Abstract
The purposes of the present study were to investigate the relation between 2 affiliation motives-sensitivity to rejection and affiliative tendency-and interpersonal alienation, and also to investingate developmental and gender differences in this relation. Questionnaires on affiliation motives, interpersonal alienation, and ego identity were completed by 366 junior high school students, 528 senior high school students, and 233 university students. The results revealed a highly positive relation between affiliative tendency and sensitivity to rejection. In spite of this result, affiliative tendency was negatively related to interpersonal alienation: on the other hand sensitivity to rejection was positively related to interpersonal alienation. Gender and developmental differences were also found:(1) Female subjects' sensitivity to rejection was negatively correlated with age.(2) Sensitivity to rejection and interpersonal alienation were negatively correlated in male junior high school student, but positivel correlated in male university students.(3) Affiliative tendency and sensitivity to rejection showed a higher positive correlation in junior high school students than it did in high school or university students. The results of the present study suggest that changes in these 2 affiliative motives are developmental tasks that maintain adaptive interpersonal relations.
