Browsing by Subject "Romantic relationships"
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Item Derogation or enhancement? Attractiveness evaluations of potential partners by single and coupled people(2016-05) Shukusky, Jennifer Ann; Eastwick, Paul; Loving, Timothy; Gleason, MarciCoupled people and single people evaluate potential partners differently, such that coupled people rate potential partners as significantly less appealing than single people. Yet, at present, it is impossible to determine the mechanism that underlies this mean difference: derogation, the tendency for partnered individuals to devalue attractive alternatives, or enhancement, the tendency for single people to bolster the attractiveness of potential partners. In the current study, we aim to provide clarity on this issue by conceptually replicating and advancing previous work on the derogation and enhancement of potential partners. We do this using a baseline comparison group (neutral coders who also rated the attractiveness of the participants’ potential partners) in addition to coupled and single peoples’ evaluations. Also, unlike previous derogation and enhancement studies, participants in the present study evaluated potential partners with whom they interacted in their everyday lives. We found the expected mean difference between ratings made by coupled and single individuals. Additionally, compared to the neutral baseline ratings, enhancement emerged as a stronger mechanism than derogation. Limitations of this study and potential explanations for these results are discussed.Item An examination of temporal agency in courtship narratives(2012-05) Kurlak, Rebecca Mary; McGlone, Matthew S., 1966-; Vangelisti, Anita L.The reported study investigated temporal agency (i.e., the assignment of cause for temporal shift) in newlyweds’ courtship narratives. Transcripts of courtship narratives generated by each partner of 23 recently married couples (approximately 3 months) participating in the PAIR project (Huston, McHale, & Crouter, 1986) were analyzed for the presence of different linguistic strategies for encoding temporal shift. Statements were coded as “human agency assignments” when they assigned the cause of temporal shift to humans (e.g., we started seeing each other in June); statements that assigned temporal shift to abstract entities such as the events themselves (e.g., the summer started out well for us) or to the relationship (e.g., the relationship started to slow down) were coded as “abstract agency assignments.” The frequency with which narrators mentioned positiveand negative emotions was also coded to explore the possibility that emotional valence mediated agency assignments. The frequency of different agency assignments and emotion words were considered in the context of portions of the courtship accounts that narrators designated as describing “upturns” (episodes that increased the likelihood of marriage) or “downturns” (episodes that decreased marriage likelihood). Results indicated that the frequency of human agency assignments and positive emotion mention were higher in upturn than downturn narrative segments; in contrast, abstract agency assignments and negative emotion mention were more frequent in downturn than upturn segments. Subsequent analyses indicated that positive word mention partially mediated human agency assignments in upturns and that negative word mention partially mediated abstract agency assignments in downturns. These findings are consistent with previous research demonstrating an association between the emotional valence of an event and temporal agency assignment: In general, people assign temporal agency to themselves when describing positive events, but prefer abstract agency assignments for negative events (McGlone & Pfiester, 2009).Item Imagine me and you, I do : associations between adult romantic attachment styles and imagined interactions(2006-05) Winfree, Jill Elizabeth, 1980-; Dailey, Rene M.; Maxwell, Madeline M.This study evaluates associations between adult attachment style and imagined interactions within romantic relationships. One’s internal working model of concept of self and concept of other develop from the primary attachment relationship, which develops into one of four adult attachment styles; secure, preoccupied, dismissing, and fearful. A significant attachment figure for adults is the romantic partner, allowing for specified categories of adult romantic attachment. While the literature regarding attachment style is exhaustive, comparisons among each of the four attachment styles in terms of imagined interactions with the romantic partner acting as the other is a novel endeavor. Significance emerged between the adult romantic attachment styles on three characteristics of imagined interactions: discrepancy, variety, and valence.Item Love me true : deception, affection, and evolutionary strategies of human mating(2015-05) Redlick, Madeleine H.; Vangelisti, Anita L.; Dailey, ReneGiving and receiving affection is a key part of the human experience, particularly in close relationships. Affectionate messages may take on many forms, both those that are genuine and those that are deceptive in nature. A deceptive affectionate message is defined in this study as the intentional communication of a positively-valenced message, in which the intensity of the feeling is greater than that which is truly felt by the sender at that time (Horan & Booth-Butterfield, 2013). This study employed theoretical perspectives from evolutionary psychology in an attempt to explore what might motivate romantic partners to communicate a deceptive affectionate message (DAM). This study claims that DAMs may be seen as adaptive and strategically chosen mate-retention behaviors, which might be selected in the case that they can satisfy the needs of both the sender and receiver of the message. Broader questions about conceptualizing the nature of deception in close relationships are also raised and pursued.Item Marital attitudes as determinates of involvement in romantic relationships(2006-05) Steffek, Lisa Marie; Surra, Catherine