effect of humor. Several studies have provided evidence that positive (re-)appraisal occurs more frequently in individuals with a more pronounced sense of humor and that it is functional for coping with burdens ( Kuiper et al., 1995 ; Abel, 2002 ; Samson et al., 2014 ; Perchtold et al., 2019 ). For positive (re)appraisal, in turn, the cognitive ability to change perspective (e.g., reframing) is a necessary condition ( Samson et al., 2014 ). Although not all humor theories agree that perspective change is a criterion (i.e., a necessary condition) for humor, a likely consensus is that it is a prototypical aspect of humor, perhaps just not just of all forms of humor ( Martin, 2008 ; Hurley et al., 2011 ; Carroll, 2014 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ).

At the same time, there is a large body of work showing that perspective change or reframing are particularly helpful for dealing with burdensome or threatening constellations when the underlying problem is a goal conflict or goal blockade that cannot be actively resolved ( Brandtstädter and Rothermund, 2002 ; Brandtstädter, 2006 ; Heckhausen et al., 2010 ; Wrosch and Scheier, 2020 ). If it should be a valid consideration that the alleviative effect of humor is based, at least in part, on the fact that humor is associated with the individual capability for perspective change, then it should be possible to show that the alleviative effect of humor wanes in relation to a burdensome goal blockade if this aspect is out-partialized by a non-humor coping resource focusing on this aspect. Testing this consideration is the subject of the present study.

Flexibility of Goal Adjustment as a Perspective-Changing Coping Resource

The two-process model of developmental regulation ( Brandtstädter and Rothermund, 2002 ; Brandtstädter, 2006 ) distinguishes two modes of regulation by which the individual can reduce or eliminate problems (defined as discrepancy between an experienced actual state and a desired target state). In the assimilative response mode, the individual attempts to resolve a problematic situation through active, deliberate, and controlled problem solving. In doing so, personal goals and intentions are maintained and persistently pursued. In contrast, in the accommodative regulation mode, the reduction of the actual-target discrepancy occurs through “flexible goal adjustment” ( Brandtstädter and Renner, 1990 ) to the given situation and the available options for action. Examples of this regulatory mode are devaluing the significance of the previous goal and upgrading alternative goals, changing one's own level of aspiration, or reinterpreting the problem situation on the basis of relieving cognitions. In short, an accommodative reaction requires a change of one's own perspective of the problem. It is required at the latest when assimilative efforts fail, problems cannot be overcome by active problem solving, or this would involve too much difficulty or cost. A large body of work has shown that the individual capability and tendency for accommodative regulation helps to reduce strain across different kinds of threats and burdens and across different age groups (e.g., Thomsen et al., 2015 ; Greve et al., 2017 ; Rühs et al., 2017 ; for review, Brandtstädter and Rothermund, 2002 ). Although this has not been a central focus of research, some results suggest that humor might be associated with accommodative coping. Thomsen (2016) reports a positive relationship between individual readiness to accommodate and coping humor ( Martin and Lefcourt, 1983 ) in adolescents; the finding that this relationship becomes narrower with increasing age indicates that it is precisely the cognitively demanding aspects of humor that carry this relationship at least in part. Leist and Müller (2013) found an association between the self-enhancing and social humor style and flexible goal adaptation processes.

Unrequited Love as a Goal-Blocking Burden

As social beings, humans possess a fundamental need to belong ( Baumeister and Leary, 1995 ), in particular, the fulfillment of partnership happiness and positive partnership quality are considered central factors and predictors of psychological stability, life satisfaction, and well-being ( Felser, 2007 ). How painful it is when this desire and need is not satisfied or is even actively denied by other people is something most people experience first-hand at some time in their lives. Unrequited love is an example of social rejection, which can arise in very different situations (e.g., crush on someone who is unavailable, break-up of existing relationship; see also Baumeister and Wotman, 1992 ; Baumeister et al., 1993 , and Bringle et al., 2013 for a more in-depth description of such situations). Psychological research in recent years has shown that the experience of social rejection is generally associated with diverse negative consequences for the affected person in terms of psychological well-being (e.g., negative affect and reduced self-esteem; for meta-analyses/reviews see e.g., Blackhart et al., 2009 , Gerber and Wheeler, 2009 , and Leary, 2015 ; for an overview of the state of research on interpersonal exclusion and rejection Williams and Nida, 2017 ). Moreover, neuroimaging studies show that social rejection not only “hurts” in a figurative sense: The emotional pain associated with rejection parallels physical pain not only in the psychological burden it causes, but they also overlap in their somatosensory representation in the brain ( Kross et al., 2011 , but also see Eisenberger, 2015 , for a summary of controversies regarding these finding). Whilst empirical research on effects of social exclusion from groups is very broad, studies which focus on the experiences of unrequited love are rarer. Nevertheless, the studies that do exist seem to confirm the general finding of negative psychological consequences also for this particular case of social rejection. One question that this field of research addresses in particular concerns the connection between romantic rejection/unrequited love and the rejected person's self-esteem. In a large-scale longitudinal study of adolescents and young adults over 3 years, Luciano and Orth (2017) found that the onset of a romantic relationship increased one's self-esteem substantially (if the relationship lasted at least a year), whereas a breakup reduced self-esteem for about a year. This fits with the findings of a recent study by Charlot et al. (2020) , which showed that experience of repeated romantic rejection was associated with lower perceived mate value, among other factors. Other studies show that self-esteem not only matters as a potential consequence of romantic rejection experiences, but also has (conceptualized as a trait) a moderating role regarding the relationship of rejection and its consequences (see e.g., Waller and MacDonald, 2010 ; Park et al., 2011 ).

According to the line of argument presented so far, the present study combines three aspects. First, a broad assessment of humor is applied in order to not be bound to a specific humor theory and operationalization and to be able to assess as many different facets of humor as possible with regard to possible coping effects. Second, these effects will be examined in relation to unrequited love as a critical experience which is both plausible as burdensome and prototypical for a blocked goal. Since this burden has thus far only rarely been studied in relation to humor, this part of the present study is a replication of the available results for coping effects of humor. Third, it will be examined whether this (assumed) coping effect of humor in relation to this goal blockage can be shown to rely (at least partly) on change of perspective. This will be addressed by exploring the coping effect of humor whilst a coping resource that is precisely relevant for goal blockages and that is essentially based on a change of perspective is controlled for.

If unrequited love is regarded as a prototypical case of a burden caused by a goal blockage, if a central mechanism of coping with goal blockades, is to shift or change perspectives on the underlying problem (i.e., accommodative coping), and if humorous coping is essentially characterized by leading to or supporting a change of perspective, then the hypotheses are plausible that (1) humor buffers the burdens of an unrequited love, and (2) that this alleviative effect of humor can be attributed to the perspective changing-component of humor. To test these hypotheses, the first step is to replicate the relieving effect of humor (broadly assessed) in relation to unrequited love. As the second step, it has to be tested whether this effect is maintained after adding a specific coping resource that is essentially based on perspective change but not directly humorous (FGA) to the analysis. If the coping effect of humor were to disappear after the introduction of FGA (i.e., partialing out its effect), that is, if humor did not show any additional relief effect beyond this coping resource, this would indicate that this aspect (partially) explains the effect of humor. If, on the other hand, the alleviative effect is preserved, the alleviative effect of humor might not be based entirely on this aspect. In other words: this result would indicate an “incremental validity” (for a similar approach see Ruch and Heintz, 2013 ; Samson et al., 2014 ) of humor as a particular coping ressource beyond perspective change.

Materials and Methods

Study design and participants.

In an observational study, participants filled in a cross-sectional, internet-based survey, which was generated by SoSci Survey ( Leiner, 2020 ; Version 3.2.16) and was made available to participants from 6/8/2020 to 8/20/2020 via www.soscisurvey.de . Participants were recruited online via various social networks (e.g., Facebook, Xing) if they met following inclusion criteria: age between 18 and 65 years and (current or past) experience of unrequited love. The design of the study and the questionnaire obtained were approved by the ethical committee of the faculty of educational and social sciences of the University of Hildesheim (Proposal No. 134; letter of approval 4/20/2020). Data collection resulted in N = 148 completed questionnaires. The sample was relatively heterogeneous in terms of participants' age, ranging from 18 to 65 years (18–29 years: n = 72; 30–39 years: n = 52; 40–49 years: n = 10; 50–65 years: n = 14). Asked for their gender, n = 97 (65.5%) participants described themselves as female (34.5% male). The educational level of the participants was very high. Most participants ( n = 139) reported that they graduated from secondary school and passed their “Abitur” (or had an equivalent qualification for university entrance) or even already had other higher education qualifications. Regarding the experience of unrequited love, 44 participants (29.7%) referred in their statements to a current experience and 104 participants (70.3%) to a past experience in their statements.

The online questionnaire consisted of three parts. First, participants were asked for demographic data (such as gender, age, and educational background). They then provided information about various aspects of their experience of unrequited love (such as the time-scale of the experience or the severity of the perceived burden; some other aspects were obtained for more exploratory research but are not reported on in this study). In the third part, current self-esteem and life satisfaction (as indicators of subjective well-being) as well as humor (three different operationalizations 1 ) and accommodative flexibility (as dispositional coping resource) were assessed using well-established scales (with one exception; see Humorous Change of Perspective).

Aspects of the Experience of Unrequited Love

Time-scale of experience.

Participants were asked whether they were currently unhappily in love. If they answered yes, they were assigned a value of one for actuality. If they answered no but stated in the next question that they had experienced unrequited love in the past, they were assigned a value of zero.

The Burden of the Experience of Unrequited Love

For nine self-developed statements describing potential burdensome experiences during an episode of unrequited love (sample items: “My thoughts circled constantly around the beloved person.” and “I was often sad and lonely because of my unhappy infatuation.”) the participants indicated how much the statements applied to them (answers on a five-point scale from 1 = “does not apply at all” to 5 = “fully applies”). For the group of participants referring to a past experience, the items were formulated in the past tense, but otherwise the wording was not changed. A mean value was calculated for each participant to create a scale representing the subjective burden caused by their unrequited love experienced. The scale showed a good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.86).

Sense of Humor

The Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS; Thorson and Powell, 1993 ; see also Martin and Ford, 2018 ) originally comprises 24 statements regarding different facets of the sense of humor in four broad dimensions: (1) humor production and social uses (example item: “I use humor to entertain my friends”), (2) humor as a coping strategy (example item: “Humor helps me cope”), (3) attitudes toward humorous people (example item: “people who tell jokes are a pain in the neck”), and (4) attitude toward humor itself (example item: “I like a good joke”). Participants indicate how much each statement applies to them (answers on a five-point scale from 1 = “does not apply at all” to 5 = “fully applies”). For this study, the scale was translated from English into German by one of the authors and back-translated by a native speaker to check for validity. In order to avoid a trivialization of the result (humor as a moderating coping resource), seven items of the original scale that directly address humor as a coping strategy were omitted. Considering the polarity of the items, a mean value of the remaining 17 items was calculated for each participant. The scale showed excellent internal consistencies (Cronbach's α = 0.92). As several studies in the past found different factor structures of the scale in varying samples (most studies showed one stable general factor and up to three other more specialized factors, e.g., José et al., 2007 ; Sousa et al., 2018 ), we performed an exploratory factor analysis. Results (for details see Supplementary Table 1 ) suggested that, in addition to the overall score, two subscales could be formed which correspond to the first dimension mentioned above (humor production and social uses, factor 1, 11 items) and a summary of the third and fourth dimension (attitudes toward humor and humorous people, factor 2, 6 items). The reason for the unidimensional (“overall”) usage of the MSHS in the present study was a theoretical one: The aim was to use an indicator that is as broad and heterogeneous as possible and that has a long tradition was used in order to replicate a coping effect that is as unspecific as possible. The very high internal consistency of the overall scale supports this decision. In addition, the heterogeneity of the “remaining” MSHS makes the replication of the buffer effect of humor more difficult and, hence, has a conservative effect with respect to the replication.

Humorous Change of Perspective

The central idea of the study was to identify the specific change of perspective assumed in humor as a cognitive component relevant for coping by controlling (and thus partialing out) this aspect by a coping scale that substantially (perhaps not only) addresses this aspect. Therefore, it was particularly important to use a humor scale (and to test its coping effect in relation to the burden studied here) that broadly encompasses diverse facets of humor, but, at the same time, does not specifically capture the coping effects of humor (which is why, as described above, these items were excluded from the MSHS). If the hypotheses about the study were true, controlling for FGA should reduce any possible coping effect of items specifically focusing on perspective-taking. We therefore decided to develop a short scale with exactly and only this focus. There are a number of (sub)scales that capture the coping effect of humor (including several scales that include items on perspective change); however, since the goal of the study was not to examine which coping humor scales overlap, in whole or in part, with the perspective change discussed in other coping scales in general and in FGA in particular, it seemed more consistent to use a specific short scale to control for this argument. Thus, a short scale consisting of four items (“it is easy for me to take a humorous perspective”; “a humorous perspective gives me easiness in life”; “I can adopt a humorous perspective in most situations”; “I quickly succeed in adopting a humorous perspective”) was constructed by the authors. Participants indicated how much each statement applies to them (answers on a five-point scale from 1 = “does not apply at all” to 5 = “fully applies”). An exploratory factor analysis indicated that the four items all cluster on one factor (for details see Supplementary Table 2 ). Thus, a mean value was calculated for each participant. The resulting scale showed an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.90).

Accommodative Flexibility

To assess the accommodative flexibility as a dispositional coping resource, Brandtstädter and Renner's (1990) flexible goal adjustment (FGA) scale was used. The scale consists of 15 items that contain self-statements regarding how to deal with situations in which one's own goals or wishes are blocked or can no longer be implemented as planned (example item: “Even during great distress, I often still find a meaning in life”). Participants indicated how much each statement applies to them (answers on a five-point scale from 1 = “does not apply at all” to 5 = “fully applies”). Considering the polarity of the items, a mean value was calculated for each participant. In the present study the internal consistency of the scale was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.91).

Self-Esteem

The German version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965 ; German version by Ferring and Filipp, 1996 ) was used to measure the participants' global self-esteem. It consists of 10 self-evaluating-statements (example item: “I possess a number of good qualities”). For each statement, the participants indicated how much it applies to them (from 1 = “does not apply at all” to 4 = “fully applies”). Considering the polarity of the items, a mean value was calculated for each participant. The scale showed an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.93).

Life-Satisfaction

The German version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985 ; German version by Janke and Glöckner-Rist, 2014 ) was used to measure life satisfaction in the context of the theory of subjective well-being ( Diener, 1984 ). According to this theory satisfaction with life is a multifactorial construct with affective and cognitive components. The scale consists of five statements (example item: “I am satisfied with my life.”), for each of which the participants indicate on a seven-point scale to what extent it applies to them (1 = “does not apply at all,” 7 = “applies completely”). To create a scale all values were summed up for each participant. In the present study the internal consistency of the scale was excellent (Cronbach's α = 0.91).

Analytic Strategy

All analyses were performed using JASP ( JASP Team, 2020 ). In a first step descriptive statistics of main study variables, group comparisons (participants that experienced unrequited love in the past vs. participants that are currently unhappy in love) and bivariate correlations were calculated to check whether there were any abnormalities in the distribution and expression of the variables that would have to be considered in the following hypothesis tests.

To test the first hypothesis that humor moderates the relationship between the burden of unrequited love and well-being (such that higher levels of humor are associated with a weaker negative relationship between indicators of burden and well-being), multiple regression analyses were performed. Since the study applied two different measures of humor (MSHS and HCOP), two different indicators of burden (actuality of experience and subjective burden due to unrequited love), and two different indicators of well-being (self-esteem and satisfaction with life), a total of eight different regression analyses were calculated as follows: The respective indicator of well-being was regressed on one indicator of burden, one indicator of humor and their interaction at one time (all continuous variables forming interaction terms were mean-centered before they were used in the analyses). This procedure was performed in the same way for all indicator combinations. If the moderator hypothesis is correct, the interaction-term of burden * humor should be a statistically significant predictor of the indicator of well-being used in that model. As recommended by Aiken and West (1991) , statistically significant interactions were probed using simple slope analyses to further examine the directionality of the moderation. To do so, additional slopes for values of the used indicator of humor one SD below and above the sample's mean were calculated and tested against zero. All results were considered to be statistically significant when p < 0.05.

To address the second hypothesis regarding the role of perspective change for humor functioning as a coping-resource, the eight regression models for testing the first hypothesis were extended as hierarchical regression models by a step in which FGA was added as a covariate in the model. If the moderation effect is driven primarily by aspects of humor similar to those captured in the measure of the ability to flexibly change perspectives, the addition of this variable as a covariate should result in the interaction term no longer being a statistically significant predictor of the respective indicator of well-being. If the interaction term remains a statistically significant predictor in this model, it would suggest that also other (possibly more specific) aspects of humor are relevant to the coping effect that are not captured via the FGA measure. Again, statistically significant interactions were followed by simple slope analyses following the pattern already described for testing the first hypothesis. All results were considered to be statistically significant when p < 0.05.

Descriptive Statistics, Bivariate Correlations, and Group Comparisons

Means, standard deviations, minimum, and maximum values of relevant study variables as well as bivariate correlations are shown in Table 1 . Because application of the Shapiro-Wilk test revealed that all study variables were not normally distributed (all p < 0.002, a visual inspection as well as the calculation of skewness showed that most variables were distributed more or less to the right, −0.788 < Skewness < −0.450), Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was chosen to measure correlation. Both measures indicating burden of unrequited love (actuality of experience and subjective burden due to unrequited love) showed weak to moderate negative associations with the two indicators of subjective well-being (self-esteem and satisfaction with life, r s range from −0.239 to −0.359, all p < 0.01). Both measures of humor where moderately associated with each other ( r s = 0.666, p < 0.001) and (to a somewhat lesser extent) with the two indicators of well-being ( r s range from 0.385 to 0.422, all p < 0.001). A similar pattern could be observed for FGA: even slightly stronger correlations with the two indicators of subjective well-being were obtained (self-esteem: r s = 0.616, satisfaction with life: r s = 0.649, both p < 0.001). The two operationalizations of humor were differentially associated with flexible goal adjustment. As expected, the association for MSHS was slightly lower ( r s = 0.337, p < 0.001) than for HCOP ( r s = 0.491, p < 0.001).

