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Do sovereign people communicate more efficiently?
Psychological sovereignty (PS) is a person’s ability to keep his/her boundaries and to control his/her personal space – body, territory, personal belongings, etc. (Nartova-Bochaver, 2005). It is a result of biography-personality interaction. This feature is responsible for keeping balance between the person’s and other people’s needs . PS is important for preventing transgressions of personal boundaries including unjust treatment, for respecting others and protecting oneself as well. The opposite pole of sovereignty is designated deprivedness. In our research, the connection between psychological sovereignty and interpersonal interaction specificity on a Russian sample was investigated. The hypothesis assumed that sovereignty is positively connected with harmonious interpersonal relationships. In total, 399 respondents (74% females) participated in this survey, Mage=23 years. The following tools were used: The Psychological Sovereignty-2010, Attachment - Separateness scale of Five Factor Questionnaire by A.B.Khromov, The experiences in Close Relationship Scale by M. Wei et al. Two empirical studies were conducted. Study 1 showed that the sovereignty level is positively connected with some attachment facets (warmth, trustfulness, and respect for others). In study 2, we discovered that the sovereignty level is negatively connected with anxiety and avoidance in close relationships. The discovered connections are more pronounced in females. Outcomes mean that people who feel safer have features helping them to establish more friendly attitudes toward others than people who feel vulnerable. Moreover, they communicate more confidently and authentically. Results are of high importance for applied social psychology.