Responsive support: A matter of psychological need fulfillment

Elad Refoua, Eshkol Rafaeli

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Skillful responsive support facilitates coping with stressors and overcoming challenges. We posit that support responsiveness is best understood through the prism of psychological need fulfillment and as varying along two dimensions. The horizontal dimension speaks to the specificity and breadth of support (i.e., which needs, and how many, are addressed by it, respectively). The vertical dimension speaks to the degree to which support is enacted, or perceived to be enacted, in ways that touch on self-coherence needs for meaning and identity, needs tied most strongly to recipients’ core selves. Empathic identification of psychological needs and of their deeper structure, often achieved through good listening, is argued to be the key for effective responsive support.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101691
JournalCurrent Opinion in Psychology
Volume54
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Psychology

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