Table 1 . Means, standard deviations, minimum, maximum, and bivariate correlations of main study variables.

For a more detailed comparison of the subsamples with current vs. past experience of unrequited love, subgroup medians were compared using the Mann-Whitney- U -test (assumptions for an independent t -test were not met), exact results are presented in Table 2 . In summary, the two subgroups differ regarding the main level of all main study variables except subjective burden due to unrequited love. Irrespective of whether participants provided information regarding a current or past unrequited love, they reported similar levels of burden on average. Regarding the indicators of well-being participants referring to an actual experience reported lower levels than participants referring to a past experience. In terms of coping resources, those currently unhappy in love also report less humor (both operationalizations) and less flexible goal adjustment than those with the experience lying in the past.

Table 2 . Location parameters of the main study variables for the subsamples with actual and past experience of unrequited love compared by Mann-Whitney-U-Test.

Humor as a Moderator of the Relationship Between the Burden of Unrequited Love and Subjective Well-Being

Detailed results of the multiple regression analyses for self-esteem as an indicator of well-being and criterium in the analyses are presented in Table 3 (MSHS as indicator of humor) and Table 4 (HCOP as indicator of humor). Results for satisfaction with life as indicator of well-being and criterium in the regression analyses parallel these findings and can be found in Supplementary Tables 3 , 4 . Relevant for the hypothesis 1 regarding humor as a moderator is step 1 of the described hierarchical regression analyses. The main result of these analyses can be summed up as follows: In all but one analysis (Model S4: life satisfaction as criterion, subjective burden by unrequited love, and humorous change of perspective as indicator of humor, β burde n * humor = 0.081, p = 0.274), the interaction of burden * humor was a statistically significant predictor of the used indicator of well-being (Models 1–to 4 and S1–S3: β burde n * humor range from 0.180 to 0.339, all p < 0.05). Subsequent simple slope analyses to specify these statistically significant interactions all showed the same pattern (regardless of the indicators used): For expressions of humor one standard deviation above the mean, the association between psychological burden due to unrequited love and the indicator of subjective well-being disappeared; thus, burden was no longer a significant predictor of well-being in this case (β burden range from −0.130 to 0.011, p range from 0.226 to 0.945). However, for levels of humor one standard deviation below the mean, burden stayed a statistically significant predictor; thus, higher burden was associated with lower levels of well-being (β burden range from −0.482 to −0.358, all p < 0.001). A graphical representation illustrating these moderation-effects for an exemplary combination of indicators (Model 3: actuality of experience of unrequited love, humorous change of perspective, and self-esteem) is depicted in Figure 1A .

Table 3 . Summary of hierarchical regression analyses predicting self-esteem from burden of unrequited love (two different operationalizations) and sense of humor (measured by MSHS).

Table 4 . Summary of hierarchical regression analyses predicting self-esteem from burden of unrequited love (two different operationalizations) and Humorous Change of Perspective (measured by HCOP-Scale).

Figure 1 . Visualization of moderation effects (Data of Model 3): Predicting Self-esteem (RSES) from actuality of unrequited love (AEUL) and Humorous Change of Perspective (HCOP) (A) step 1: no covariate considered in the model (B) step 2: Flexible Goal Adjustment (FGA) added as covariate in the model, the figure displays results for FGA fixed to the current sample's mean value.

Humor as a Possible Coping Resource Beyond Accommodative Flexibility

The effect of adding FGA as a covariate in the multiple regression analyses (addressing hypothesis 2) can be seen in the results of the second step of the hierarchical regression analyses documented in Tables 3 , 4 (for self-esteem as criterium) and Supplementary Tables 3 , 4 (results for satisfaction with life as criterion). Results differed regarding what indicator of humor was used. For all four models using MSHS as an indicator of humor, the interaction of burden * humor was no longer a statistically significant predictor of the respective indicator of well-being (Models 1, 2, S1, S2: β burde n * humor range from 0.006 to 0.121, p range from 0.062 to 0.921). However, for HCOP in all but one analysis (Model S4: the model, that did not provide a statistically significant interaction without controlling for FGA either, β burde n * humor = −0.010, p = 0.871), the interaction of burden * humor stayed a statistically significant predictor of the used indicator of well-being (Models 3, 4, S3: β burde n * humor range from 0.129 to 0.241, all p < 0.05). Again, subsequent simple slope analyses were performed to specify these statistically significant interactions. They revealed nearly the same pattern observed without FGA as a covariate. For expressions of humor one standard deviation above the mean, across all three models, slopes did not statistically significant differ from zero, so for this higher level of humor, there was (like in the models without flexible goal adjustment as a covariate), no statistically significant association between the measure of burden and the indicator of well-being used (β burden range from −0.014 to 0.099, p range from 0.233 to 0.973). However, for levels of humor one standard deviation below the mean, results differed somewhat. Whilst controlling for FGA, only two out of three slopes showed a statistically significant negative value, demonstrating that for low levels of humor the experienced burden stayed a statistically significant predictor of well-being: a higher burden was associated with lower well-being (Model 3-1SD: β burden = −0.324, p < 0.001 and Model S3-1SD: β burden = −0.210, p = 0.008). For one indicator-combination (self-esteem as criterion, subjective burden by unrequited love), the slope for levels of humor one standard deviation below the mean did not reach significance (Model 4-1SD: β burden = 0.099, p = 0.233). So, in this model, adding flexible goal adjustment into the model lead to a statistically non-significant association of burden and well-being even for a lower level of humor. Again, a graphical representation of the moderation in models that entail flexible goal adjustment as a covariate is depicted in Figure 1B for an exemplary combination of indicators (Model 3: actuality of experience of unrequited love, HCOP, and self-esteem).

The present study had two aims. First, it attempted to replicate the coping effect of humor with respect to a previously unstudied burden: unrequited love as a prototypical example of the experience of blocking of a personally highly important goal. The findings confirm (and replicate) that humor—across two different operationalizations—moderates the relationship between burdens associated with unrequited love and psychological well-being: individuals with higher humor scores had a less pronounced correlation between objective and subjective indicators of this burden and indicators of subjective quality of life, in particular, the sense of self-esteem that plausibly is specifically threatened by unrequited love, but also life satisfaction. These results agree with a number of earlier studies (with respect to a variety of other burdens), demonstrating the buffering effect of humor.

Second, it was examined to which extent this alleviative effect of humor can be attributed to perspective change as a general capacity [i.e., constitutive both for humor and for (other) forms of coping]. For this purpose, we controlled for the effect of a coping resource whose buffering effect is specifically explained by perspective change. With respect to this hypothesis, the findings of the present study depend on the way by which humor was assessed. On the one hand, we found that the burden alleviating effect of the facets addressed by the MSHS (production, social uses, and attitudes toward humor) no longer reached statistical significance once FGA was controlled for. This indicates that at least substantial parts of these facets of humor share similarities with the adaptive processes that are captured by the FGA scale; actually, the bivariate correlation between MSHS and FGA is r = 0.337 (see also Thomsen, 2016 ). It is important to note here that we explicitly excluded the items of the MSHS that is particularly intended to capture the coping effect of humor. This pattern of results seems to suggest that individual use of and a positive attitude toward humor are associated with facets of accommodative coping.

On the other hand, with respect to the Humorous Change of Perspective (HCOP) scale (which we constructed precisely to capture the perspective change facet in humor), we however found that, somewhat contrary to our expectations, the buffering effects of humor on the relationship between the burden of unrequited love and self-esteem or life satisfaction remained largely unchanged after controlling for perspective change (as captured in the FGA scale). Since the bivariate correlation between FGA and HCOP was (as reported above) relatively high ( r = 0.491), it is likely that HCOP actually has a considerable intersection with FGA. However, the present results seem to indicate that the particular aspect of humorous perspective change captured by the HCOP that contributes to its moderating effect is not fully entailed in the FGA scale. There are several explanations for this pattern of results. Either FGA is effective due to a different facet of its alleviative effect on goal blocking (at least with respect to this particular goal blocking), or change of perspective is not essential for humor (broadly understood), or the change of perspective essential for humor contains another (“own”) facet of change of perspective that is not contained in FGA. It is possible, however, that this pattern of results is caused—at least in part—by the (disputable) validity of the HCOP scale. Several coping humor scale have been published in the literature, some of which also comprise humorous perspective taking (e.g., Martin and Lefcourt, 1983 ; Ruch et al., 1996 ; Martin et al., 2003 ; Ruch and Heintz, 2016 ); thus, subsequent studies could investigate whether our results can be replicated (or differentiated) utilizing at least some of these scales (or subscales). Given the result that the MSHS coping effect waned once FGA was controlled for, we would expect mixed results for these other scales.

The need for further replication also concerns the (waning of) coping effect for MSHS: Future studies should investigate to what extent this effect can also be shown in relation to other, more differentiated humor scales ( Kuiper et al., 2004 ; Cann and Collette, 2014 ; Pérez-Aranda et al., 2019 ; Ruch and Heintz, 2019 ). As the subscales of the MSHS are highly correlated, this studies used the total score; however, this prevents the investigation of differential effects of subscales. Moreover, all aspects captured in the MSHS relate exclusively to “positive” uses of humor (see Ruch and Heintz, 2016 ; Heintz et al., 2018 ; Perchtold et al., 2019 ), which precludes empirical testing of the hypothesis that the cognitive component of perspective-taking might be effective for coping independently of the (intention of) usage of humor. Third, in the context of such extension and replication studies, it would be important to consider other burdens or threats, especially those that have the character of chronic goal blockages (e.g., involuntary unemployment, chronic illness, etc.).

Finally, to more precisely test the assumptions that the ability to change perspective are important effective factors for both humor and coping, and that some forms of humor additionally show an incremental coping effect, it would be necessary to measure perspective change more directly, as we only measured this assumption indirectly in this study. Studies, which directly test the presumed underlying mental ability of perspective change, have been rare so far. With respect to cognitive (re)appraisal (for which, in turn, perspective change may be a necessary condition, as argued above), the study by Samson et al. (2014) has provided evidence that humor still has an incremental relief effect even when a “sober” re-appraisal is controlled for (see Perchtold et al., 2019 for a similar approach with respect to personality).

The replicability of the role of perspective change with regard to the coping effect of humor supports the suggestion, put forward several times (for a summary Martin, 2008 ; Ruch, 2008 ; Martin and Ford, 2018 ), that cognitive adaptation may be a central process in the coping effects of humor. However, it is important to differentiate this interpretation: If the finding of an incremental value of the HCOP should prove replicable as well, this suggests that there are aspects responsible for the moderating effect of humorous change of perspective that are not entailed in the FGA scale. One plausible interpretation of this pattern of results is that it is not primarily the perspective changing facets of FGA that are effective with respect to unrequited love. For instance, another constitutive aspect of FGA is the downgrading of the threatened goal—which is not explicitly captured in the HCOP items. At the same time, the alleviating effect of HCOP suggests that (humorous) perspective change actually is important in this respect. Of course, there are further plausible candidates which can explain the coping effects of (several forms of) humor. For instance, Martin (2007 ; see also Martin and Ford, 2018 ) had named emotional processes, both physiologically (laughter) and psychologically (enjoyment), as possible effective factors in addition to cognitive adaptations (see also Lefcourt et al., 1995 ).

Limitations

Several caveats should be noted with respect to the interpretation of the present findings. First, it should be noted that the present data are cross-sectional; although the cross-sectional relationships reported here can be seen as necessary conditions for (claiming) the tested hypotheses, a longitudinal replication of the present study would be particularly important in order to investigate the assumed causal relation. More importantly, future studies should experimentally vary the facets presumed to be responsible for the buffer effect of humor (for example, in intervention studies) so that causal relationships can also be properly tested.

Second, the sample of the present study is highly likely to be self-selective, possibly in two respects. On the one hand it can be assumed that individuals who experienced a past or current unrequited love as currently unburdening (because of their perspective shifting) were less motivated to participate in the study (“Why should I bother talking about my misguided illusion?”). In support of this, we found that participants who were currently unhappily in love had a lower FGA score (which might indicate such a self-selection). This could lead to an underestimation of the alleviative effect of humor through its perspective-changing aspects in the current study's sample. On the other hand, persons who are currently—or still—heavily suffering from an unrequited love may not be inclined to participate in such a study either (“It hurts to much—I'm not willing to talk about it”). This kind of selection could possibly restrict the variance both of the criterion and the moderator, and, as a consequence, could hamper the detection of the predicted patterns. This is another important argument for a longitudinal replication of the results of this study.

Third, it has not been our intention to identify one form of humor that is effective for coping—or more specifically: for coping by a change of perspective; instead, we investigated whether one essential (at least constitutive for several forms of humor) component of humor could be responsible for its general buffering effect, which presumably emerges differently in different forms of humor. This approach presumes, however, that various forms of humor (e.g., malevolent vs. benevolent) are not truly separate competencies or capacities, but rather differently composed versions of a family of basal competencies (e.g., perspective change). We have not, also for reasons of space, discussed this assumption in detail (it was implied rather than explicit in the introductory remarks). However, since this is an untested assumption, it would be particularly important to examine different forms of humor (and the corresponding forms of assessment). With respect to this very point, our decision to replicate the coping effect of humor using the MSHS unidimensionally is attackable, and certainly to be viewed as a first investigatory step. Although this usage has, arguably, a conservative effect with respect to this effect, and although the excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.92) supports this usage, the factor analysis (as presented in the Supplementary Materials ) underscores the position that humor (as assessed by the 17 “remaining” items of the MSHS) is a heterogeneous concept. This, in turn supports the argument that it is necessary to investigate in more detail (using more differentiated and modern forms of assessment of humor) which components of humor are effective with respect to its coping effect—and which of these might rest, generally or partly, on perspective change.

Fourth, we operationalized the independent variable (burden of unrequited love) in two very different ways. First, we asked about the subjective burden of the event, second, we chose the temporal distance to the event as a (rough) estimator of burden (because empirical data show that burden decreases over time; see section Introduction). Both indicators of burden have limitations. The subjective burden (retrospectively reported for the majority of participants; n = 104) might be confounded by the very coping resources examined here (i.e., perspective change). It is thus plausible that perspective change may have already influenced the current and especially the retrospective assessment of the burden of unrequited love. In the present study, the correlation between FGA and subjective burden from unrequited love in the present study is r = −0.368. That is why we chose (in a cross-sectional study) temporal distance as a more “objective” indicator of burden. This indicator is also not entirely independent of the process under study (the more effective the available resources, the greater and/or faster the reduction of burden over time), but here, in any case, a direct confounding of the specification itself with the moderators or the dependent variables is not to be expected here. Both weaknesses in the operationalization of the independent variable are methodologically conservative in the sense that they make the interaction (buffer) effect to be tested more difficult to detect because the statistical or causal relationship between predictor and moderator might obscure the separate effect of the moderator and the interaction effect. Note, however, that the retrospective bias for the subjective burden, if it was indeed relevant for this sample, did not impair the buffering effect of humor in this relationship; this underscores the interpretation that it is not the cognitive perspective shifting component of humor alone that produces the alleviative effect of humor.

Fifth, the present study assessed the individual's ability and inclination with respect to coping-relevant perspective shifts exclusively by the Flexible Goal Adjustment questionnaire; it cannot be ruled out that other instruments that assess or entail coping-relevant perspective change might better capture—and thus partial out more effectively—this coping-significant aspect of humor as assessed by the MSHS and HCOP (With the wisdom of hindsight, it might have been more prudent to already include, on the one hand, at least one of these scales in the present study instead of developing a new and untested one. In addition, it might have been beneficial to not exclude items of the MSHS in the assessment). As discussed above, this underscores the importance of a more detailed and comparative investigation of different humor facets and their operationalization if one wants to better understand what underlies the effect of humor as a coping resource.

Conclusion and Outlook

The present study, despite its limitations, suggests, first, that the coping efficacy of humor does indeed rest, at least in part, on the adaptive (i.e., accommodative) capacities of the individual. At the same time it is worth considering that the alleviative effect of humor might be based less on the mere cognitive forms of perspective shifting, but also on other humor-specific factors that need to be determined. If these results prove to be replicable with respect to other problems or burdens that entail the blocking of important goals as well as other components of humor (beyond perspective shifting), future studies should distinguish which of these processes contribute to the coping-effect of humor. It is thus of particular importance to refer to experimental designs with respect to the burden and to the (usage of) coping processes. In addition, it would be valuable if these processes could be assessed by measures that do not rely entirely on self-report data. Since humor seems to be a useful coping resource in everyday life, this avenue of research is certainly worth pursuing—not only in terms of theoretical knowledge, but also because of the numerous possible applications, especially in the field of preventative strategies for mental health, which aims to strengthen everyday coping resources and thus promote mental well-being. For example, if future studies confirm that a change of perspective is a relevant, possibly constitutive component of both humor and coping, training program with respect to perspective change (at an early age), perhaps in analogy to creativity training, could be a functional preventive approach in several respects, especially when faced with problems and challenges that cannot be solved by strategic action. This, of course, requires not only more specific knowledge about the developmental conditions and supportability of an individual's ability to change perspective, but above all the replication and differentiated examination of the findings presented here.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences, University of Hildesheim. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

The present study was planned by JH and WG. The study was conducted by JH. The results were analyzed by FR and JH, the first draft of the method and results sections were written by FR. The first draft of the introduction and the discussion were written by WG. All authors contributed to all parts of the text and agree to be countable on this study and paper.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.653900/full#supplementary-material

1. ^ We used the MSHS ( Thorson and Powell, 1993 ) and the SHQ-6-R ( Svebak, 2010 ; see also Martin and Ford, 2018 ) as well as a self-constructed scale. Due to inconsistencies in the implementation of the response format, the SHQ-6-R could not be properly evaluated. However, the results of the other two scales are reported here in full.

