People want to be understood by others, yet their perceptions of being understood are only
modestly related to actually being understood by others. In this article, we provide an …

Highlights•Diverse processes have been shown to contribute to relationship well-being.•
Responsiveness provides an integrated conceptual model that links these processes.• …

Long-standing social problems such as poor achievement, personal and intergroup conflict,
bad health, and unhappiness can seem like permanent features of the social landscape. We …

In this article, we review new insights gained from recent longitudinal studies examining the
development of self-esteem and its influence on important life outcomes. The evidence …

We examined the life-span development of self-esteem and tested whether self-esteem
influences the development of important life outcomes, including relationship satisfaction …

One of the most important questions people ask themselves when they enter a new setting is
“Do I belong here?” This is not a simple question. It involves two parties,“I” and “here,” and …

Self-esteem has become a household word. Teachers, parents, therapists, and others have
focused efforts on boosting self-esteem, on the assumption that high self-esteem will cause …

In the wake of a suicide, the most troubling questions are invariably the most difficult to
answer: How could we have known? What could we have done? And always, unremittingly …

Stigmatization can give rise to belonging uncertainty. In this state, people are sensitive to
information diagnostic of the quality of their social connections. Two experiments tested how …

In this review, I examine the social psychological research on ostracism, social exclusion,
and rejection. Being ignored, excluded, and/or rejected signals a threat for which reflexive …