The role of materialism in self-disclosure within close relationships

Research has reliably shown a negative association between materialism and relationship well-being. This study examined a possible link between materialism and self-disclosure exchange, a process that is central to relationship adjustment. To address this question, we recruited dating couples for a videotaped self-disclosure task. In each session, partners took turns to be a discloser or a listener. Participants' disclosure level (when they were disclosers) and responsiveness level (when they were listeners) were assessed by ratings from the participants, their partner, and trained coders. The results showed that actor's disclosure level was negatively associated with partner's materialism, whereas actor's responsiveness was negatively associated with actor's and partner's materialism. Materialism appears to be related to poor self-disclosure processes within close relationships. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.