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Keywords: cognitive means of coping, alleviative effect of humor, flexible goal adjustment, unrequited love, self-esteem

Citation: Greve W, Hauser J and Rühs F (2021) Humorous Coping With Unrequited Love: Is Perspective Change Important? Front. Psychol. 12:653900. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.653900

Received: 15 January 2021; Accepted: 28 May 2021; Published: 25 June 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Greve, Hauser and Rühs. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Werner Greve, wgreve@uni-hildesheim.de

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Unrequited love: The role of prior commitment, motivation to remain friends, and friendship maintenance

Affiliations.

1 Saint Louis University.
2 University of Missouri - St. Louis.
3 University of Southern California.
4 Rescue Agency.
PMID: 31362604
DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2019.1648234

This study tested a moderated mediation model that commitment prior to an unrequited love episode will be related to higher levels of friendship maintenance behaviors after the episode and that this relationship will be mediated by the individual's motivations to remain friends with the rejecter. We predicted that rejection distress would weaken the mediational model among those reporting high distress. Participants wrote about an unrequited love experience as a pursuer and completed measures of pre-unrequited love commitment, rejection distress, motivations to remain friends, and friendship maintenance behaviors. Our results confirmed the moderated mediation model when the motivations to remain friends measure overall score, the interpersonal connection motivation, or the social connections motivation was the mediator. When covariates were added, only the model with the overall motivations score as mediator was supported. These data can help laypersons and mental health professionals understand and potentially repair friendships following an unrequited love episode.

Keywords: Unrequited love; commitment; friendship; relationship maintenance.

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The Power of Unrequited Love: The Parasocial Relationship, Trust, and Organizational Identification Between Middle-Level Managers and CEOs

Youliang liao.

1 School of Business, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

2 Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, United States

3 NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

4 Center for Accounting, Finance and Institutions, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

Haiyan Zhou

5 China Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China

Associated Data

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Previous studies have found that CEOs manage their firms through traditional methods such as leadership and management practices. In this study, we investigate how the parasocial relationship (PSR) between middle-level managers and CEOs affects the organizational trust and the organizational identification (OI) of middle managers. We find that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs has a positive effect on the OI of middle managers, which is mediated by the organizational trust of middle managers.

Purpose: Middle managers and CEOs are the key components of a firm and are crucial to firm strategies and control systems. Middle managers play a vital role in information transmission like in the organizational hierarchy while CEOs influence low-level employees through middle managers. In this study, we investigate how the PSR between middle managers and CEOs affects organizational trust and OI.

Design/Methodology: In this study, the data concerning OI, integrity perception, and organizational trust are derived from a survey conducted by the internal control research group of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The research group began the survey on September 5, 2014, for the firms listed in the A-share market, accounting firms with securities and future practice qualifications, and institutional investors through the accounting department of the CSRC, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the Asset Management Association of China. The research group members surveyed 2,536 A-share firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As of October 31, 2014, 2,154 sets of questionnaires with a total of 12,551 questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 84.95%. The financial and accounting data are from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database.

Findings: We find that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs has a positive effect on the OI of middle managers, which is mediated by the organizational trust of middle managers. This study extends the application of the parasocial interaction (PSI) theory, organizational trust theory, and social identity theory in listed firms.

Practical Implication: There are practical implications for internal relationship management, corporate governance, and performance management. CEOs should value the influence of organizational trust and improve his/her own social and work abilities on middle-level managers as the organizational trust of middle-level managers has a significant positive impact on their sense of responsibility, ethical behavior, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance. CEOs should adopt various methods to influence different managers because organizational trust mediates the relationship between the PSR and OI.

Originality/Value: Our study is one of the first attempts to apply the PSI theory to the corporate world. Given the dynamics of present-day markets and changing stakeholder demands, there is little insight into how this relationship affects organizational health and functioning. Much less what a PSR between CEO and middle management looks like in practice. Our study attempts to fill the gap by investigating how CEOs might come to affect middle managers through their practices and behaviors.

Introduction

A parasocial relationship (PSR) originates from the one-sided feelings of fans toward celebrities or superstars. Because PSR is a unilateral and a virtual relationship that emerges in the case of individuals not being able to obtain normal social interactions with a particular person, the type of relationship between CEOs and middle-level managers is also parasocial. Middle-level managers are the key components of a firm and are crucial to firm strategies and control systems, and, in particular, information transmission (Sminia and de Rond, 2012 ). Previous studies have found that CEOs manage their firms through traditional methods such as leadership and management practices (Yukl, 2008 ; Finkelstein et al., 2009 ; Schein and Schein, 2010 ; Ou et al., 2014 ). In this study, we investigate how the PSR between middle-level managers and CEOs affects the organizational trust of middle-level managers and the organizational identification (OI) of middle managers.

The influence of CEOs on employees is well-recognized by researchers and practitioners (Weitz and Bradford, 1999 ; Nath and Mahajan, 2011 ; Germann et al., 2015 ). However, with growing complexity in traditional organizational hierarchies, the hierarchical distance between CEOs and middle-level managers increases and the interaction between middle-level managers and CEOs drastically decreases, which mitigates the influence of CEOs on middle-level managers due to a lack of interaction and a weak relationship (Williams and Bargh, 2008 ). Consequently, how to deal with the weakening impact of CEOs resulting from a growing complexity in traditional organizational hierarchies is a fundamental challenge in corporate governance. Previous studies focusing on the relationship between employees and CEOs investigate the following: (1) the effect of characteristics of CEOs on employees such as motivation, communication style, power, and social influence of managers (Whitener et al., 1998 ; Rich, 2001 ); (2) the effect of characteristics of employees on performance such as incentives, personality, working style, and compensation (Cravens et al., 1993 ; Miao and Evans, 2014 ; Kissan and Alex, 2015 ); and (3) a moderating effect of environmental factors, such as organizational culture, competitive intensity, and market uncertainty, on the relationship between CEOs and employees (Ehrhart and Naumann, 2004 ; Fraenkel et al., 2016 ). These studies focus on the management strategies of CEOs but overlook the active feedback effect of employees (Agnihotri and Krush, 2015 ). With growing complexity in traditional organizational hierarchies, the effect of management strategy will gradually decay from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy. Therefore, it is critical to explore the initiatives of employees, including middle-level managers (Ehrhart and Naumann, 2004 ; Bush et al., 2017 ).

Middle managers are the key components of firm employees and play a pivotal role in any organization (Holmemo and Ingvaldsen, 2016 ; Lleo et al., 2017 ), who act as internal information intermediaries in firms (Katz and Kahn, 1978 ; Yang et al., 2010 ) and mediators between top management teams (TMT) and front-line employees (Wooldridge et al., 2008 ; Yang et al., 2010 ). They are important practitioners of firm strategies (Mantere, 2008 ), ensuring effective implementation of strategic plans and mitigating the obstacles of CEOs and front-line employees in the firm reform (Guo et al., 2017 ; Lampaki and Papadakis, 2018 ).

In normal management hierarchies, CEOs influence employees through other TMT members and middle managers with whom CEOs can impact (Ou et al., 2014 ). Previous studies report that CEOs influence middle-level managers and other subordinates with traditional approaches such as leadership, management practices, and organizational culture (Yukl, 2008 ; Finkelstein et al., 2009 ; Schein and Schein, 2010 ; Ou et al., 2014 ). Instead of focusing on the traditional approaches, we investigate the PSR between middle managers and CEOs given the importance of middle managers in this study. Given the dynamics of present-day markets and changing stakeholder demands, there is little insight into how this relationship affects organizational health and functioning. Much less what a PSR between CEO and middle management looks like in practice. Our study attempts to fill the gap by investigating how CEOs might come to affect middle managers through their practices and behaviors.

Parasocial interaction (PSI) theory provides a lens to explore the importance of fostering employee initiative (Rubin and Mchugh, 1987 ; Giles, 2002 ). PSI theory argues that in an interaction between the two parties, wishful thinking (i.e., perceived kindness) of one party toward another party can facilitate building a PSR (Rubin et al., 1985 ). Different from a traditional social relationship, a PSR is a one-sided virtual relationship, where one party initiates the relationship and another party is unaware of its existence (Rubin and Step, 2000 ). PSRs originate from the intimacy and identification for a receiver of initiator and are allowed to build a psychological connection (Perse and Rubin, 1989 ; Labrecque, 2014 ). A PSR prompts a receiver to conduct beneficial behavior toward the initiators (Perse and Rubin, 1989 ; Labrecque, 2014 ).

Extant literature on PSRs is based on new social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr, which facilitate the formation of PSRs (e.g., Kim and Song, 2016 ). We argue that such PSRs could exist in the corporate world. When the growth of and an increase in the management hierarchy of a firm limits the interaction between CEOs and middle managers, the PSR is expected to become more crucial. For instance, star entrepreneurs such as Steven Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Edward Buffett, Jack Ma, and Richard Liu can stimulate the workplace initiative of their employees. PSRs play an important role where middle and low-level managers can barely interact with these entrepreneurs but are still motivated by them. However, in the setting of internal relationships and corporate governance in the company, research on the effect of PSRs is still missing. Our study attempts to fill such a research gap. Based on the PSI theory, this study explores the effect of PSRs on OI. OI is the perceived degree of a stakeholder to which they are connected to and share the same values like an organization (Ashforth and Mael, 1989 ; Dutton et al., 1994 ; Pratt, 1998 ). We attempt to answer the following questions in this study: (1) How does the PSR between CEOs and middle managers affect the OI of middle managers? and (2) What is the mechanism through which the PSR affects OI?

In this study, we obtain the data concerning OI, integrity perception, and organizational trust from a survey conducted by the internal control research group of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The research team started to survey A-share listed companies through the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on September 5, 2014, for the firms listed in the A-share market, accounting firms with securities and future practice qualifications, and institutional investors through the accounting department of the CSRC, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the Asset Management Association of China. The research group members surveyed 2,536 A-share firms who are publicly listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As of October 31, 2014, 2,154 sets of questionnaires with a total of 12,551 questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 84.95%. The questionnaire was filled in by senior and middle managers, such as CEO, chairman of the board, secretary of the board, financial department manager, auditing department manager, and the manager of the internal control department. The financial and accounting data are from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database. We find that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs is positively associated with the OI of middle managers. Further, we show that that relationship is mediated by organizational trust.

Our study makes theoretical contributions to the literature in the following ways. Firstly, our study is one of the first attempts to apply the PSI theory to the corporate world. Our study is different from the existing literature studies on PSRs, which is based on new social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr, to facilitate the formation of PSRs (e.g., Kim and Song, 2016 ). In previous studies, PSI theory was used to study the impact of the PSR or PSI of a multimedia platform on the attitude and behavior of consumers (e.g., Kim and Song, 2016 ; Yuksel and Labrecque, 2016 ; Gong and Li, 2017 ). In the relevant research on executives of the company, it is mainly the research on the executives of the company influencing the public through the mass media (e.g., Men and Tsai, 2016 ). None of these studies examined the PSR between the middle manager and CEO in a firm. Secondly, to add OI to the literature (e.g., Boivie et al., 2011 ; Lange et al., 2015 ), we reveal a mediating role of organizational trust between the PSR and the OI. Our study also contributes to the motivation literature (e.g., Rubin and Step, 2000 ) by documenting the role of the PSR in enhancing the organizational trust, OI, and initiatives of middle managers. For practitioners, our model sheds light on improving the PSR between middle managers and CEOs, encourages CEOs to motivate middle managers, and promotes the OI of middle managers. By strengthening the degree of OI in middle management positions, CEOs can motivate people in these roles and simultaneously improve the nature of PSRs in their organization, which has positive performance benefits.

Theoretical Background

Psr between middle managers and ceos.

A PSR is characterized by an interest in persona and a persistent will to build emotional trust (Lim and Kim, 2011 ). For example, the PSR of an individual with a celebrity originates from appreciation and makes his or her trust evident by buying the products endorsed by the celebrity. Social interaction and communication between the two parties is a basic component of the life of an individual and a tool to form social relationships (Rubin and Mchugh, 1987 ). In traditional society, interpersonal interactions are bilateral; however, in a PSI, emotional dependence is a result of one-sided perception, which leads to a PSR (Rubin and Mchugh, 1987 ). A PSR originates from pseudo-intimacy in which personas express concern to manipulate others (Lim and Kim, 2011 ). For example, an audience is willing to build a PSR because he/she feels that the celebrity cares about him/his (Chen, 2014 ). Because celebrities are not aware of the relationship and do not provide feedback to an audience, this type of unilateral relationship is considered as a PSR (Hoffner, 1996 ). Based on the PSI theory, although an audience receives the same information (i.e., watching the same TV show, broadcast program, or speech from a conference) from the persona, different receivers may form PSRs with varying intensities, which in turn leads to varying cognition, attitudes, and behaviors (Ehrhart and Naumann, 2004 ).

According to the previous literature studies (i.e., Rubin et al., 1985 ; Dibble et al., 2016 ), we define the PSR between middle managers and CEOs as a persistent and an intimate relationship developed between middle managers and CEOs based on the one-sided perception of middle managers (Rubin et al., 1985 ). This PSR has four characteristics: (1) a one-sided relationship from middle managers to CEOs (Rubin et al., 1985 ) in which middle managers perceive the language and behavior of CEOs unilaterally and form an emotional bond to CEOs; (2) an illusionary experience (Hartmann and Goldhoorn, 2011 ) in which middle managers interpret the signals sent by CEOs and perceive the feeling of reciprocity with the consensus, attention, and adjustment of executives; (3) a long-term relationship (Dibble et al., 2016 ; Hoewe et al., 2020 ); and (4) a relationship similar to a real social relationship (Gleason et al., 2017 ; Tukachinsky and Stever, 2019 ), which is based on social attraction and can provide a feeling of friendship with CEOs (Perse and Rubin, 1989 ). According to the PSI theory, a PSR strengthens the obsession of information receivers with the information transmitters themselves. The PSR between middle managers and CEOs can affect their work enthusiasm (Tsai and Men, 2017 ). From the perspective of PSR formation, there are three categories of mechanisms underlying PSRs: information transmitters (CEOs), information receivers (middle managers), and the other factors influencing the perceptions of information receivers.

A PSR is based on the one-sided perception of middle managers on the information of the CEO. Like information transmitters, the antecedents of PSR of middle managers could be factors such as the self-disclosure (Kim and Song, 2016 ; Chung and Cho, 2017 ), social presence (Kim and Song, 2016 ), exposure (Horton and Wohl, 1956 ; Cohen, 2009 ; Bond, 2018 ), awareness, liveliness (Kim et al., 2016 ), competence, trustworthiness, goodwill, and care of CEOs (Tsiotsou, 2016 ). Previous studies have shown that the attractiveness of a TV host or actor strengthens the PSR of an audience with them (Conway and Rubin, 1991 ; Turner, 1993 ). The similarity between the conduct of information transmitters and information receivers is positively associated with their likeability (Duck and Barnes, 1992 ) and trust (Phua, 2016 ), thus enhancing PSR (Schiappa et al., 2007 ; Bond, 2018 ).

Individual heterogeneity affects the formation and strength of the PSR. The same behavior of a CEO can be interpreted differently by middle managers. Comparatively, information-sensitive individuals are more likely to form a PSR with CEOs when they express caring signals (Cravens et al., 1993 ). Self-esteem, self-efficacy, neuroticism, introversion, materialism, etc., of middle managers can affect their own PSR (Sun and Wu, 2012 ). When middle managers regard CEOs as “friends,” this intimacy perception may increase their job commitment (Rubin et al., 1985 ). Cohen ( 2004 ) expresses that demographic characteristics such as gender, age, and education affect the strength of a PSR (Cohen, 2004 ). Jin and Namkee ( 2009 ) show that game players with high interdependent self-construal are positively associated with the PSR of game players with their game avatars. Lim and Kim ( 2011 ) find that the feeling of loneliness of customers positively predicts the PSR between them and TV shopping hosts.

Other factors influencing the perceptions of information receivers can also affect PSRs. For instance, Rubin and Mchugh ( 1987 ) document that how audiences perceive the strength of PSR corresponding with the information credibility of radio hosts. Biel and Bridgwater ( 1990 ) indicate that when the perceived relevancy of TV audiences between their own needs and commercial products is strong, there is more participation from the audiences and a stronger PSR is present. An intimate PSR will emerge when middle managers perceive the care from CEOs (Tsai and Men, 2017 ). Rubin and Step ( 2000 ) and Ehrhart and Naumann ( 2004 ) show that the PSR can alter the cognition, attitude, and behavior of the information receiver by increasing the perception of information reliability.

The social information processing theory argues that the attitude and behavior of an individual are affected by the information received from others (Salancik and Pfeffer, 1978 ; Ou et al., 2014 ). PSRs affect the cognition, attitude, and behavior of information receivers (Ehrhart and Naumann, 2004 ). Rubin and Mchugh ( 1987 ) empirically examine the PSR between radio hosts and their audiences, finding that the PSR is positively related to the radio exposure of an audience on the radio station, information acquisition from radio hosts, and positive attitudes and behaviors. Ballantine and Martin ( 2005 ) argue that with a stronger PSR between media personas and media users is, the users are more likely to buy the products promoted by the media personas in online communities. Those findings explain why companies pay a large sum of money to celebrities as endorsement fees (Song and George, 2008 ). Labrecque ( 2014 ) finds that the PSR between information receivers in online brand communities is positively associated with the willingness to share information and brand loyalty. Thorson and Rodgers ( 2006 ) analyze the interaction between college students and political candidates on blogs and find that the PSR between college students (the information receivers) and political candidates (the information transmitters) positively affects the positive attitude of information receivers toward candidates, and the willingness to vote.

