Interpersonal Relationships and Well-being: A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence

Description

DOI: hhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19704470

Bindu Kumari (Department of Psychology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana)

All individuals have experienced the moments when presence and interactions with others become burdensome and overwhelming- perhaps during a conflicting or opinionated conversation with family members, friends or colleagues, resulting in a dramatic tension. Jean-Paul Sartre, an existentialist philosopher has put this sentiment in his famous phrase from his 1944 play No Exit: “Hell is other people.” The play depicts three characters living in a room with a realization that they are not tormented by any sort of physical pain but from the constant judgmental attitude, blame games and constant scrutiny of each other. This iconic line in his play illustrates how human interpersonal relationships can strip away the freedom, autonomy and authenticity. The objectification of self by the look of others and the way they only see shortcomings creates an incongruence between self-perception and how others define us. This idea, where the presence of others becomes a source of mental and existential anguish rather than comfort, is in sharp contrast to one of the longest studies on happiness in modern psychology, whose findings state that positive interpersonal relationships are the cornerstone of a fulfilling and happy life. This systematic literature review seeks to explore this philosophical pessimism with empirical optimism and understanding mediating and moderating factors of how interpersonal relationships influence happiness and challenging the notion that Sartre acknowledged as inevitably ‘hell’.