A.Behavior in romantic relationships has changed and suggests that individuals’ attitudes toward marriage and divorce, women’s roles in society, and their marital role expectations have transformed as well. In this study, I examined the connections between attitudes related to the institution of marriage that impact the development of romantic relationships among never-married individuals. Using a sample of coupled dating partners, respondents independently graphed changes in the chance of marriage to their current partner and completed questionnaire data on their personal attitudes, relationship characteristics, and commitment. The results suggest that attitudes are associated with the development of romantic relationships.Item Meet the parents (and friends) : examining the association between social network introductions and romantic relationship state and fate(2014-12) Wright, Brittany Lauren, 1985-; Loving, Timothy J.Part of the natural progression of any romantic relationship is that, over time, individuals will meet and form connections with each other’s friends and family (Milardo, 1982). Interestingly, the examination of social network introductions has largely been neglected by researchers. We do not know when couple members introduce each other to their friends and parents. We also do not know what effect, if any, these network introductions have on future relationship outcomes. The present study addressed these gaps. Specifically, I examined when couple members typically met each other’s friends and parents for the first time, whether relationship quality influenced the likelihood of making these introductions, and whether these introductions predicted later relationship outcomes (i.e., relationship quality, likelihood of breakup, and post-breakup adjustment). In the present study, participants in new romantic relationships (less than 6 months duration) completed a survey every two weeks for nine months. In each survey, participants indicated whether friend and family introductions had occurred, their current relationship quality, and whether they had broken up with their partners since the previous survey. If individuals reported having broken up, they were asked about their reactions to the breakup. Results revealed that friends were typically introduced before parents, and that relationship quality predicted the likelihood of newly dating individuals introducing their parents (but not friends) to their romantic partners. Largely, network introductions failed to predict later perceptions of relationship quality but did influence the likelihood of relationship dissolution over the course of the study. Furthermore, introductions to participants’ mothers predicted worse emotional reactions to a breakup, and introductions to participants’ fathers and best friends were associated with greater relationship longing. The results of this study represent an important first step in understanding when individuals introduce their romantic partners to their friends and family and how these introductions influence relationship development.Item Motivations in romantic relationships: a regulatory focus perspective(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Winterheld, Heike A.The present research tested whether and how regulatory focus as a motivational variable influences the ways in which people appraise, process, and react to events in romantic relationships. Regulatory focus theory distinguishes between (1) a prevention focus, which emphasizes the fulfillment of security needs, duties and obligations, and is associated with heightened sensitivity to aversive outcomes, and (2) a promotion focus, which emphasizes the fulfillment of nurturance needs, accomplishments and aspirations, and is associated with heightened sensitivity to rewarding outcomes. Based on regulatory focus theory, it was assumed that promotion and prevention focused people would appraise, react to, and process interpersonal events involving a romantic partner in different ways. In addition, it was expected that the distinct ways of experiencing such events are reflected in differences in relationship quality. Three studies using college student samples were conducted to test these notions. Evidence was found that individual differences in chronic prevention focus affect the ways in which people react to aversive events in relationships. No support was obtained for regulatory focus theory??s predictions regarding prevention focus processes in association with rewarding outcomes, and predictions related to the promotion focus system were also not supported. As expected, chronic promotion focus was related to higher relationship quality, and chronic prevention focus was associated with lower relationship quality. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.Item Relationship commitment and monitoring alternatives using Facebook in unmarried romantic relationships(2013-08) West, Adam Redd; Gershoff, Elizabeth T.Recent technological innovations affecting romantic relationships include the rise in prominence of social networking sites (SNSs), including Facebook. SNSs have become an increasingly fundamental part of developing and maintaining relationships. A majority of research focuses on the ways in which individuals access SNSs. Less studied is how individuals' use of SNSs affects their romantic relationships. An important aspect of the stability of romantic relationships is the construct of commitment. Relationship commitment is conceptualized as the intent to continue a relationship into the future and is composed of many constructs that can either keep individuals in or pull them away from the relationship. One aspect that may pull individuals away from their relationship is the quality and availability of potential alternatives, or relationship forms other than the current one. There is evidence that using tools like Facebook may prompt individuals to pay attention to alternative relationship options. This study examined how SNSs use may affect current relationships with a sample of 645 unmarried individuals in dating relationships and with