Organizational Identification

Organizational identification is an integral part of a firm, which makes it prominently different from the market along with other factors such as cooperation, communication, learning, and loyalty (Kogut and Zander, 1996 ). The social identity theory provides a theoretical foundation for OI (Elsbach, 1979 ). Social identity originates from social norms, social situations, and social categories (Akerlof and Kranton, 2005 ). Firstly, social norms govern how people should behave (Pareto, 1980 ). Secondly, social situations influence how people internalize norms and then guide their behavior accordingly, as well as the situation itself—that is, when, where, how, and between whom a transaction takes place. Finally, social categories are used to describe the types of people (e.g., gender or ethnicity) and are critical to behaviors as people often consciously think of themselves in terms of social categories to a greater or lesser extent (Akerlof and Kranton, 2005 ). Previous studies argue that social categories are crucial for the behavior of people because they classify themselves into that given social category (Akerlof and Kranton, 2005 ). While these clearly articulate the consequences of PSR, none of the studies, however, attempt to illustrate linkages between potential or expected implications for middle management.

Identity is a self-image of a person of who he/she is, based on his/her social categories (Akerlof and Kranton, 2005 ). Accordingly, OI is the perceived degree of a stakeholder to which they are connected to and share the same values as the organization (Ashforth and Mael, 1989 ; Dutton et al., 1994 ; Pratt, 1998 ; Ashforth et al., 2008 ). OI is also described as a process of self-categorization (Dutton et al., 1994 ). The connotation is that the perception and feeling of belonging to an organization of an individual or of sharing the fate of an organization is a process in which a person uses his/her identity as an organization member to define his/herself (Mael and Ashforth, 1992 ). Therefore, we define the OI of middle managers as the cognition, emotional connection, and feeling of belonging to the organization of middle managers, and the perceived status as an organizational member (Mael and Ashforth, 1992 ).

The relationship between individuals and the other members of an organization will affect OI (Sluss and Ashforth, 2008 ). In the corporate setting, the PSRs between CEOs and middle-level managers could affect the OI of middle managers. As identification is an effective approach to motivate and can substitute for lucrative or material incentives (Akerlof and Kranton, 2005 ), such a link would benefit a firm when an identification is developed and people integrate their belief in firms into their own identities. The PSRs between CEOs and middle managers can enhance the identification process, when PSRs make the middle managers to believe that the group of an individual is more unique and favorable than other groups and his organizational identity is stronger (Ashforth and Mael, 1989 ). In addition, the long-term PSRs between CEOs and middle managers can enhance the identification process, as a salient, central, and long-lasting group, which also enhances the identity of its members (Albert and Whetten, 1985 ; Ashforth and Mael, 1989 ; Dutton et al., 1994 ).

Organizational Trust

Trust is the willingness of an individual to accept positive expectations based on the intentions and actions of others (Mayer et al., 1995 ). Positive expectations are based on the perception and evaluation of the extent to which individuals trust others, based on the emotional reaction made to others by individuals (Williams and Anderson, 1991 ; McAllister, 1995 ). The contents of perception and evaluation are classified into two categories: capability and goodwill. Capability indicates the skills necessary to fulfill a task, whereas goodwill indicates the willingness of the trusted object to fulfill a task (Agnihotri and Krush, 2015 ). Trust implies the willingness to bear risks resulting from the possible opportunistic behavior of a trusted object. In organizational management, trust is an intangible asset, which alleviates the transaction costs, facilitates the implementation of various organizational plans, strategies, and activities, and improves the spontaneous communication and cooperation of members in an organization (Agnihotri and Krush, 2015 ).

Luhmann ( 2005 ) categorizes trust, in terms of trusted objects, into “individual trust” and “systematic trust.” Individual trust defines the trusted objects as individuals, whereas systematic trust defines them as organizations. Organizational trust includes the trust between peers and the mutual trust between subordinates and superiors, or organizations (Costigan et al., 1998 ). In summary, we classify organizational trust as shown in Figure 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is fpsyg-12-689511-g0001.jpg

Organizational trust definition.

Integrating the characteristics of individual trust and organizational trust, we define the organizational trust of middle managers as the willingness of middle managers to accept positive expectations based on the intentions and actions of CEOs (Mayer et al., 1995 ). Consequently, we use the perception of middle managers on an improvement of the trust in an organizational environment to proxy for the organizational trust of middle managers.

The organizational trust of employees predicts their responsibility, ethical behavior, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance (Williams and Anderson, 1991 ; Agnihotri and Krush, 2015 ). In addition, organizations possess personified characteristics, and CEOs are considered as the representatives of organizational personification (Hambrick and Mason, 1984 ). Moreover, the higher the status of the trusted object is, the more likely employees will attribute to the behavior of the trusted object to organizational objectives (Eisenberger et al., 2004 ). Because executives are typical representatives of organizational personification and organizational intent (Hambrick and Mason, 1984 ; Eisenberger et al., 2004 ), employee trust in executives can be considered as employee trust in the organization. The magnitude of the trust of employees in the CEOs is affected by the quality of the relationship between them—the higher the intimacy level, the stronger the trust (Lin, 2010 ; Chen, 2014 ). A PSR, a long-lasting, one-sided intimacy relationship will make middle managers to regard CEOs as friends and enhance the one-sided intimacy and commitment in the relationship (Rubin and Mchugh, 1987 ; Rubin and Step, 2000 ). Therefore, the PSR of middle managers can be an antecedent of trust and improve their organizational trust ( Figure 1 ) (Allison et al., 2016 ).

Hypothesis Development

The influence mechanism of psr.

Based on the PSI theory, the PSR emerges as the two parties involved rarely interact or communicate directly; instead, one party develops an emotional bond voluntarily (Rubin and Mchugh, 1987 ). This relationship is asymmetrical (Rubin et al., 1985 ). The PSR that is underscored with affection indicates a closer psychological distance between the two parties involved, and that closer distance can affect cognition and behavior.

When faced with many middle managers, the CEO cannot maintain direct communication with each one of them. However, middle managers have normal social, emotional, and professional needs from CEOs. Additionally, the perception of CEOs as “friends” is beneficial for work initiatives (Weitz and Bradford, 1999 ).

When middle managers cannot easily build a friendship with CEOs, a PSR may be an effective alternative (Perse and Rubin, 1989 ). CEOs convey the information on subordinate care, work plans, etc., to middle managers so that they may interpret that information and generate emotional resonance (Rubin and Mchugh, 1987 ). This will influence a unilateral perception of middle managers on the friendship of CEOs. The PSR requires the unilateral approval of middle managers and exerts a positive influence on them (Lim and Kim, 2011 ).

The PSR between middle managers and CEOs has three stages. Stage one indicates the affection of middle managers for CEOs, which is the foundation of a PSR. Stage two indicates the identification of middle managers for CEOs, by which the skills and visions of CEOs induce resonance (Rubin and Step, 2000 ). Stage three implies that middle managers regard CEOs as not only leaders but also friends (Lim and Kim, 2011 ). The three stages of emotional connection are all premises of OI (Schaubroeck et al., 2013 ).

Organizational identification is the degree to which individuals self-define in relation to the organization (Ashforth et al., 2008 ). The relationship between the colleagues in an organization will affect OI (Sluss and Ashforth, 2008 ). A PSR shares similar characteristics with a normal social relationship, such as motivation, communication style, power, and social influence (Whitener et al., 1998 ; Rich, 2001 ), so it is highly likely to affect the OI of an individual. The good relationship between superiors and subordinates helps to improve the OI of subordinates (Morgan et al., 2004 ; Katrinli et al., 2008 ). Horizontal partnerships could influence the OI of an employee with his/her employer (Cornwell et al., 2018 ). Effective organizational communication atmosphere can significantly promote the OI of employees (Smidts et al., 2001 ). Additionally, a PSR leads to the emotional connection of an individual, the positive effect of which can improve OI (Schaubroeck et al., 2013 ). Hence, PSRs can have a positive association with OI. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

H1: The PSR of middle managers to CEOs is positively related with middle managers' OI .

In addition to increasing the commitment of the information receiver (Rubin et al., 1985 ; Grant et al., 1991 ), PSRs also generate organizational trust in the objects (Fritchie and Johnson, 2003 ; Labrecque, 2014 ). Tsiotsou ( 2016 ) finds that the PSR of an individual in a consumer community affects brand trust. Individuals who trust in the brand or organization exhibit a positive attitude, including satisfaction, organizational commitment, and loyalty (Ballester and Alemán, 2001 ; Tsiotsou, 2016 ). Chung and Cho ( 2017 ) show that the PSR between consumers and celebrities positively predicts the perception of consumers on trust in celebrities. Previous studies indicate the PSR of an individual as being positively related to trust. Furthermore, the trust of an employee in coworkers and managers is positively associated with OI (Schaubroeck et al., 2013 ).

Consequently, we have the following hypotheses ( Figure 2 ):

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Object name is fpsyg-12-689511-g0002.jpg

Conceptual model.

H2: The PSR of middle managers to CEOs is positively related with middle managers' organizational trust .
H3: Middle managers' organizational trust mediates the PSR of middle managers to CEOs and the middle managers' OI .

Research Design

Data and sample selection.

In this study, the data concerning OI, environment integrity perception, and organizational trust are derived from a survey conducted by the internal control research group of the CSRC. The questionnaire was designed by Chinese and international researchers based on relevant references. The research group began a survey on September 5, 2014, for the firms listed in A-share market, accounting firms with securities and future practice qualifications, and institutional investors through the accounting department of the CSRC, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and the Asset Management Association of China. The research group members surveyed 2,536 A-share listed firms. As of October 31, 2014, 2,154 sets of questionnaires with a total of 12,551 questionnaires were received, with a response rate of 84.95%. The financial and accounting data are all from the CSMAR database.

According to previous studies, we process the data by: (1) excluding the samples with severely missing data in the questionnaire, (2) supplementing any remaining missing values in the questionnaire by the serial mean substitution method, (3) deleting samples of listed companies in the financial industry, and (4) dropping the missing values of the combined data of questionnaire and CSMAR. Because the data of OI, integrity perception, and organizational trust are from self-reported surveys, only the data from 2014 are available. Finally, we obtain 1,568 firm observations.

Key Variables and Measures

Dependent variable.

Organizational Identification : we use the six-item scale developed by Mael and Ashforth ( 1992 ). For example, “I think the success of my company is the success of mine.” Each question is measured by a five-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates a higher level of OI.

Independent Variables

Parasocial Relationship : following the models of Miles and Snow ( 2003 ) and Ittner et al. ( 1997 ) and the definition of the PSR (Hartmann and Goldhoorn, 2011 ), we use the sum of the two absolute values of the difference between the environment integrity perceptions of middle managers and CEOs and the difference between the OI of middle managers and CEOs to act as a proxy for the PSR between middle managers and CEOs as shown in Equation (1). According to the definition of environmental integrity perception and organizational identification (Ashforth and Mael, 1989 ), the difference in environmental integrity perception and organizational identification between CEO and middle-level managers can reflect the sense of reciprocity in consensus, attention, and adjustment between them outside and inside the organization. A greater sum of the two absolute values indicates a greater discrepancy of environment integrity perceptions and organizational identities between the middle managers and the CEOs. That is, a greater discrepancy between the shared feeling of reciprocity of middle managers and CEOs with the consensus, attention, and adjustment indicates a weaker PSR. The calculation equation is as follows:

where PSR represents the parasocial relationship between middle managers and CEOs, INTEGRITY m represents the environment integrity perception of middle managers, INTEGRITY c represents the environment integrity perception of CEOs, IDEN m represents the OI of middle managers, and IDEN c represents the OI of CEOs.

Integrity Perception : the environmental integrity perception scale is designed by an expert group with reference to the previous classic literature (Knack and Keefer, 1997 ; Porta et al., 1997 ). Environmental integrity perception directly measures the perception of the integrity of CEOs and department managers regarding industry and region using a five-point Likert scale. A higher score indicates a higher perception of outside environmental integrity.

where PSR_IC, PSR_FINANCE , and PSR_AUDIT represent the PSR between internal control manager and CEOs, financial managers and CEOs, audit managers and CEOs, respectively. IDEN_CEO, IDEN_IC, IDEN_FINANCE , and IDEN_AUDIT represent the OI of CEOs, internal control managers, financial managers, and internal auditing managers, respectively. CEO_INTEGRITY, IC_INTEGRITY, FINANCE_INTEGRITY , and AUDIT_INTEGRITY represent the integrity perception of CEOs, internal control managers, financial managers, and audit managers, respectively.

Organizational Trust of Middle Managers : We use the evaluation of department managers on the improvement of organizational credibility as a proxy for the organizational trust of middle managers, measured by a three-point scale. The question is: “Compared with the previous year, has the extent of which stakeholders' integrity improved?” A high score implies a high level of organizational trust. TRUST_IC, TRUST_FINANCE , and TRUST_AUDIT represent the organizational trust of internal control managers, financial managers, and audit managers, respectively.

Control Variables

The data for the control variables are collected from the CSMAR database. Control variables include SOE, GROWTH, INVENTORY, SIZE, LOSS, AUDITOR_RESIGN, AUDITOR, DUAL, FIRST, MAO, INDEPEN, MANSHARE, TRADE, ROA , and Σ INDUSTRY . Detailed definitions of all variables are shown in Table 1 .

Definitions of variables.


PSR	Parasocial relationship	We use the absolute value of the sum of the difference between the middle managers' and CEOs' perceptions of integrity on environment and the difference between the middle managers' and CEOs' organizational identification to proxy for the PSR between middle managers and CEOs.
TRUST	Organizational trust	We use department managers' evaluation of the improvement of organizational credibility as the proxy for organizational trust of middle managers, measured by a three-point scale. we use the six-item scale developed by Mael and Ashforth ( ).
IDEN	Organizational identification	, and represent the organizational identification of CEOs, internal control managers, financial managers, and internal auditing managers, respectively.
SOE	State-owned firm	Indicator variable equal to 1 for state-owned firms and 0 otherwise.
GROWTH	Firm growth	Revenue growth rate.
INVESTORY	Inventory to total assets ratio	Inventory divided by total assets.
SIZE	Business scale	Natural logarithm of total assets.
LOSS	Loss	Indicator variable equal to 1 if net profit is negative and 0 otherwise.
AUDITOR_RESIGN	Auditor change	Indicator variable equal to 1 if external auditor is different from the one in previous year.
AUDITOR	Big four	External auditor is one of the Big Four CPA firms.
DUAL	Two positions	Dummy variable which is equal to 1 if Chairman and CEO are the same person and 0 otherwise.
FIRST	The shareholding ratio of the largest shareholder	The largest shareholder's holdings in percentage.
MAO	Audit opinions	Indicator variable equal to 1 for unqualified opinion and 0 otherwise.
INDEPEN	Ratio of independent directors	The ratio of independent board members.
MANSHARE	Management shareholding ratio	The percentage of shares held by executives.
TRADE	Stock liquidity	Average monthly trading volume divided by number of shares outstanding.
ROA	Return on assets	Net profit divided by average balance of total assets.
INDUSTRY	Industry	The industry classification is based on the 2012 industry classification of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Empirical Analysis

The regression model is as follows:

In Equation (5), IDEN represents the OI, PSR represents the parasocial relationship, and TRUST represents the organizational trust. In the regression analysis, we include the control variables given in Table 1 .

Empirical Results and Analysis

Descriptive statistics.

Table 2 provides the descriptive statistics for all variables. OI and trust are measured by a five- and three-point scale, respectively, so the maximum and minimum values of OI (organizational trust) are 5 and 1 (3 and 1). However, because some missing values are interpolated with the series MEAN, the minimum values and/or medians for some variables are not integers. Consequently, the mean (median) OI of CEO and department managers range from 4.20 to 4.27 (4–4.33). The average OI of all middle-level supervisors is high. Additionally, the SD is moderate and ranges from 0.55 to 0.64. The PSR of CEOs and department managers is between 0.85 and 0.95, on average. The SD is high at about 0.75. This could indicate the nature to which PSRs are experienced is highly variable and dependent on both personal and contextual factors. The mean of organizational trust ranges between 2.44 and 2.46 with a median of 2, indicating that CEOs and department managers have high organizational trust. The SD is also high at about 0.5.

Descriptive statistics.


IDEN_CEO	1,505	4.26	0.64	1	4.33	5
IDEN_IC	589	4.20	0.55	2.33	4	5
IDEN_FINANCE	1,494	4.27	0.55	2	4.17	5
IDEN_AUDIT	1,214	4.20	0.61	1	4	5
PSR_IC	424	0.95	0.75	0	0.92	4
PSR_FINANCE	1,105	0.85	0.74	0	0.83	4.33
PSR_AUDIT	902	0.93	0.75	0	1	5
TRUST_IC	512	2.45	0.51	1	2	3
TRUST_FINANCE	1,272	2.44	0.52	1	2	3
TRUST_AUDIT	1,041	2.46	0.50	1	2	3
GROWTH	1,568	0.17	0.61	−0.91	0.09	12.46
INVENTORY	1,568	0.14	0.11	0	0.12	0.78
SIZE	1,568	21.95	1.18	17.88	21.77	27.55
LOSS	1,568	0.09	0.29	0	0	1
AUDITOR_RESIGN	1,568	0.06	0.24	0	0	1
AUDITOR	1,568	0.04	0.20	0	0	1
SOE	1,568	0.31	0.46	0	0	1
DUAL	1,568	0.29	0.45	0	0	1
FIRST	1,568	34.71	14.59	3.62	33.11	85.04
MAO	1,568	0.02	0.16	0	0	1
INDEPEN	1,568	0.37	0.05	0.23	0.33	0.67
MANSHARE	1,568	0.16	0.21	0	0.019	0.81
TRADE	1,568	7.81	11.21	0.02	4.68	105.34
ROA	1,568	0.04	0.07	−0.78	0.04	0.96

Table 3 displays the univariate analysis results of state-owned and non-state-owned firm samples. In each sample, we show the mean comparison results of variables for each department. Consistent with our prediction, the PSR and OI of middle managers are not significantly different in state-owned and non-state-owned firms. However, the organizational trust in state-owned firms is lower than that of non-state-owned firms. State-owned firms are more likely to have a loss and perform worse than their non-state-owned counterparts. They are also more likely to hire a Big Four auditor firm and are less likely to change auditor firms. In addition, they have a larger size, higher market valuations, lower stock liquidities, less unqualified opinions, higher concentration on the largest shareholder, less shares held by the management, lower proportions of independent directors, and a higher inventory ratio percentage. Firm characteristics are consistent with the literature.

