RESEARCH_FILE
Harry T. Reis
University of Rochester
Known for:The interpersonal process model of intimacy and perceived partner responsiveness theory
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I can't take sides between them”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I'm not choosing people; I'm choosing a boundary.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
On a note app or scrap paper, write two columns titled 'What I keep saying' and 'What I would say if I weren't counting loyalty like currency.' Fill in three lines each, then fold or delete it and notice which line feels hardest to leave on the page.
Key findings
- 1988
With Phillip Shaver, proposed that intimacy develops through cycles of self-disclosure met by perceived partner responsiveness — the felt sense that a partner understands, validates, and cares — rather than through any single dramatic gesture. Intimacy as an interpersonal process: the importance of self-disclosure, partner disclosure, and perceived partner responsiveness in interpersonal exchanges ↗
- 2004
With Clark and Holmes, formalized perceived partner responsiveness as an organizing construct: the belief that a partner attends and reacts supportively to core, defining features of the self, accumulated across many interactions rather than proven in a single instance. Perceived Partner Responsiveness as an Organizing Construct in the Study of Intimacy and Closeness ↗