Shelly L. Gable
University of California, Santa Barbara
Capitalization refers to the process of telling another person about something positive that has happened. The way that the other person reacts is referred to
Capitalization 119 as the capitalization response, of which there are four types: active-constructive, passive-constructive, active-destructive, and passive-destructive.
We all know that bad things happen from time to time. Psychologists have often focused on understanding how people maintain or restore their happiness in the face of both major and minor stressful events. In other words, researchers have often asked people, “What do you do when things go wrong?” The answers to these questions are remarkably diverse. For example, people sometimes try to reframe a negative event to put it into a different perspective, and other times they have a hard time letting go of a negative event and ruminate about what happened.
Regardless of how people cope with negative events internally, one thing for sure is that people also regularly seek out their spouses, partners, friends, family, and community for support during stressful times. More importantly, social support– feeling as if others will be there for you in times of stress and receiving support when you need it – is beneficial, both psychologically and physically.
Fortunately, good things also happen; and for the vast majority of people, good things happen more often than bad things. Ironically though, psychologists have been less likely to ask people “What do you do when things go right?” What psychologists do know is that when good things happen, people actively tell other people about these positive events – a process referred to as capitalization.
For example, in studies of daily life, people were asked to describe “the best thing that had happened to you during the day” (they completed the form just before going to bed). Participants in these studies reported events ranging from relatively minor triumphs, such as finding money in the pocket of a pair of pants when doing laundry and finishing a small project, to major events such as being accepted into medical school and getting a raise at work. About eight times out of ten, they told at least one other person about these events. And while people are more likely to capitalize about bigger events, they are also quite likely to capitalize about smaller events. Who do people turn to when things go right?
People tell those closest to them: 97 percent of the time positive events are shared with friends, roommates, parents, siblings, and spouses/romantic partners. Only a small fraction of the time do people share their positive events with acquaint- ances or strangers.
Why do we share the news of our good fortune with others? For one, when people tell others about these positive events they experience more positive emo- tions and feel greater life satisfaction than when they cannot or choose not to tell others about these positive events. Keep in mind that these benefits are in additionto the positive emotions and life satisfaction that are experienced with the event itself. In other words, capitalizing on a positive event increases the impact of that event. However, these benefits rest, in large part, on the reactions of the person or people with whom the events are shared.
When a person capitalizes on his or her positive event, there are several dif- ferent ways in which the target of that capitalization attempt can react. We have found that these responses range on two major dimensions: How active versus passive is the response? And, how constructive versus destructive is the response?
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In terms of the first dimension, the responder can show interest and involve- ment when the event is shared, or the responder can be reserved and subdued in his or her reply. In terms of the second dimension, the responder can be positive and supportive or he or she can be negative and unsupportive. When these two dimensions are combined, there are four prototypes of responses to capitalization attempts: active–constructive, passive–constructive, active–destructive, and passive–
destructive, which are defined below.
Active–constructive: These responses convey enthusiasm regarding the event and positive regard towards the person. They often entail questions about the event, discussions about the important aspects of the event and the implications of the event. The active–constructive responder is often enthusiastic, excited, or happy.
Passive–constructive: These responses may also seem positive or supportive, but they are more reserved and subtle. They are often quiet exchanges that involve few if any questions about the event and little or no elaboration on the implica- tions of the positive event.
Active–destructive: These responses are those in which the responder is also keenly involved in the exchange. However, this response entails a minimization of the importance of the positive event or a focus on the potential downsides of the event, or both.
Passive–destructive: These responses are those in which the responder shows little or no interest in the positive event. The responder may change the subject completely or talk instead about themselves.
For example, Samantha comes home from her job in an advertising agency and excitedly tells her partner, Jack, that her boss called her into a meeting today and assigned her to be the team leader for a multi-million dollar product advertising campaign for one their biggest clients. An active-constructive response from Jack might be “Wow, this is great news! Your skills and hard work are definitely pay- ing off; I am certain that the promotion you want is just around the corner. What is the product?” A passive-constructive response could be a warm smile followed by a simple “That’s nice, dear.” An active-destructive response might be “Wow, I bet the project will be complicated and difficult, are you sure you can handle it?
It sounds like it might be a lot of work; maybe no one else wanted to lead the project. You will probably have to work even longer hours this month.” And, a passive-destructive response might be “You won’t believe what happened to me today,” or “What do you want to do for dinner?”
Our research has clearly shown that only one type of response is good for the person who is capitalizing on the positive event: an active–constructive response.
That is, the more that others respond in an active–constructive way when news of a positive event is shared, then the more that the person who shared experiences the benefits of capitalizing (i.e., more positive emotions and greater life satisfaction).
When others respond either passively or destructively, people do not reap the benefits of capitalizing and often experience stress and other negative emotions.
Perhaps though even more important is the role that responses to capitaliza- tion attempts play in the quality of the relationship between the capitalizer and
Capitalization 121 the responder. Our research team has asked people to describe how their spouses or dating partners typically respond to them when they share the occurrence of positive events. We found that people who had partners that responded to them in active–constructive ways (e.g., “My partner usually reacts to my good fortune enthusiastically,” “I sometimes get the sense that my partner is even more happy and excited then I am”) were significantly more satisfied with their partners, felt more intimacy with their partners, had more trust of their partners, were more com- mitted to their partners, and had fewer conflicts with their partners. We also found that those who had partners who typically responded in an active–destructive manner (“My partner often finds a problem with the event,” “He/she points out the potential downsides of the event”), or a passive–destructive manner (“My part- ner often seems disinterested,” “My partner doesn’t pay much attention when I share the event”), or even a passive–constructive manner (“My partner says little, but I know he/she is happy for me,” “My partner is usually silently supportive of the good things that occur to me”), were less satisfied with their partners, less intimate with their partners, less trustful of their partners, less committed to their partners, and had more conflicts with their partners. It is worth noting that it was surprising to us that even passive–constructive responding patterns were associated with poorer quality relationships. Finally, this pattern of results is not limited to romantic relationships, but we have found similar results when we examined parent-child pairs, roommates, and friends. For all of these types of relationships, reporting that the other person typically responds in an active–
constructive manner was associated with higher quality relationships.
However, it could be that just as beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, so might the quality of responses to capitalization be in the eye of the capitalizer. It could be that some people may not be satisfied with any response they receive and characterize it as destructive, while others might read someone’s slightest smile as unbridled enthusiasm. That is, would an objective outside observer watching a capitalization exchange between two people agree on what type of response was being given? We addressed this question by asking couples to come into the laboratory and talk about a recent positive event with their partners while we videotaped their discussions. After each exchange, we asked the person sharing the event to rate the response of their partner. We also had coders who knew nothing about the couples or their responses watch the videotapes and rate the responders as to how active versus passive and how constructive versus destruc- tive they were. We found that these objective observers’ ratings correlated with how the capitalizer felt after the discussion. Specifically, when outside observers rated the response as active and constructive, the person who had shared the event also felt more satisfied with their partner and closer to their partner. Thus, it seems that the actual response matters and it is not just that some people see any response as active (or passive), and constructive (or destructive).
The research on capitalization has produced two important findings. First, people do something not only when bad things happen, but also when good things happen. They tell people, and the more they do this, the better off they are. Second,
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how others respond when good news is shared has important implications for both the personal well-being of the individual sharing that news and also for the relationship that the individual has with the person with whom they shared the event.
SEE ALSO: Close relationships Family functioning Intimacy
Marital happiness Social support