The t -test between state-owed and non-state-owned firms.


			-test			-test			-test

IDEN	4.231	4.181	0.050	4.292	4.262	0.030	4.233	4.242	−0.009
PSR	0.910	0.969	−0.059	0.838	0.887	−0.048	0.921	0.953	−0.032
TRUST	2.512	2.422	0.090	2.464	2.431	0.032	2.495	2.423	0.072
GROWTH	0.236	0.049	0.187	0.204	0.062	0.142	0.192	0.078	0.114
INVENTORY	0.149	0.158	−0.009	0.136	0.161	−0.025	0.134	0.165	−0.032
SIZE	22.330	22.807	−0.477	21.630	22.622	−0.993	21.603	22.642	−1.039
LOSS	0.068	0.144	−0.076	0.065	0.134	−0.069	0.051	0.163	−0.112
AUDITOR_R~N	0.043	0.087	−0.044	0.040	0.099	−0.058	0.033	0.086	−0.053
AUDITOR	0.056	0.095	−0.039	0.018	0.081	−0.062	0.020	0.096	−0.075
DUAL	0.273	0.087	0.186	0.369	0.099	0.270	0.351	0.105	0.245
FIRST	30.964	39.732	−8.768	33.082	38.791	−5.709	32.967	38.244	−5.277
MAO	0.019	0.034	−0.016	0.021	0.027	−0.006	0.017	0.029	−0.011
INDEPEN	0.373	0.367	0.006	0.377	0.366	0.011	0.376	0.367	0.009
MANSHARE	0.067	0.001	0.066	0.230	0.008	0.222	0.253	0.009	0.244
TRADE	4.873	4.055	0.818	9.616	4.495	5.121	9.671	4.848	4.823
ROA	0.044	0.024	0.020	0.048	0.029	0.020	0.051	0.024	0.027

Reliability and Validity

The reliability of the measurement scale and questionnaire is evaluated with Cronbach's α. A large Cronbach's α value indicates that the scale is highly reliable. The validity of the scale includes construct validity and convergent validity. This study applies a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the construct validity of the measurement scale. Standardized factor loading, composite reliability, and average variance extracted (AVE) are used to examine the construct validity and convergent validity of the scale. Table 1 shows the definitions of variables. The total reliability (Cronbach's α value) of the variables from the questionnaire is 0.937. The Cronbach α of the OI (integrity perception) [organizational trust] of CEOs and department managers is between 0.95 and 0.99 (0.91 and 0.99) [0.97 and 0.99]. The Cronbach α of all is >0.7, even reaching 0.9 (Nunally, 1978 ). Thus, both scale and questionnaire are quite reliable.

The results of CFA show that the factor loading of each variable is >0.5 and the contrast validity (CR) of OI, integrity, and organizational trust of CEO and department managers is between 0.90 and 0.99, 0.69 and 0.79, and 0.76 and 0.79, respectively, which meets the requirement of 0.6 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988 ). The AVE of OI, integrity, and organizational trust of CEOs and department managers is between 0.61 and 0.65, 0.52 and 0.65, and 0.61 and 0.65, respectively, which meets the requirement of 0.5 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988 ). A large CR or AVE value indicates that the measurement scale possesses high validity. The results of CFA indicate that the construct validity, composite validity, and convergent validity of the scale and questionnaire in this study are high. The results are shown in Table 4 .

Reliability and validity test of scale.


Organizational identification (middles and CEOs)	0.95–0.99
Environment integrity perception (middles and CEOs)	0.91–0.99
Organizational trust (middles and CEOs)	0.97–0.99

Organizational identification (middles and CEOs)	0.90–0.99	0.61–0.65
Environment integrity perception (middles and CEOs)	0.69–0.79	0.52–0.65
Organizational trust (middles and CEOs)	0.76–0.79	0.61–0.65

Correlation Analysis

The correlation analysis in Tables 5 – 7 shows that PSR is significantly negatively correlated with IDEN and is significantly negatively correlated with TRUST . According to the measure of PSR , a larger PSR indicates a weaker PSR. This indicates that OI is significantly positively correlated with PSR and also with organizational trust. The results are consistent with H1 and H2.

Correlation analysis: internal control managers.


IDEN_IC	1
TRUST_IC	0.15	1
PSR_IC	−0.10	−0.19	1
GROWTH	0.04	0.06	−0.06	1
INVENTORY	−0.05	−0.01	−0.01	−0.03	1
SIZE	−0.01	0.07	−0.17	0.00	0.12	1
LOSS	−0.00	−0.03	−0.07	−0.13	0.01	−0.02	1
AUDITOR_RESIGN	0.05	−0.00	0.07	0.15	−0.01	0.06	0.02	1
AUDITOR	−0.03	0.01	0.01	−0.03	−0.01	0.39	−0.02	0.07	1
SOE	−0.04	−0.09	0.04	−0.11	0.11	0.39	0.13	0.09	0.15	1
DUAL	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.01	−0.07	−0.16	−0.04	−0.03	−0.07	−0.28	1
FIRST	0.01	−0.02	−0.06	−0.03	0.05	0.22	−0.03	0.07	0.14	0.19	−0.04	1
MAO	0.04	0.02	−0.07	−0.06	−0.01	−0.01	0.19	0.03	−0.01	0.05	−0.00	−0.02	1
INDEPEN	−0.00	0.08	−0.01	−0.00	0.01	−0.05	0.01	0.01	0.03	−0.09	0.12	0.07	0.03	1
MANSHARE	0.05	0.05	0.02	0.08	−0.11	−0.36	−0.12	−0.03	−0.12	−0.48	0.23	−0.10	−0.06	0.10	1
TRADE	0.04	−0.03	0.09	0.05	−0.09	−0.33	−0.08	0.02	−0.08	−0.20	0.11	−0.04	−0.05	0.05	0.34	1
ROA	0.03	0.09	0.07	0.26	−0.10	0.02	−0.52	0.04	0.04	−0.16	0.05	0.03	−0.30	−0.03	0.17	−0.14	1

Lower-triangular cells report Pearson's correlation coefficients, upper-triangular cells are Spearman's rank correlation .

IDEN, Organizational identification; PSR, Parasocial relationship; TRUST, Integrity perception .

The larger the PSR, the weaker the PSR between the department heads and the CEOs .

Correlation analysis: audit managers.


IDEN_AUDIT	1
TRUST_AUDIT	0.13	1
PSR_AUDIT	−0.17	−0.07	1
GROWTH	−0.04	0.02	0.01	1
INVENTORY	−0.01	0.04	−0.01	−0.03	1
SIZE	0.07	0.01	−0.03	0.00	0.12	1
LOSS	0.00	−0.07	−0.04	−0.13	0.01	−0.02	1
AUDITOR_RESIGN	−0.01	0.03	−0.02	0.15	−0.01	0.06	0.02	1
AUDITOR	0.03	0.03	−0.05	−0.03	−0.01	0.39	−0.02	0.07	1
SOE	0.02	−0.03	0.02	−0.11	0.11	0.39	0.13	0.09	0.15	1
DUAL	−0.02	−0.03	−0.01	0.01	−0.07	−0.16	−0.04	−0.03	−0.07	−0.28	1
FIRST	0.01	0.05	−0.06	−0.03	0.05	0.22	−0.03	0.07	0.14	0.19	−0.04	1
MAO	−0.03	0.02	0.04	−0.06	−0.01	−0.01	0.19	0.03	−0.01	0.05	−0.00	−0.02	1
INDEPEN	0.05	0.03	−0.05	−0.00	0.01	−0.05	0.01	0.01	0.03	−0.09	0.12	0.07	0.03	1
MANSHARE	−0.02	0.00	−0.05	0.08	−0.11	−0.36	−0.12	−0.03	−0.12	−0.48	0.23	−0.10	−0.06	0.10	1
TRADE	0.01	0.06	0.03	0.05	−0.09	−0.33	−0.08	0.02	−0.08	−0.20	0.11	−0.04	−0.05	0.03	0.34	1
ROA	−0.00	0.09	0.05	0.26	−0.10	0.02	−0.52	0.04	0.04	−0.16	0.05	0.03	−0.30	−0.03	0.17	−0.14	1

Correlation analysis: financial managers.


IDEN_FINANCE	1
TRUST_FINANCE	0.10	1
PSR_FINANCE	−0.10	−0.15	1
GROWTH	0.00	0.06	−0.05	1
INVENTORY	−0.02	−0.01	0.02	−0.03	1
SIZE	−0.01	0.02	−0.06	0.00	0.12	1
LOSS	−0.01	−0.07	0.02	−0.13	0.01	−0.02	1
AUDITOR_RESIGN	0.01	−0.02	−0.05	0.15	−0.01	0.06	0.02	1
AUDITOR	−0.02	0.04	−0.02	−0.03	−0.01	0.39	−0.02	0.07	1
SOE	0.01	−0.04	0.03	−0.11	0.11	0.39	0.13	0.09	0.15	1
DUAL	0.05	−0.01	0.00	0.01	−0.07	−0.16	−0.04	−0.03	−0.07	−0.28	1
FIRST	0.01	0.02	−0.02	−0.03	0.05	0.22	−0.03	0.07	0.14	0.19	−0.04	1
MAO	0.04	0.02	−0.05	−0.06	−0.01	−0.01	0.19	0.03	−0.01	0.05	−0.00	−0.02	1
INDEPEN	0.03	−0.01	0.02	−0.00	0.01	−0.05	0.01	0.01	0.03	−0.09	0.12	0.07	0.03	1
MANSHARE	−0.01	0.02	−0.04	0.08	−0.11	−0.36	−0.12	−0.03	−0.12	−0.48	0.23	−0.10	−0.06	0.10	1
TRADE	0.02	0.01	−0.01	0.05	−0.09	−0.33	−0.08	0.02	−0.08	−0.20	0.11	−0.04	−0.05	0.03	0.34	1
ROA	−0.00	0.09	−0.02	0.26	−0.10	0.02	−0.52	0.04	0.04	−0.16	0.05	0.03	−0.30	−0.03	0.17	−0.14	1

Hypothesis Testing

The variance inflation factor (VIF) is far below 10, indicating that the multicollinearity concern is non-negligible. Thus, we conduct a regression analysis. Firstly, in the OLS regression, we test the main effect of PSR on OI. Secondly, due to the inaccuracy of a three-step method for testing the mediation effect and the non-robustness of the traditional Sobel test, we apply the bootstrapping mediation analysis method, which is considered relatively robust and accurate. We use the bootstrapping method for a mediation effect test by integrating the study of Wetzel et al. ( 2014 ). According to the mediation effect testing procedure by Zhao et al. ( 2010 ) and the mediator hypothesis testing method by Hayes ( 2013 ), we conduct the bootstrapping mediator test with 2,000 repetitions and a 95% confidence level.

Tables 8 , ,9 9 show the regression results for the main effect of a PSR. Without a mediator, the estimated effect of PSRs on organizational trust (OT) is −0.131 to −0.073 ( p < 0.1 or 0.01). A large value of the PSR index indicates a weak PSR. Therefore, the main effect is significant; namely, the PSR between department managers and CEOs is positively associated with OI. H1 and H2 are supported.

PSR and organizational trust.



PSR_IC	−0.115
	(−3.37)
PSR_FINANCE		−0.101 (−4.75)
PSR_AUDIT			−0.051 (−2.25)
GROWTH	0.045 (1.38)	0.042 (1.43)	0.015 (0.36)
INVENTORY	0.009 (0.04)	0.008 (0.05)	0.450 (2.66)
SIZE	0.014 (0.64)	−0.004 (−0.26)	0.010 (0.54)
LOSS	0.057 (0.57)	−0.055 (−0.84)	−0.098 (−1.29)
AUDITOR_RESIGN	−0.059 (−0.59)	−0.028 (−0.41)	0.094 (1.16)
AUDITOR	−0.013 (−0.13)	0.108 (1.20)	0.059 (0.62)
SOE	−0.050 (−0.85)	−0.018 (−0.43)	−0.090 (−1.89)
DUAL	0.030 (0.42)	−0.013 (−0.35)	0.000 (0.01)
FIRST	0.000 (0.09)	0.001 (0.57)	0.001 (0.63)
MAO	0.056 (0.36)	0.102 (0.94)	0.284 (2.28)
INDEPEN	0.560 (1.20)	−0.160 (−0.55)	0.050 (0.16)
MANSHARE	0.149 (0.52)	−0.028 (−0.31)	−0.073 (−0.79)
TRADE	−0.002 (−0.28)	−0.000 (−0.26)	0.004 (2.23)
ROA	1.081 (1.79)	0.397 (1.36)	0.555 (1.79)
INDUSTRY	−0.010 (−1.22)	0.007 (1.35)	−0.004 (−0.60)
_cons	1.995 (3.71)	2.663 (6.98)	2.174 (5.27)
	424	1,105	902
R-Square	0.066	0.037	0.040
Adj.R-Square	0.03	0.02	0.02

PSR and OI.



PSR_IC	−0.073 (−1.93)			−0.058 (−1.54)
TRUST_IC				0.124 (2.28)
PSR_FINANCE		−0.069 (−3.06)			−0.060 (−2.65)
TRUST_FINANCE					0.088 (2.75)
PSR_AUDIT			−0.131 (−4.94)			−0.124 (−4.70)
TRUST_AUDIT						0.131 (3.31)
GROWTH	0.014 (0.39)	−0.011 (−0.35)	−0.123 (−2.56)	0.009 (0.24)	−0.015 (−0.47)	−0.125 (−2.62)
INVENTORY	−0.210 (−0.91)	−0.076 (−0.47)	0.018 (0.09)	−0.211 (−0.92)	−0.077 (−0.48)	−0.040 (−0.20)
SIZE	−0.005 (−0.20)	0.001 (0.04)	0.058 (2.72)	−0.007 (−0.28)	0.001 (0.06)	0.057 (2.67)
LOSS	0.006 (0.05)	0.006 (0.09)	0.179 (2.01)	−0.002 (−0.01)	0.011 (0.16)	0.192 (2.16)
AUDITOR_R~N	0.048 (0.43)	0.063 (0.87)	0.069 (0.72)	0.055 (0.50)	0.066 (0.90)	0.056 (0.60)
AUDITOR	−0.026 (−0.23)	−0.005 (−0.05)	−0.059 (−0.52)	−0.024 (−0.22)	−0.015 (−0.15)	−0.067 (−0.60)
SOE	−0.022 (−0.34)	−0.004 (−0.08)	−0.053 (−0.95)	−0.015 (−0.24)	−0.002 (−0.04)	−0.041 (−0.74)
DUAL	0.008 (0.10)	0.082 (2.11)	−0.022 (−0.48)	0.004 (0.05)	0.083 (2.15)	−0.022 (−0.49)
FIRST	−0.000 (−0.08)	0.000 (0.32)	−0.001 (−0.64)	−0.000 (−0.09)	0.000 (0.27)	−0.001 (−0.71)
MAO	0.126 (0.73)	0.088 (0.76)	−0.114 (−0.78)	0.119 (0.69)	0.079 (0.68)	−0.151 (−1.03)
INDEPEN	0.110 (0.21)	0.184 (0.59)	0.676 (1.84)	0.040 (0.08)	0.198 (0.64)	0.669 (1.83)
MANSHARE	0.223 (0.70)	0.026 (0.27)	−0.079 (−0.73)	0.204 (0.65)	0.029 (0.30)	−0.069 (−0.64)
TRADE	0.003 (0.46)	−0.000 (−0.16)	0.002 (1.08)	0.003 (0.49)	−0.000 (−0.13)	0.002 (0.83)
ROA	0.024 (0.04)	0.013 (0.04)	0.470 (1.29)	−0.111 (−0.17)	−0.022 (−0.07)	0.397 (1.09)
INDUSTRY	−0.003 (−0.30)	−0.005 (−0.81)	0.003 (0.36)	−0.002 (−0.17)	−0.005 (−0.92)	0.003 (0.43)
_cons	4.362 (7.33)	4.246 (10.48)	2.889 (5.95)	4.114 (6.83)	4.010 (9.72)	2.605 (5.31)
	424	1,105	902	424	1,105	902
R-Square	0.019	0.017	0.056	0.031	0.024	0.067
Adj.R-Square	−0.02	0.00	0.04	−0.01	0.01	0.05

Table 10 displays the bootstrapping method results. For internal control managers, the percentiles for bootstrap and bias-corrected bootstrap analysis indicate that the direct effect is not significant because the CI of a direct effect is >0 (e.g., BC: [−0.13535, 0.0147845]). An indirect effect is significant because the CI of the indirect effect does not reach 0 (e.g., BC: [−0.0357188, −0.0022935]). This indicates that the organizational trust mediates the correlation between the PSR and the OI completely, given the insignificance of a direct effect. Similarly, for financial and audit managers, the CIs of direct and indirect effects do not reach 0. For example, the CI of direct and indirect effects in the financial department is [BC: −0.1102263, −0.0134493] and [BC: −0.0192012, −0.002345]. This indicates that the mediation path of “PSR–organizational trust–organizational identification” is significant and the mediation effect of organizational trust is partial. H3 is supported.

Bootstrapping test for mediation effect.

	.		.

