Natalie M Sisson
Biographic Data
| ID | 144274 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Natalie M Sisson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Natalie M |
| FAMILY NAME | Sisson |
| SIGNATURE | SISSON N M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Toronto |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0758-3803 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
What It Means to Put Children First: A Mixed-Method Investigation of Child-Centric Parenting
Child-centrism is a commonly practiced parenting approach in which parents prioritize their children’s well-being over their own. Despite initial validation of a child-centrism scale among mothers—supporting its distinctiveness from other intensive parenting styles—research has yet to comprehensively examine child-centrism in fathers and identify motivations for engaging in and concrete manifestations of child-centrism. In this research, we provi…
Managing loved ones’ emotions: The promise and pitfalls of reappraisal
People may often attempt to support a loved one by changing how that loved one interprets a stressful situation (i.e., other-focused cognitive reappraisal ). However, there are many specific ways in which a situation can be reframed, and while some reappraisal tactics may be effective, other tactics may be inert or possibly backfire-even when used with good intentions. We propose that it is useful to distinguish between decommitment tactics that …
The Hidden Costs of Gratitude: Gratitude Amplification Is Costly for Personal and Relationship Well-Being
Expressing gratitude often strengthens relationships, yet many people say “thank you” despite not feeling especially grateful. Although this may seem innocuous, are there hidden costs? We tested the effects of expressed, perceived, and accurate perceptions of gratitude amplification on romantic couples’ personal and relational well-being across four dyadic studies ( N couples = 639), including lab conversations (Studies 1a and 2a), naturalistical…
Thank You for Changing: Gratitude Promotes Autonomous Motivation and Successful Partner Regulation
Romantic partners often attempt to improve their relationship by changing each other’s traits and behaviors, but such partner regulation is often unsuccessful. We examined whether gratitude expressed by agents (i.e., partners requesting change) facilitates greater regulation success from targets (i.e., partners making change) by encouraging targets’ autonomous motivation. Across studies, including observational (Study 1, N = 111 couples), preregi…
The interpersonal risks of valuing happiness: Links to interpersonal emotion regulation and close others’ mental health
While most people want to feel happy, valuing happiness can paradoxically make people unhappy. We propose that such costs may extend to interpersonal contexts, given that valuing happiness may shape how people (i.e., regulators) manage others' (i.e., targets') emotions (i.e., extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation). While valuing happiness could motivate regulators to reduce targets' distress using effective forms of emotion regulation, it ma…
Placing a child's or partner's needs above my own: Impacts on a couple's sexual relationship
Parent couples often struggle to maintain satisfying sex lives perhaps because partners have different priorities to balance including the self, their relationship with each other, and their relationships with their children. Given that parents are increasingly involved in supporting adult children, it is important to examine how prioritization of other's needs over one's own shapes a couple's sexual relationship. In a sample of 179 parent couple…
Gratitude and sexual satisfaction: Benefits of gratitude for couples and insecure attachment
People with insecure attachment tend to experience more relationship-related issues, including lower sexual satisfaction. Although gratitude is a powerful emotion that can be used to boost and maintain relationship quality, it is unclear whether gratitude can help sustain sexual satisfaction in relationships. The current research tested whether expressed and perceived expressions of gratitude promote daily sexual satisfaction, as well as whether …
When We're Asked to Change: The Role of Suppression and Reappraisal in Partner Change Outcomes
Receiving a request to change from a romantic partner can evoke intense emotional responses that hinder change progress and conflict resolution. As such, investigating how those being asked to change (i.e., change targets) regulate their emotions through key intrapersonal strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) will lend crucial insight into promoting change success. Utilizing laboratory-interaction (Study 1; N = 111 couples) and experienc…
How can I thank you? Highlighting the benefactor's responsiveness or costs when expressing gratitude
Despite growing evidence that showing gratitude plays a powerful role in building social connections, little is known about how to best express gratitude to maximize its relational benefits. In this research, we examined how two key ways of expressing gratitude-conveying that the benefactor's kind action met one's needs (responsiveness-highlighting) and acknowledging how costly the action was (cost-highlighting)-impact benefactors' reactions to t…
How can I thank you? Highlighting the benefactor's responsiveness or costs when expressing gratitude
Despite growing evidence that showing gratitude plays a powerful role in building social connections, little is known about how to best express gratitude to maximize its relational benefits. In this research, we examined how two key ways of expressing gratitude-conveying that the benefactor's kind action met one's needs (responsiveness-highlighting) and acknowledging how costly the action was (cost-highlighting)-impact benefactors' reactions to t…
When We're Asked to Change: The Role of Suppression and Reappraisal in Partner Change Outcomes
