Ease of recall moderates the impact of relationship-related goals on judgments of interpersonal closeness

The present experiment tests the hypothesis that accessible interdependent (relationship-related) goals and the subjective ease with which desired or undesired end-states come to mind affect judgments of feeling close to a romantic partner. Relationship-related goals referred to either desired or undesired end-states. Regularly dating adults were asked to recall either 5 or 10 interdependent goals. Interpersonal closeness was predicted to be higher if an individual found it easy to recall goals involving desired end-states but to be lower ii he or she found it easy to recall goals involving undesired end-states. The results supported this prediction. Securely attached and preoccupied participants felt closer to their partners than avoidants, but attachment style did not interact with goal type or ease of recall. The findings are discussed in light of current social-cognitive theories. (C) 2001 Academic Press.