Dir_eff	−0.058	−0.00085	0.038	−0.136	0.013 (P)
				−0.135	0.014 (BC)
Ind_eff	−0.014	0.00009	0.008	−0.033	−0.001 (P)
				−0.035	−0.002 (BC)

Dir_eff	−0.060	0.00057	0.0255	−0.108	−0.012 (P)
				−0.110	−0.013 (BC)
Ind_eff	−0.008	0.00001	0.004	−0.017	−0.002 (P)
				−0.019	−0.002 (BC)

Dir_eff	−0.124	0.00053	0.040	−0.206	−0.048 (P)
				−0.211	−0.054 (BC)
Ind_eff	−0.007	0.00011	0.004	−0.015	−0.00037 (P)
				−0.017	−0.001 (BC)

P, percentile CI; BC, bias-corrected CI .

Robustness Test

To test the robustness of the above regression results, we use the two means to test the hypotheses. Firstly, the secretary of the board is one of the top executives in China and is usually the person in charge of the information disclosure of a company. We choose the variables on the PSRs between middle managers and secretaries of the board ( IC_PSR_2, FINANCE_PSR_2 , and AUDIT_PSR_ 2), which are derived using the same calculation method as substitution variables for PSRs between middle managers and CEOs. As shown in Tables 11 , ,12, 12 , the results are consistent with those previously reported in Tables 8 , ,9. 9 . Organizational trust completely mediates the correlation between PSRs and OI in the internal control department, but only partially mediates the relationship in financial and audit departments. Only the total effect in the internal control department is not significant (the estimated coefficient is −0.045 and the value of p is 0.2). One explanation is that the sample size for the internal control department is much less than that of financial and audit departments.

Endogenous test: total effect.



IC_PSR_2	−0.045 (−1.27)
FINANCE_PSR_2		−0.069 (−3.29)
AUDIT_PSR_2			−0.140 (−5.49)
GROWTH	0.023 (0.68)	−0.002 (−0.08)	−0.118 (−2.64)
INVENTORY	−0.183 (−0.82)	−0.035 (−0.22)	−0.054 (−0.28)
SIZE	0.012 (0.51)	0.008 (0.47)	0.062 (2.96)
LOSS	−0.061 (−0.59)	−0.028 (−0.41)	0.110 (1.27)
AUDITOR_RESIGN	0.058 (0.58)	0.076 (1.06)	0.089 (0.97)
AUDITOR	−0.068 (−0.65)	−0.020 (−0.21)	−0.037 (−0.34)
SOE	−0.004 (−0.06)	−0.036 (−0.82)	−0.027 (−0.48)
DUAL	0.016 (0.21)	0.070 (1.83)	−0.036 (−0.81)
FIRST	−0.000 (−0.25)	0.000 (0.18)	−0.001 (−0.47)
MAO	0.129 (0.74)	0.115 (1.03)	−0.171 (−1.29)
INDEPEN	0.198 (0.40)	0.149 (0.48)	0.533 (1.47)
MANSHARE	0.217 (0.67)	0.006 (0.06)	−0.052 (−0.47)
TRADE	0.002 (0.39)	−0.000 (−0.14)	0.002 (0.84)
ROA_3	−0.172 (−0.27)	0.015 (0.05)	0.385 (1.10)
INDUSTRY	−0.005 (−0.51)	−0.003 (−0.54)	−0.001 (−0.14)
_cons	3.913 (6.77)	4.106 (10.38)	2.897 (6.10)
	442	1,132	914
R-Square	0.016	0.018	0.057
Adj.R-Square	−0.02	0.00	0.04

Robustness test: mediation effect.

	.		.

Dir_eff	0.030	−0.00103	0.038	−0.104	0.041 (P)
				−0.103	0.042 (BC)
Ind_eff	−0.014	0.00015	0.007	−0.031	−0.003 (P)
				−0.033	−0.004 (BC)

Dir_eff	−0.061	0.00018	0.025	−0.113	−0.014 (P)
				−0.115	−0.016 (BC)
Ind_eff	−0.008	−0.00005	0.004	−0.016	−0.002 (P)
				−0.017	−0.002 (BC)

Dir_eff	−0.128	0.00152	0.041	−0.207	−0.047 (P)
				−0.211	−0.054 (BC)
Ind_eff	−0.012	−0.00006	0.005	−0.023	−0.004 (P)
				−0.024	−0.005 (BC)

Secondly, this study studies the influence of the PSR between middle managers and CEOs on their OI and the mechanisms of that process. To test the robustness of the regression results as mentioned earlier, we use the mean value ( TMT_IDEN ) of the organization identification of the CEO and the secretary of the board as a substitution variable for the dependent variable. The regression results of substitution variables are consistent with the previous ones. The regression results are displayed in Table 13 .

Robustness test.



PSR_IC	−0.162 (−4.16)
PSR_FINANCE		−0.186 (−8.09)
PSR_AUDIT			−0.069 (−2.78)
GROWTH	−0.060 (−1.61)	−0.041 (−1.32)	0.006 (0.12)
INVENTORY	−0.036 (−0.15)	−0.156 (−0.96)	−0.036 (−0.19)
SIZE	0.030 (1.14)	0.022 (1.25)	0.015 (0.74)
LOSS	−0.164 (−1.42)	−0.032 (−0.45)	−0.032 (−0.38)
AUDITOR_RESIGN	0.142 (1.25)	0.046 (0.63)	0.058 (0.65)
AUDITOR	0.058 (0.50)	−0.001 (−0.01)	−0.158 (−1.50)
SOE	−0.061 (−0.91)	−0.069 (−1.53)	0.022 (0.42)
DUAL	0.123 (1.51)	0.043 (1.11)	0.030 (0.70)
FIRST	−0.003 (−1.54)	−0.001 (−0.90)	−0.001 (−0.40)
MAO	0.128 (0.72)	0.044 (0.38)	0.012 (0.09)
INDEPEN	0.595 (1.11)	0.683 (2.18)	0.457 (1.33)
MANSHARE	−0.233 (−0.72)	−0.032 (−0.32)	0.002 (0.02)
TRADE	0.002 (0.31)	−0.001 (−0.35)	−0.000 (−0.10)
ROA	−0.183 (−0.26)	−0.043 (−0.14)	−0.053 (−0.16)
INDUSTRY	−0.011 (−1.12)	0.010 (1.68)	0.009 (1.38)
_cons	3.713 (6.00)	3.728 (9.10)	3.816 (8.37)
	418	1,087	889
R-Square	0.080	0.075	0.018
Adj.R-Square	0.04	0.06	−0.00

Conclusion and Implication

This study uses the survey data from the internal control research group of the CSRC in 2014 and tests the effect of a PSR on the OI of middle managers and its mediation path. The results imply that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs positively predicts the OI of middle managers, and the organizational trust of middle managers mediates that relationship. In particular, organizational trust completely mediates the correlation between the PSR and OI of internal control managers but partially mediates that relationship for financial and audit managers.

This study has the following implications regarding the effect of the PSR between middle managers and CEOs on the OI of middle managers.

Firstly, PSRs can be leveraged as a vehicle for building OT and OI in the workplace, and CEOs should be actively working to strengthen these relationships. Previous studies have shown that OI can have many positive effects, such as improving job satisfaction, increasing organizational citizenship behavior (Tse et al., 2014 ), and increasing audit independence and quality (Bauer, 2015 ). Organizational members with high OI are more committed to their work as well as exhibit positive attitude and behavior (Karanika-Murray et al., 2015 ), such as improving their superior–subordinate relationship, increasing their organizational citizenship behavior (Zhang and Chen, 2013 ), increasing their job satisfaction (Karanika-Murray et al., 2015 ), enhancing their firm output (Lange et al., 2015 ), and reducing the costs of their agency (Boivie et al., 2011 ; Lange et al., 2015 ). Because the PSR between middle managers and CEOs originates from the emotional resonance induced by the language and behavior of CEOs, CEOs can utilize various channels, such as video conference, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and public speech, to convey positive personal characteristics, views, attitudes, and caring signals; attract the attention and preferential affection of middle managers and other employees; and then build and maintain a PSR, which may lead to more positive cognition and behaviors. In addition, future research could investigate specific pathways by which CEOs or other C-suite can strengthen PSR in their workplace.

Secondly, CEOs should value the influence of PSR and organizational trust and improve his/her own social and work abilities. PSR may be used as a tool for building better organizations, increasing differentiation, sustaining superior competitive advantage, enhancing talent development, etc. Organizational trust of middle managers may have a significant positive impact on their sense of responsibility, ethical behavior, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and performance (Williams and Anderson, 1991 ; Agnihotri and Krush, 2015 ). Our study reveals that the trust relationship between CEOs and middle managers is significantly positively correlated with the OI of the middle managers. It is critical for the CEOs to establish a good and credible image because the trust of middle managers in CEOs is based on the perceptions and assessments of middle managers on the ability of the CEOs to do things and to implement goodwill (Williams and Anderson, 1991 ; Mayer et al., 1995 ; McAllister, 1995 ; Agnihotri and Krush, 2015 ). CEOs can respond by improving their appearance, speech, ability, act, and the ways they treat their middle managers to improve PSRs or perceptions of trust of middle managers.

Finally, CEOs should adopt different methods to influence different managers. Organizational trust completely mediates the relationship between the PSR and OI but only partially mediates the relationship in financial and audit departments. For internal control managers, CEOs should take measures that only affect the PSR and organizational trust of the middle managers, but there may need more comprehensive measures for financial and audit managers. In this study, we use surveys over 2,500 listed firms and 12,000 individuals with a response rate of ~85%. Therefore, our results could generalize to most of the publicly listed firms in the emerging markets of China. However, our study is not free of limitations. Firstly, there is a significant SD when measuring the PSR between MMs and CEOs, which indicates the nature to which PSRs are experienced is highly variable and dependent on both personal and contextual factors. This big SD likely limits the strength to which conclusions as to the affect can be made. Secondly, the sampled population consists of a disproportionately large cohort of individuals from finance and audit departments. Given the influence of in-role contextual factors on the nature to which PSR is experienced, this likely skews the findings to be more reflective of PSR affection within this department. 1 Future research could further explore the economic consequences of PSRs and/or how PSRs could be used to enhance workplace practice. It would be beneficial to investigate current workplace trends and how PSR can be used as a tool for building better organizations, increasing differentiation, sustaining superior competitive advantage, and enhancing talent development. In addition, more research work is expected in the future to ground these findings in a larger organizational context. For instance, an interesting question would be whether it is expected that the nature of PSR and its effects on OT and OI would be the same in a different geographic context or whether it would vary over time.

Data Availability Statement

Author contributions.

YL: idea, writing manuscript, and running data. BL: funding, revising manuscript, and advice. HZ and XY: revising manuscript and advice. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This work was supported by Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of China: 18VSJ082 and National Natural Science Foundation of China: Nos. 71332004, 71272198, and 71862017.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

1 We owe our thanks to the anonymous reviewers for making these insightful comments on the strength and weakness of our study.

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Unrequited Love—What to Do When Love Is One-Sided

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

How to Heal the Heartbreak

When to get help.

When You Don't Feel the Same

Unrequited love involves having strong romantic feelings toward another person who does not feel the same way. It is a one-sided experience that can leave people with feelings of pain, grief, and shame.

You may think it would be easy to tell if love is unrequited but it isn't always clear and can cause a lot of confusion and emotional turmoil. Learn what to look for and how to address the situation.

Types of Unrequited Love

Unrequited love may take a few different forms, including:

Loving someone who does not return those feelings
Pining for someone who is not available
Mutual attraction between people who are both in other relationships
Desire for an ex after a relationship has ended

It is important to recognize that it is common for people to experience unrequited feelings at some point. Recognizing the signs of unrequited love may help you learn to deal with it more effectively and find ways to move on.

Signs of Unrequited Love

There are signs that can help you understand what is going on and if the love you are feeling for someone is being reciprocated. Some people describe feeling as if they are getting "mixed signals" from a love interest only to find that it is, in fact, unrequited love.

You Reach Out to Connect

Are you the only person making effort to communicate? Are you the only one reaching out to check in with the other person to see how the day is going or find out what important things are happening in their life?

When you are the only one taking the time to reach out and connect with the other person, follow up with them about things, or inquire about their life, it can be a sign that this love is unrequited.

In healing dynamics, two partners who care about each other are motivated to connect with each other and share in the pattern of fluid, healthy communication . The exchange of energy between partners in a healthy relationship feels balanced and doesn't leave one person bearing the responsibility of connecting.

Research has shown that people who reject other people's affections often experience guilt. Rejectors tend to view would-be lovers as unreasonable, self-deceptive, and annoying; would-be lovers, on the other hand, tend to view their rejectors as mysterious and inconsistent.

You Long for Physical Touch

Do you desire to touch the other person, to hold hands, to kiss or hug? Longing for connection often includes the desire for physical contact, and when people are equally attracted and desire physical intimacy, both parties want to connect on a physical level.

If you find that you are always the one initiating any physical touch, or that when you attempt to physically connect, you are met with resistance or the other person pulling away, it can signal that this is a one-sided longing.

You Put the Person on a Pedestal

Many times, in situations of unrequited love, one person has the other on a pedestal. The love interest is perceived as near perfect and any imperfections are easily explained away. There are rarely healthy boundaries set in unrequited love.

When people build a healthy romantic bond, they can both still see one another's faults, vulnerabilities, or imperfections. Healthy relationships allow for space for people to make mistakes and use those opportunities to help create closer bonds.

Each party can see and hear each other and their areas of vulnerability. In an unrequited love dynamic, only the emotionally invested person is able to see and hear the other party. There is not a mutual, healthy acknowledgment of each other in unrequited love.

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They Never Take Time to Get to Know You

Getting to know another person takes time. Over the course of time, partners in a healthy relationship go through experiences together, ask questions, and make an effort to understand and get to know each other . In an unrequited love dynamic, there is emotional investment on only one side.

You might find that you are always asking questions, initiating contact, and making efforts to invite the person into conversation or experiences. In turn, the other person may know nothing about you at all, never ask you questions, or never seem to invite you into any meaningful conversation about you, such as your desires, interests, goals, or hobbies.

You may long for the other person to know you but the opportunities for sharing with them never seem to come.

Possible Reasons for Unrequited Love

How the other person feels has more to do with them than with you—but how you respond to those feelings might be because of conflicts or challenges that you are dealing with.

Sometimes, you might love that person because you've idealized them in your mind. You are attached to that ideal version without really viewing them as a full, complex individual with flaws and even undesirable characteristics.

For some people, it might be a case of simply wanting someone they know they can't have. The fact that there can never be a genuine connection is part of the appeal. For someone with an insecure attachment style , being in love with someone who won't return those feelings means they can stay in a distant relationship without making other real connections.

Loving someone, and being loved in return, requires making yourself vulnerable and accepting that authentic, two-sided relationships involve both risk and reward. Staying stuck on unrequited love allows you to remain in the safety of a pseudo-relationship that can never be real and will never require you to become vulnerable, accept risk, and commit to another person.

Impact of Unrequited Love

Unrequited love can be a source of stress and emotional turmoil. Some of the potential effects of experiencing unrequited love include:

Poor self-esteem : If you continue to have deep feelings of love for someone who does not return them, it can erode your self-esteem . You may feel rejected and worry that you are unworthy of their affections.
Isolation : When someone doesn't return your feelings, it can leave you isolated and lonely. This can be particularly pronounced if you fail to pursue relationships with others.
Stress : Healthy relationships act as a protective buffer against the negative effects of stress. Loving someone who doesn't love you back can be an unhealthy or potentially toxic situation that may increase your stress, create feelings of unhappiness, or even contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression.

There are many things you can do to move forward after the heartbreak of unrequited love. It may feel impossible now, especially as you begin the healing process, but know that this takes time and healing can happen.

Although unrequited love can feel extremely painful, it can offer an opportunity to grow in unexpected ways.

Through the experience of unrequited love, you can gain a better understanding of your needs, your patterns in a relationship, and how to become a healthy, positive partner in the future.

Take Time to Grieve

Unrequited love usually results in deep heartbreak and feelings of rejection. When you are emotionally invested in someone and they don't seem to feel the same way about you, you might question your worth or wonder if you will ever feel loved.

Taking time to grieve your loss is important. You are certainly not alone in your experience, as many people have been through situations in which their love for another person was not reciprocated.

Challenge the thoughts that might creep in telling you that there is something wrong with you or that you are not enough. There are a variety of reasons why love may not be reciprocated that have nothing to do with your worth or being "enough."

It's hard to move past the pain of rejection if you are dwelling and ruminating on your heartbreak. This doesn't mean that you should completely avoid thinking about what has happened, but rather that you should find ways to stay busy so that you are not dwelling on negative thoughts.

Spend time with friends who can offer support. Over time, you will find that the pain lessens and you are in a better place to look back at the experience with greater objectivity.

Understand Patterns

This may be your first experience with unrequited love or you may find that this seems to be a pattern for you. Much of the way people view and experience adult relationships has to do with what they learned growing up, what they observed, and what they were taught about love and relationships.

Attachment style can influence how you develop and maintain adult romantic relationships. Attachment, as described by famed psychologist John Bowlby , is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects people to each other. Primarily referenced within parent-child dynamics, more research is showing that attachment style has quite a bit to do with adult romantic relationships as well.

Understanding your attachment style can allow you to gain insight into your own patterns of relationship, your needs, and how to develop healthier connections.

Invest in Yourself

When you have experienced unrequited love, it is likely you have poured a lot of emotional energy into another person, and this may leave you feeling drained. To move forward in a healthy way, it is critical that you reinvest energy into yourself, your interests, your hobbies, and your personal goals .

Your sense of self can become lost when experiencing unrequited love since your sense of self may be strongly connected to your love interest and your continual longing for them to return that love. Instead:

Take inventory of your interests, things that bring you a sense of peace and joy, and the things that make you, you .
Evaluate your goals and your values, and become intentional about letting your decision-making and behavior reflect those parts of you.

Dealing with unrequited love, a breakup, or another type of relationship distress can lead to complex feelings of sadness, anger, and sometimes depression. If you are struggling to cope because of unrequited love or some other relationship issue, consider getting help from a mental health professional.