Receiving a request to change from a romantic partner can evoke intense emotional responses that hinder change progress and conflict resolution. As such, investigating how those being asked to change (i.e., change targets) regulate their emotions through key intrapersonal strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) will lend crucial insight into promoting change success. Utilizing laboratory-interaction (Study 1; N = 111 couples) and experienc…
Gratitude and sexual satisfaction: Benefits of gratitude for couples and insecure attachment
People with insecure attachment tend to experience more relationship-related issues, including lower sexual satisfaction. Although gratitude is a powerful emotion that can be used to boost and maintain relationship quality, it is unclear whether gratitude can help sustain sexual satisfaction in relationships. The current research tested whether expressed and perceived expressions of gratitude promote daily sexual satisfaction, as well as whether …
How can I thank you? Highlighting the benefactor's responsiveness or costs when expressing gratitude
Despite growing evidence that showing gratitude plays a powerful role in building social connections, little is known about how to best express gratitude to maximize its relational benefits. In this research, we examined how two key ways of expressing gratitude-conveying that the benefactor's kind action met one's needs (responsiveness-highlighting) and acknowledging how costly the action was (cost-highlighting)-impact benefactors' reactions to t…
When We're Asked to Change: The Role of Suppression and Reappraisal in Partner Change Outcomes
Receiving a request to change from a romantic partner can evoke intense emotional responses that hinder change progress and conflict resolution. As such, investigating how those being asked to change (i.e., change targets) regulate their emotions through key intrapersonal strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) will lend crucial insight into promoting change success. Utilizing laboratory-interaction (Study 1; N = 111 couples) and experienc…
Gratitude and sexual satisfaction: Benefits of gratitude for couples and insecure attachment
People with insecure attachment tend to experience more relationship-related issues, including lower sexual satisfaction. Although gratitude is a powerful emotion that can be used to boost and maintain relationship quality, it is unclear whether gratitude can help sustain sexual satisfaction in relationships. The current research tested whether expressed and perceived expressions of gratitude promote daily sexual satisfaction, as well as whether …
The interpersonal risks of valuing happiness: Links to interpersonal emotion regulation and close others’ mental health
While most people want to feel happy, valuing happiness can paradoxically make people unhappy. We propose that such costs may extend to interpersonal contexts, given that valuing happiness may shape how people (i.e., regulators) manage others' (i.e., targets') emotions (i.e., extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation). While valuing happiness could motivate regulators to reduce targets' distress using effective forms of emotion regulation, it ma…
Placing a child's or partner's needs above my own: Impacts on a couple's sexual relationship
Parent couples often struggle to maintain satisfying sex lives perhaps because partners have different priorities to balance including the self, their relationship with each other, and their relationships with their children. Given that parents are increasingly involved in supporting adult children, it is important to examine how prioritization of other's needs over one's own shapes a couple's sexual relationship. In a sample of 179 parent couple…
The Hidden Costs of Gratitude: Gratitude Amplification Is Costly for Personal and Relationship Well-Being
Expressing gratitude often strengthens relationships, yet many people say “thank you” despite not feeling especially grateful. Although this may seem innocuous, are there hidden costs? We tested the effects of expressed, perceived, and accurate perceptions of gratitude amplification on romantic couples’ personal and relational well-being across four dyadic studies ( N couples = 639), including lab conversations (Studies 1a and 2a), naturalistical…
Thank You for Changing: Gratitude Promotes Autonomous Motivation and Successful Partner Regulation
Romantic partners often attempt to improve their relationship by changing each other’s traits and behaviors, but such partner regulation is often unsuccessful. We examined whether gratitude expressed by agents (i.e., partners requesting change) facilitates greater regulation success from targets (i.e., partners making change) by encouraging targets’ autonomous motivation. Across studies, including observational (Study 1, N = 111 couples), preregi…
What It Means to Put Children First: A Mixed-Method Investigation of Child-Centric Parenting
Child-centrism is a commonly practiced parenting approach in which parents prioritize their children’s well-being over their own. Despite initial validation of a child-centrism scale among mothers—supporting its distinctiveness from other intensive parenting styles—research has yet to comprehensively examine child-centrism in fathers and identify motivations for engaging in and concrete manifestations of child-centrism. In this research, we provi…
Managing loved ones’ emotions: The promise and pitfalls of reappraisal
People may often attempt to support a loved one by changing how that loved one interprets a stressful situation (i.e., other-focused cognitive reappraisal ). However, there are many specific ways in which a situation can be reframed, and while some reappraisal tactics may be effective, other tactics may be inert or possibly backfire-even when used with good intentions. We propose that it is useful to distinguish between decommitment tactics that …
Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works) · Gratitude (4 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (4 works) · Clinical Psychology (3 works) · Clinical Psychology (3 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (2 works)