Rapport's Impact on Need Satisfaction for Lonely Individuals

Rapport and basic psychological need satisfaction are logically and empirically important for daily human functioning. Previous research has linked these literatures together to suggest that rapport, may satisfy these psychological needs (Baker, Watlington, & Knee, under review). To further investigate, this study examined whether or not loneliness and socially anxiety moderated the relationship between rapport and need satisfaction. This line of research is specifically impactful as the results could suggest that rapport buffers the negative effects of social anxiety and loneliness and provides a greater sense of well-being through the satisfaction of psychological needs. This was examined in diary study where participants (n = 7) responded to survey items at baseline, 3 times a day for one week, and at follow-up. This methodology captured a total of 82 social interactions. Results were non-significant due to a low sample size and thus further data will need to be collected to examine this further.