A therapist can help if you:

Struggle to get back to your normal routine
Experience feelings of breakup depression
Ruminate on negative emotions
Have thoughts of suicide or self-harm
Explore patterns that contribute to poor romantic relationships

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database .

Tips If You Don't Feel the Same Way

It can also be challenging to cope if you are the person who doesn't return someone else's feelings of love. Rejecting another person isn't easy, especially if you know how deeply they will be hurt. However, it is important to be clear to avoid future complications.

Don't avoid it : Just trying to avoid an uncomfortable conversation can make matters worse in the long run. If you don't return their feelings, tell them directly.
Don't be vague : It might seem like you are preventing hurt feelings, but not being direct might only add fuel to the other person's feelings. Don't leave them languishing in a state of hope or expectation.
Be compassionate : Rejection can be painful, so be as kind and compassionate as you can be when turning them down.

Unrequited love hurts, but it is possible to heal, grow, and move on from the experience. It's important not to take the other person's lack of feelings personally—it probably has more to do with them than with you. Once you can accept the reality of the situation, you can gain distance and perspective that will allow you to move on and start building a relationship that is reciprocated.

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Clark EM, Votaw KLB, Harris AL, Hasan M, Fernandez P. Unrequited love: The role of prior commitment, motivation to remain friends, and friendship maintenance . J Soc Psychol. 2019;1-17. doi:10.1080/00224545.2019.1648234

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By Jodi Clarke, MA, LPC/MHSP Jodi Clarke, LPC/MHSP is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice. She specializes in relationships, anxiety, trauma and grief.

Unrequited Love, Self-victimisation and the Target of Appropriate Resentment

Published: 21 April 2021
Volume 25 , pages 487–499, ( 2021 )

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Anca Gheaus ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5364-1026 1

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In “Tragedy and Resentment” Ulrika Carlsson claims that there are cases when we are justified in feeling non-moral resentment against someone who harms us without wronging us, when the harm either consists in their attitude towards us or in the emotional suffering triggered by their attitudes. Since they had no duty to protect us from harm, the objectionable attitude is not disrespect but a failure to show love, admiration, or appreciation for us. I explain why unrequited love is the wrong example to use when arguing for the possibility of justified non-moral resentment—and why, therefore, Carlsson’s claim remains unsubstantiated. Pace Carlsson, people who fail to return our love are not best described as harming us, but as merely failing to benefit us by saving us from harm. Moreover, their role in the causal chain that results in our coming to harm is insufficient to warrant our resentment; more plausibly, we ourselves play a greater and more direct causal role in this process. This is a welcome result: Responding with (non-moral) resentment to someone’s failure to return our love indicates that our love has not taken the form of a genuine gift. When we put conditions on successful gifting by allowing for justified resentment if the gift is not returned we are not in fact giving gifts but making a bid for an exchange: I love you so that you love me back.

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Love, Motivation, and Reasons: The Case of the Drowning Wife

Remorse and Self-love: Kostelnička’s Change of Heart

Another’s punishment cleanses the self: evidence for a moral cleansing function of punishing transgressors.

This is my reconstruction of Carlsson’s thesis, followed, on the next page, by my reconstruction of her argument for her thesis.

I am grateful to Jake Wojtowicz for drawing my attention to the fact that Carlsson’s claim is open to two different interpretations. The two interpretations are not mutually exclusive.

Wolf’s theory of this kind of responsibility may be controversial. I don’t take a stand on the soundness of this view, nor on the accuracy of Carlsson’s interpretation of it. My aim here is to evaluate Carlsson’s own view. My major concerns in this paper are not related to identity-responsibility.

This could mean that there is an agent of justice that is called to do something to ameliorate the situation: For instance, states may bear a duty to create the conditions in which romantic love can flourish, such as ensuring that all are educated, from a young age, about the virtues and perils of personal relationships; and that people have sufficient free time to dedicate to the cultivation of loving relationships. In addition, it may mean that states bear a duty to create social environments sufficiently inclusive to optimise the chances that everybody is able to give and receive romantic love (Brownlee 2020 ; Gheaus 2017 ). But it could also mean that we are dealing with a failure of justice understood in a purely evaluative sense, as the description of a state of affairs, rather than in a directly normative sense—that is, as generating a duty for a particular agent (Gheaus 2013 ).

Although, arguably, there can be a breach of duty if the reason for failing to return love is an objectionable attitude towards the lover. For instance, suppose the beloved was inclined to reciprocate, but that would not allow themselves to reciprocate because the lover is black and the beloved is racist. I am open to the possibility that in this case the beloved is in breach of a duty—but it consists in their specific reason for resisting love, rather than in the mere lack of reciprocation. Alfred Archer kindly drew my attention to this possibility.

This account is in line with the our frequent employment of a moralised concept of harm. It is intuitive to say that harm can be inflicted by the mere failure to act when it is morally required to bestow that benefit, and, at the same time, to resist the claim that harm can be inflicted by blamelessly failing to act. Imagine that a small child in a mall runs away from her father, who is distracted by a gadget. A passer-by notices, but fails to run after the child and return her to her father. The child gets lost and is terribly scared: she suffers harm. On any of the currently endorsed conceptions of harm (Rabenberg 2015 ) it is counter-intuitive to say that the passer-by harmed the child. But it is intuitive to say that the child has been harmed by her father, who had a duty to look after her. The reason why it seems proper to say that the father has harmed the child is that he owed the child protection from that particular harm.

There can be cases where the lack of reciprocation of romantic love is motivated by the appreciation, and unwillingness to jeopardise, an existing relationship—a friendship for example. Such cases show that failures to reciprocate love can express an optimally positive attitude, assuming that the beloved, in this case, sees the risk to an existing friendships as coming entirely from their inability to sustain romantic relationships. (Granted, this is not Ashley’s case.) Thank you to Alfred Archer for noting this possibility.

This is a big “if”, since the notion of causation by omission puzzles philosophers. See, for instance, Dowe ( 2010 ).

For a detailed and critical account of not only the Stoic’s, but also other hellenistic philosophy schools’s, take on how to acquire control over one’s emotions, see Nussbaum ( 1994 ).

For different concepts of causation in assessing causal responsibility see Blustein ( 1997 ).

This is not to deny the stoic point. Wellbeing here is to be understood as not mere absence of suffering. And the fact that my life goes better for me in one way if my gift is well-received does not contradict the belief that my suffering at having my gift turned down would depend on my interpretation of this fact. Further, some people seem able to love others without becoming vulnerable in this way. I leave aside the question of whether such love is better than the regular, vulnerable kind.

On why genuine—that is, disinterested—love is not conditional on being reciprocated, see Sara Protasi ( 2014 : 218) and Pilar Lopez-Cantero ( 2018 : 691); both discussions concern, specifically, cases of unrequited love. Love can remain unconditional even if it is not entirely freely given in the sense outlined above; but attaching the penalty of resentment to a failure to return one’s love pollutes the ideal gift-like unconditionality of love.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to James Lenman, Alfred Archer, Fiona Woollard, Jake Wojtowicz and an anonymous reviewer for helpful feed-back on earlier drafts of this paper.

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Gheaus, A. Unrequited Love, Self-victimisation and the Target of Appropriate Resentment. J Ethics 25 , 487–499 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10892-021-09368-0

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Unrequited love, flirting and non-moral resentment, 1. introduction, 2. unrequited love, the lack of responsibility of the loved one and the right way for the loving person to deal with their love.

“For this reason, the interpretation that I propose is that Ashley fails to optimally benefit Scarlett. Scarlett resents Ashley for failing to benefit her in the particular way in which she wants him to benefit her, by not displaying an optimally positive attitude towards her; I submit that, under this description, her resentment looks not merely unjustified, but positively objectionable, especially if he cannot choose to benefit her optimally” [ 2 ]. (p. 493)

“In the particular case which is unrequited love, it seems attractive to say that part of harm—being unloved—wasn’t caused by any agent. To the extent to which there is no agent who is either morally or causally responsible for the harm, there is also no target of appropriate resentment (much like in the case of the wind destroying my garden). But another part of the harm of unrequited love, emotional suffering, is caused be the victims themselves, by their failure to control their hopes, beliefs and expectations; if so, they can be held causally responsible for some of the suffering they experience. To the extent to which the harm is self-inflicted, the only appropriate target of resentment is the victim herself, and the basis of resentment is that, by failing to remove oneself from the harm’s way, one failed to take proper care of oneself” [ 2 ]. (p. 497)

“When we put conditions on successful gifting by allowing for justified resentment if the gift receiver fails to display a particular attitude, we are not in fact giving gifts but making a bid for an exchange: I love you so that you love me back” [ 2 ]. (p. 498)

3. Flirting and Flirtatious Behavior

„After all, Ashley recognises he is a bit infatuated with her, and maybe his infatuation has shown; maybe he neglectfully encouraged Scarlett to fall in love with him. If so, then Ashley really is an appropriate target of Scarlett’s resentment, but of the moralised rather than of the tragic kind: in this case, Ashley has wronged Scarlett by provoking her love while knowing he will not be able, or willing, to reciprocate” 4 [ 2 ]. (p. 493)

“The distinction between courtship initiation and quasi-courtship appears to lie not in flirting behaviors per se but rather in the motivations that generate those behaviors. Sexually motivated flirting behaviors are courtship initiating; behaviors with no sexual intent are quasi-courtship” [ 7 ]. (p. 481)

“First, the flirter should act with the intention to do things which are disposed to raise flirter-flirtee romance and/or sex to salience for the flirtee, in a knowing yet playful manner. Second, he or she should believe that the flirtee can respond in some significant way” [ 8 ]. (p. 18)

4. Flirting and the Emergence of Unrequited Love

“Because Ashley does not owe Scarlett love, he does not owe her an excuse for not loving her, either. Yet this does not mean that Ashley does not bear some kind of responsibility for his attitude to Scarlett and for its effect on her” [ 3 ]. (p. 1183)

“The perspective that rejection in love involves subcortical reward gain/loss systems critical to survival helps to explain why feelings and behaviors related to romantic rejection are difficult to control and lends insight into the high cross-cultural rates of stalking, homicide, suicide, and clinical depression associated with rejection in love” [ 12 ]. (p. 59)

5. Actors of Flirting

“I have defined flirting as a conversational game involving two moves: push moves, which involve presupposing an intimacy that does not yet exist, and pull moves, which involve playfully pretending to block those presuppositions. As flirters perform rallies of these moves, they gradually increase the intimacy between them through a process which philosophers of language call accommodation” [ 14 ]. (p. 11)

6. Love as a Gift, Flirting as an Exchange?

7. conclusions, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

1	] has written insightfully about the value of unrequited love.
2	is no longer the appropriate literary example, but this could be better illustrated by Pride and Prejudice. This would certainly be worthwhile if, in doing so, other aspects could be uncovered that are somehow related to the question of this paper (for example, forms of deception or of the social circumstances that favor certain forms of suffering from unrequited love). However, I believe that it is not crucial for the point I want to make and that it is also not crucial where an example for this this is illustrated in literature. Rather, I believe it is sufficient to ask what changes in the moral assessment if Ashley had flirted with Scarlett. Similarly, I think that the arguments of Carlsson and Gheaus are not dependent on the literary source but stand on their own. In Pride and Prejudice, there are constellations that, according to my analysis, would clearly fall under the concept of moral resentment, as well as those that, according to Carlsson, could function as non-moral resentment, where unrequited love was not actually exacerbated by the behavior of the loved one (e.g., through flirting). An example of this would be Mr. Darcy’s love for Elizabeth Bennet.
3	] has argued that resentment is not only appropriate towards individuals but can also take an explicit political form, thus addressing structures and institutions. In the case that interests me in this paper, it is about the personal level, but there is another connection to social conditions, as one can assert with Alice MacLachlan [ ]. For MacLachlan, besides the standard paradigm of resentment as a reasonable and morally justified form of anger over the violation of moral rights, unreasonable resentment can also have ethical content, and resentment itself can only be understood against the backdrop of social and political conditions. In her distinction between morality and the ethical, MacLachlan refers to Bernard Williams, who argues that morality is concerned with the “pure” realm of rights and duties, while ethics is concerned with the realm of normative meaning. Here, an interesting—yet unaddressed—parallel to Carlsson’s understanding of tragic resentment emerges. This resentment is tragic because, although a violation occurs, it is not a violation of moral rights. Therefore, in terms of the standard concept that MacLachlan elaborates, it is not a form of reasonable resentment but unreasonable. But Carlsson’s understanding of tragic resentement still has—in the sense of MacLachlan—an ethical content.
4	, who had no interest in marrying Lydia Bennet, deceives her and thus deliberately accepts her dishonor through her illegitimate status. It would thus be justified for Lydia to feel resentment towards him.
5
6	], between the domain of morality, with clear rights and duties, and the ethical domain. Since there can be no clear duty for A not to flirt because there is a very low probability that the other person, B, will fall in love, there can nevertheless be non-moral resentment on B’s part if they do fall in love, because A plays a causal role in this. This assessment does not preclude that A has certain duties of care towards B in specific cases; for example, not flirting with B against her will or not in situations where B has less power or fewer opportunities to withdraw from the flirtation. However, I doubt whether there can be unequal conditions under which the likelihood that B will fall unrequitedly in love with A increases, although I do not want to rule this out entirely. It is conceivable, but I would not speak of genuine love in such cases, if, for instance, unequal conditions lead B to fall unrequitedly in love as a form of adaptive preference or as a result of alienation.

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Schweiger, G. Unrequited Love, Flirting and Non-Moral Resentment. Philosophies 2024 , 9 , 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9040120

Schweiger G. Unrequited Love, Flirting and Non-Moral Resentment. Philosophies . 2024; 9(4):120. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9040120

Schweiger, Gottfried. 2024. "Unrequited Love, Flirting and Non-Moral Resentment" Philosophies 9, no. 4: 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9040120

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IResearchNet

Unrequited Love

Unrequited love definition.

Unrequited love refers to instances when one person (the would-be lover) feels romantic, passionate feelings for an individual who does not return the same feelings (the rejector). Research indicates that unrequited love is quite common. Almost everyone in the United States has either loved someone who did not love them in return or been loved by someone they did not love in return by the time they reach college.

Unrequited Love Background and History

Common Pathways in Unrequited Love

Unrequited love occurs for multiple reasons; there is no one specific reason why romantic attraction goes unreciprocated. Several common reasons emerged in the collected narratives, however. For instance, people will reject offers of love if they come from people who do not live up to standards they hold for a romantic partner. For example, one important standard people set is physical attractiveness. Research in social psychology indicates that people tend to prefer a romantic partner who is as physically attractive as, if not more physically attractive than, they are. So if Lauren develops a romantic attraction for Joe, she runs the risk of having her love rejected if Joe thinks that he is more physically attractive than Lauren.

Physical attractiveness is not the only mismatch that can lead to a rejection of love. People tend to marry those who are similar on a whole host of domains, such as level of intelligence and socioeconomics. Thus, when people fall in love with targets perceiving themselves to be superior on mate-valued traits, the admirer is liable to having their love rejected. Luckily, as people grow older they learn to better estimate their mate value and level of physical attractiveness. Consequently, they experience fewer instances of unrequited love and more instances of reciprocated love.

Platonic friendships can also lead to unrequited love. Friendships can exist between two people who differ in mate standards. Even though love will often go unreciprocated because of mismatches in mate value, would-be lovers could misread or misinterpret positive gestures and intimacies from a platonic friend as romantic feelings. This can lead would-be lovers to overinterpret the likelihood of gaining the love of their friend and want more from the platonic friendship than is desired by the target of their affection.

Developing relationships can also lead to unrequited love. Sometimes the rejector is initially interested but, after several dates, loses interest in the would-be lover for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the rejector is put off by certain values the would-be lover holds, the would-be lover could resemble the rejector’s mom or dad, or maybe the rejector comes to realize that he or she is not sexually attracted to the would-be lover despite finding the would-be lover to be physically attractive. Long-term relationships can even end in unrequited love, with one person wanting to continue the relationship while the other is losing interest. Although one may think all these different pathways will lead to very different experiences of unrequited love, research indicates that they are surprisingly similar.

Experience of Unrequited Love

Unrequited love is characterized by mutual incomprehension. Would-be lovers characterize the rejector as sending mixed signals and acting in inconsistent ways, whereas rejectors typically do not understand why the would-be lover continues to pursue them past the point of rejection.

Rejectors commonly grapple with feelings of guilt. Despite the portrayal of rejectors in the mass media as uncaring and cold, rejectors typically are quite concerned about whether they are leading the would-be lover on. Rejectors typically do not want to hurt the would-be lover, who is often a friend or colleague, and struggle with guilt that can accompany rejecting a person’s offer of love. Guilt, combined with the difficulty in delivering bad news to others, can often cause the rejector to send the message of rejection in a more indirect way to spare the person’s feelings and salvage the relationship. This, in turn, can confuse the would-be lover as to the rejector’s intentions. Or it can cause the would-be lover to maintain hope, prolonging the experience of unrequited love for both parties.

Would-be lovers, who do not want to hear the bad news of rejection, will often misconstrue, reinterpret, or completely ignore such ambiguous messages of rejection. If the rejector says no to Friday because he or she is busy, what would stop the would-be lover from trying for Saturday? No one wants to be rejected; it is very painful to know that someone does not feel the same way about you that you do for him or her. To ward off the negative experience of realizing the offer of love will not be returned by the object of affection is potentially one reason would-be lovers typically pursue the rejector long after the rejector feels it is appropriate to do so. Research indicates that once the would-be lover picks up on the message of rejection, he or she experiences a decline in self-esteem, signaling the end of the pursuit and the beginning of recovery.

Who Is Worse Off?

Despite the pain that often accompanies having love rejected, would-be lovers look back at the experience with a mixture of positive and negative emotions. Would-be lovers describe the experience as a roller coaster of emotions, filled with many euphoric highs but also devastating lows. For example, the state of being in love with someone alone can keep the would-be lover in pursuit of his or her target. Rejectors, however, typically describe the experience as mainly a negative one consisting of few, if any, positives. Targets of affection may gain slight boosts in self-esteem from the flattery of being loved by someone, but this is offset by the moral guilt of rejecting someone and by the annoyance and frustration experienced if the would-be lover does not desist pursuit.

Unrequited love has allowed researchers to examine reasons why people reject love despite humans’ fundamental need for mutually caring relationships. That people should endure personal costs, such as emotional discomfort and personal humiliation, to find such a person highlights just how important the search is for humans.

References:

Baumeister, R. F., & Wotman, S. R. (1992). Breaking hearts: The two sides of unrequited love. New York: Guilford Press.
Baumeister, R. F., Wotman, S. R., & Stillwell, A. M. (1993). Unrequited love: On heartbreak, anger, guilt, scriptlessness and humiliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 377-394.

Relationships

Is There Such a Thing as Unrequited Love?

Pining after our own inventions..

Posted April 11, 2020 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

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Goethe's Werther from The Sorrows of Young Werther commits suicide when Charlotte does not return his love. The long-nosed Cyrano de Bergerac from Rostand's eponymous play is madly in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane, but she fancies another man. Literature is full of such tales, and it seems, so is life. While you probably don't know of any real person who committed suicide because of a broken heart (though it's said sensitive young men in Goethe's day and age did), you likely know many who have stories of unrequited love, and perhaps, you have such a story yourself.

But the ubiquity of unrequited love is only apparent, or so I am going to argue. In going along with tales of unilateral love, we accept the account of the lover. Forlorn lovers, however, are often mistaken, not about whether they love but about whom they love: While they may be heartbroken, the person they pine after is frequently a fiction, a figment of their own imagination . Before I explain why, let us consider requited love.

When love is reciprocated, each lover knows who the other is, the real other, and it is that real person — the person the other is — that's an object of love. The two lovers are attracted to each other physically as well, but their love is not mere physical attraction . It's the other way round, in fact: Whatever role physical attraction may have played in the genesis of love, in mature love, we yearn for the body because we love the person. This explains why no other body — however attractive — is an adequate substitute for the beloved's body. It is also why love doesn't vanish — and may even grow stronger — when the beloved's body is marred by sickness or accident.

But whom is it that we love with an unrequited love? Who refuses to return the affection?

Very often, I wish to suggest, the object of allegedly unrequited love is a fiction, or rather, a fictionalized version of a person. This version of the other, being altered, has multiple qualities that the real person does not possess. For one thing, he or she is the sort of person who could be happy with us; who could care about the things we care about, and who wants just what we have to offer. The real person, by contrast, is not a good match. That's precisely why he or she is rejecting us. So the object of our unrequited love — the fictional person — is not rejecting us since that person is an excellent match. And the real person who rejects us is not the person we love.

It may help to look at the issue from the other side, that of being the object of affection you cannot reciprocate. It's probably happened to you: Someone claimed to love you, but you felt nothing. You may have thought then that the other is mistaking physical attraction for love, or is simply wrong about who you are and what you need in a partner. In the other's mind, the two of you can be perfectly happy together, but you know that this is impossible. You may have even gotten flustered when the other made declarations of love; those sounded hollow to you. And in some sense, they were, not because they lacked depth necessarily but because they were meant for someone else, someone who looks like you and sounds like you, but who has different tastes and preferences: A fictional version of you.

Sometimes, we ourselves contribute to the creation of fictional versions of ourselves. This happens when we misrepresent ourselves, letting another fall in love with an unreal version of us . One frequently hears stories about relationships that started well but came to an abrupt end. The person whose romantic interest broke up with them often feels caught off guard. Why is today so different from yesterday when everything was love?

What happens in most of these cases, actually, is that the end of the relationship is only abrupt from the spurned person's point of view. The other misrepresented his or her actual feelings and preferences all along. He or she didn't really want to see that movie or to meet those friends. The words on that Valentine's day card that he or she wrote for the soon to be spurned lover did not come from the heart.

This person knew, at least at some level, that the relationship was bound to end. For if you didn't enjoy a few weeks or months spent with another, if you didn't want to go to the movies with them or meet their friends, how could you possibly believe the other is your soulmate? You don't, not really. That is why the breakup feels abrupt only to the one who was in the dark as to the true significance of everything.

Upon occasion, love starts without any misrepresentation on anyone's part, but one person's needs and preferences change, and consequently, so does the person. If the partner's feelings remain unchanged, this type of case may seem like a good candidate for the label "unrequited love," since the love began without fictions. But that's not quite right either. For while the spurned lover is not enamored with a fiction, his or her affection is directed at the other's past self. That self was real once but no longer is. People change.

I should point out here that there could be unrequited love between parents and children. A father may love his daughter though she doesn't love him back, and a son may love a mother who resents him because she never wanted children. Filial and parental love differ from romantic love , because in those cases, we don't love the other for who they are. Our parents and children may have qualities we appreciate, and those may strengthen our bond, but that is not the full basis of our love. If the neighbor's spouse is a better match for you than your own, you may be tempted to leave your own and make away with the neighbor's, but if the neighbor's mother or child is better than your own, you would feel no such temptation. You don't want anyone else's parents or children, no matter what qualities they have. You can love your own parents and children almost unconditionally. This is why you don't need to project on them qualities of your own making.

There are two more points I would like to note. First, the love a person may feel for a fictionalized version of another is not, in virtue of that, unreal. Feelings can be real whether or not their object is. That's certainly true of love and of heartache, but it is true more generally. It is just that the reality of our feelings does not confer existence upon their object. A snake-shaped tree branch does not turn into a snake simply because it makes us fearful. Same with love: The love of a fictionalized version — tailor-made to suit us — of another, however deep and abiding (if it is), does not bring that version of the other into existence. We lack the power to will another into being with the depth of our love.

Second, there may sometimes truly be unrequited love. This may happen, for instance, when the love is fully based on what little we know of the other, without illusions. That may be the case of Victor Hugo's Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame . Quasimodo, a man with a physical deformity, falls in love with Esmeralda, who does not return his love.

Now, Esmeralda is a strikingly beautiful woman while Quasimodo is a deformed man, but Quasimodo's love for Esmeralda is not mere physical attraction. Esmeralda is the only person who has ever shown human kindness to the hunchback; she brings him water when he is dying of thirst after being flogged and publicly humiliated. Indeed, Esmeralda so fully captures his heart that after she is hanged for a crime she has not committed, he goes to the cemetery, hugs her body, and never lets go until he dies of starvation.

There is no question but that Quasimodo's love is deep — and deeper than most any love we know. More importantly for present purposes, the object of his love may be the real Esmeralda, not a fictional version of her. He falls in love when she shows compassion toward him, and her compassion is genuine. That's all poor Quasimodo needs.

But Quasimodo's case is unusual. For the most part, we do not fall in love like that, because of a single act of kindness. In our imagination, the beloved has many different qualities. What I have been arguing here is that in the case of so-called unrequited love, some of those qualities — and from here, the object of our love — are inventions. The love is real, but not the object of love.

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Iskra Fileva, Ph.D., is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

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Journey into the captivating world of TV narratives where love unreturned or deemed inappropriate takes center stage. This highly curated selection features a sweep of shows that successfully wrap the intensities of complex love narratives into engrossing episodes, from secret, scandalous affairs, to the heart-wrenching afflictions of unreciprocated love.

Across genres and time periods, these shows harbor a unifying element: the exploration of love in its many unprecedented forms. Whether it's the allure of a relationship defying societal norms or the complicated layers of one-sided love, our collection opens the door to a thrilling spectrum of captivating themes and gripping chronicles.

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More so, effortlessly commence your next viewing experience with our streamlined access to streaming services. Our entries are equipped with handy streaming service buttons under each show listed. Your desired forbidden romance television series is just a click away, paving the way for seamless transitions from discovery to immersion.

With each narrative carefully evaluated for its compelling portrayal of passion, love, drama, and conflict, the list gives viewers an in-depth exploration of diverse love stories. Enjoy, participate, and prepare to be swept into whirlwinds of cinematic love narratives that dare to transcend societal boundaries. Our selection provides not just recommendations, but doorways into thrilling narratives, compelling characters, and the mesmerizing realm of forbidden love TV shows.

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Pain of Unrequited Love Afflicts the Rejecter, Too

By Daniel Goleman

Feb. 9, 1993

SINCE Young Werther died from it and Cyrano de Bergerac was so noble about it, unrequited love has been one of the great themes of literature and drama. Now, at last, unrequited love is getting systematic scrutiny from psychologists.

The first studies to look at the two sides of unrequited love -- the would-be lover and the rejecter -- show there is pain on both sides and, surprisingly, the rejecter often suffers just as much as the rejected.

And in studying the dynamics of love that goes unreturned, psychologists are gaining greater understanding of common hurdles in the sometimes tortuous route to finding a lasting love.

"We rarely hear about the agony of those who are the target of an unwanted love," said Dr. Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Case Western Reserve University who has done much of the new research. "Literature and film almost always tell the story from the viewpoint of the rejected lover. But both rejecters and would-be lovers can end up feeling like victims."

The experience of unrequited love -- not just a minor crush, but an intense, passionate yearning -- is virtually universal at some point in life. Dr. Baumeister and Sara Wotman, a graduate student, found in a study of 155 men and women that only about 2 percent had never loved someone who spurned them, or found themselves the object of romantic passion they did not reciprocate. Their findings will be published later this year in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Despite the eventual heartbreak that is the destiny of the unrequited lover, by and large the incidents revealed that there was often more unhappiness on the part of the person pursued than on the pursuer. The unrequited lovers spoke of hope and passion before the final disillusionment; those who spurned them told of an initial flattery that soon gave way to bewilderment, guilt and anger at an intrusive, relentless pursuer.

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COMMENTS

The Prevalence and Nature of Unrequited Love
However, Berscheid (2010) contended that confusion around the conceptualization of love and clear differentiation of love is necessary for enhancing the quality of research on love. The current research demonstrates the high prevalence of UL, relative to equal love, and the distinctive nature of UL (e.g., emotional and behavioral manifestation).
Humorous Coping With Unrequited Love: Is Perspective Change Important
A large body of research indicates a positive relationship between humor and psychological well-being ... among other factors. Other studies show that self-esteem not only matters as a potential consequence of romantic rejection ... Actuality of unrequited love as predictor (model 3) Step 1 (Intercept) 3.236: 0.058: 55.396 <0.001: 3.121: 3.352 ...
Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives on Romantic Love
Unrequited love has been shown to last an average duration of between 10 and 17 months, depending on the type of unrequited love (Bringle et al., 2013). In that study, unrequited love for someone that an individual pursued lasted the shortest period of time (10.12 months) and romantic love for someone who an individual knows but has not ...
Frontiers
For a more detailed comparison of the subsamples with current vs. past experience of unrequited love, subgroup medians were compared using the Mann-Whitney-U-test (assumptions for an independent t-test were not met), exact results are presented in Table 2.In summary, the two subgroups differ regarding the main level of all main study variables except subjective burden due to unrequited love.
Unrequited Love
Unrequited love is "less emotionally intense than equal love" in all the positive ways, yet involves as much or more emotional turmoil (Bringle, 2013). In other words, it is characterized by ...
The Prevalence and Nature of Unrequited Love
Unrequited love (UL) is unreciprocated love that causes yearning for more complete love. Five types of UL are delineated and conceptualized on a continuum from lower to greater levels of interdependence: crush on someone unavailable, crush on someone nearby, pursuing a love object, longing for a past lover, and an unequal love relationship.
Unrequited Love
In looking at unrequited love by age, it seems the ages of 16-20 are when the most unrequited love experiences occur, especially for males. The research is mixed on whether males or females are more likely to experience unrequited love, as evidence points to both having a higher frequency at some point.
Unrequited love: The role of prior commitment, motivation to remain
Participants wrote about an unrequited love experience as a pursuer and completed measures of pre-unrequited love commitment, rejection distress, motivations to remain friends, and friendship maintenance behaviors. Our results confirmed the moderated mediation model when the motivations to remain friends measure overall score, the interpersonal ...
The Power of Unrequited Love: The Parasocial Relationship, Trust, and
The financial and accounting data are from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database. We find that the PSR between middle managers and CEOs is positively associated with the OI of middle managers. Further, we show that that relationship is mediated by organizational trust.
Unrequited Love: Types, What to Do, How to Cope
Unrequited love refers to a love that is one-sided and not returned. It can feel painful, but it can also offer opportunities for self-growth. Here's how to cope. ... Research has shown that people who reject other people's affections often experience guilt. Rejectors tend to view would-be lovers as unreasonable, self-deceptive, and annoying ...
Unrequited love: The role of prior commitment, motivation to remain
Michelle Hasan, PhD., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Southern California, where she works as a Research Coordinator on a large scale government funded research project related to wellness and productivity in the workplace.She received her PhD. in Experimental Psychology (with dual concentrations in Social Psychology and Quantitative Methods for Behavioral Science ...
The Prevalence and Nature of Unrequited Love
Robert G. Bringle 1,2, Terri Winnick 2,3 and Robert J. Rydell 4. Abstract. Unrequited love (UL) is unreciprocated love that causes yearning for more complete love. Five types of UL are delineated ...
Unrequited Love: On Heartbreak, Anger, Guilt, Scriptlessness, and
For this reason, 41 participants with failure in love (26 women and 15 men) and 43 without failure in love participants (26 women and 17 men) were selected by Non-probability sampling methods and ...
Unrequited Love
Unrequited love is a universal experience which has been acknowledged and written about by poets for centuries. It has also been researched by social scientists. Roughly 98 percent of the ...
The Prevalence and Nature of Unrequited Love
consummate romantic love is that it will be reciprocal, ful-filling, and enduring (e.g., Aron & Aron, 1986, 1996) and trusting, caring, and, intimate (Fehr, 2006). Unrequited love (UL) occurs when differences in the aspirations or the expe-riences of love result in a yearning for more complete love by one of the individuals in the relationship.
Unrequited Love, Self-victimisation and the Target of Appropriate
Since they had no duty to protect us from harm, the objectionable attitude is not disrespect but a failure to show love, admiration, or appreciation for us. I explain why unrequited love is the wrong example to use when arguing for the possibility of justified non-moral resentment—and why, therefore, Carlsson's claim remains unsubstantiated.
Unrequited Love, Flirting and Non-Moral Resentment
Ulrika Carlsson has argued that it its justified to harbor non-moral resentment towards a person with whom one is unrequitedly in love. Anca Gheaus has rejected this with convincing arguments. This text explores the question of whether Gheaus' verdict changes if the person being loved has previously flirted with the loving person. For this, it is first relevant what flirting actually is and ...
Unrequited Love
Unrequited love refers to instances when one person (the would-be lover) feels romantic, passionate feelings for an individual who does not return the same feelings (the rejector). Research indicates that unrequited love is quite common. Almost everyone in the United States has either loved someone who did not love them in return or been loved ...
The Roles of Romantic Beliefs and Imagined Interaction in Unrequited Love
The present study examined the roles of people's romantic beliefs and imagined interactions in unrequited love. Two hundred and twenty five Chinese college students participated in a survey study. More idealized romantic beliefs were associated with stronger unrequited love. Men's unrequited love was stronger than women's.
Is There Such a Thing as Unrequited Love?
Second, there may sometimes truly be unrequited love. This may happen, for instance, when the love is fully based on what little we know of the other, without illusions. That may be the case of ...
The 60+ Best Shows With Star-Crossed Lovers & Unrequited Love
Ranked By. 825 votes. 171 voters. Voting Rules. Vote up the best scripted shows with the central themes of star-crossed lovers, one-sided relationships, and unreciprocated romance. Latest additions: Love of My Life, Red Swan, Gangs of Galicia. Most divisive: Carnival Row.
Pain of Unrequited Love Afflicts the Rejecter, Too
Now, at last, unrequited love is getting systematic scrutiny from psychologists. The first studies to look at the two sides of unrequited love -- the would-be lover and the rejecter -- show there ...
research on unrequited love shows that: a. because it causes heartache
research on unrequited love shows that: a. because it causes heartache, feelings of unrequited love fade quickly once it becomes clear the other person is not attracted to us in return. b. unrequited love is relatively rare because being romantically attracted to someone who is not romantically attracted to us in return is not rewarding.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Introduction

Flexibility of Goal Adjustment as a Perspective-Changing Coping Resource

Unrequited Love as a Goal-Blocking Burden

Materials and Methods

Aspects of the Experience of Unrequited Love

The Burden of the Experience of Unrequited Love

Sense of Humor

Humorous Change of Perspective

Accommodative Flexibility

Self-Esteem

Life-Satisfaction

Analytic Strategy

Descriptive Statistics, Bivariate Correlations, and Group Comparisons

Humor as a Moderator of the Relationship Between the Burden of Unrequited Love and Subjective Well-Being

Humor as a Possible Coping Resource Beyond Accommodative Flexibility

Limitations

Conclusion and Outlook

Data Availability Statement

Ethics Statement

Author Contributions

Conflict of Interest

Supplementary Material

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Unrequited love: The role of prior commitment, motivation to remain friends, and friendship maintenance

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The Power of Unrequited Love: The Parasocial Relationship, Trust, and Organizational Identification Between Middle-Level Managers and CEOs

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Associated Data

Introduction

Theoretical Background

Organizational Identification

Organizational Trust

Hypothesis Development

Research Design

Key Variables and Measures

Independent Variables

Control Variables

Empirical Analysis

Empirical Results and Analysis

Reliability and Validity

Correlation Analysis

Hypothesis Testing

Robustness Test

Conclusion and Implication

Data Availability Statement

Conflict of Interest

Publisher's Note

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Types of Unrequited Love

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Press Play for Advice On Healthy Relationships

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Possible Reasons for Unrequited Love

Impact of Unrequited Love

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Invest in Yourself

Tips If You Don't Feel the Same Way

Unrequited Love, Self-victimisation and the Target of Appropriate Resentment

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