current Facebook accounts. All participants completed measures of their Facebook use, relationship commitment, and attention to relationship alternatives. A sub-sample of 432 participants were randomly assigned to one of two study conditions. One condition prompted participants to view the Facebook profiles of friends that they might consider as possible relationship partners and the other condition prompted participants to view organizations they follow on Facebook. Analyses indicated that Facebook monitoring condition did not predict differences in individuals' reported commitment. However, hierarchical regression analyses using the full sample revealed that high levels of online monitoring of alternatives were associated with low levels of commitment for both males and females, but more so for males. Analyses also revealed that low levels of satisfaction predicted high levels of monitoring of alternatives and high levels of Facebook use predicted high levels of online monitoring of alternatives. These results suggest that tools such as Facebook can be used to monitor alternatives, yet doing so may negatively affect current romantic relationships. Future studies should explore these relationships by using a repeated measures design to assess change over time.Item Relationship deterioration : description and implications(2012-05) Langlais, Michael Roger; Surra, Catherine A.; Anderson, Edward Robert; Gleason, Marci E.Ending a relationship is a common and often difficult experience for adolescents and young adults who are dating (Furman & Wehner, 1997). Yet, little is known about how romantic relationships deteriorate prior to breakup (Carver, Joyner, & Udry, 2003; Duck, 1981). The main goal of this study is to develop a definition of relationship deterioration that delineates the process of deterioration, by specifying a beginning and end point of deterioration and identifying characteristics that distinguish deterioration from breakup. Data for this study comes from the University of Texas Tracing Relationships and Commitment study (UT-TRAC), which contains 464 participants (232 heterosexual couples) who graphed changes in commitment over a 9-month period providing reasons describing each change. Deterioration, as defined as declines in commitment, was described by both partners in a romantic dyad in 90 couples whereas 75 individuals described deterioration and their romantic partner did not. A coding manual was created and pilot-tested to measure frequency and intensity of the four characteristics of deterioration in participant’s descriptions of changes in commitment. The current investigation used multi-level modeling separately for couples experiencing deterioration (to control for the dyadic nature of the data) and individuals whose partner did not report declines in commitment. Survival analyses using logistic regressions (Singer & Willett, 2003) were applied to measure how the characteristics of deterioration could predict breakup. Results of the analyses revealed that participants who experienced a breakup were more likely to report relationship deterioration, particularly for couples where both individuals described deterioration. Hierarchical linear models revealed that more frequent amounts of the deterioration characteristics was associated with deterioration as compared to pre-deterioration. However, intensity of the characteristics was not significant in differentiating between deterioration and pre-deterioration. In comparing deterioration with breakup, frequency of the deterioration characteristics predicted breakup only in descriptions of alternative partners, whereas intensity of the all four deterioration characteristics predicted breakup ranging from 37% (more intense scores of relational uncertainty) to 74% (more intense scores of alternative partners for an individual’s partner). Implications of this study will be in terms of commitment theory in order to further understand relationship processes.Item Relationship initiation and progression in the online matchmaking environment : phenomenology, idealistic distortion, and alternative dating partners(2010-05) Steffek, Lisa Marie; Loving, Timothy J.; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Anderson, Edward; Gleason, Marci; Li, NormanWith the capacity to connect millions of singles through the virtual world, online matchmaking has altered the traditional, face-to-face romantic relationship initiation process. Users of online matchmaking sites have easy access to thousands of available singles and can communicate with partners before ever meeting face-to-face. Specific mechanisms by which online matchmaking environments operate are likely to distort both users’ appraisals of other users and users’ appraisals of themselves. This phenomenon in dating has left researchers to speculate about the effectiveness of romantic relationship initiation in such a context, and for relationships that are successfully formed online, whether the effects of online matchmaking extend beyond the relationship initiation process to influence the subsequent progression of romantic relationships. Seventy-five single men and women were recruited and agreed to subscribe to the online matchmaking site Match.com for 30 days. Participants completed measures assessing their individual background characteristics, sociosexual orientation, personality and attachment. In the event that participants scheduled a first date with someone they met through Match.com, they completed pre and post-date measures assessing idealistic distortion of, attention to, and ease of finding alternative dating partners. Upon completion of their 30 days in the study, participants completed a follow-up questionnaire assessing the degree to which they idealistically distorted themselves to other users and their overall satisfaction and experience using Match.com. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the more users’ distorted the vitality and attractiveness of dating partners the less likely users were to experience a second date initiated by the dating partner. Future studies need to consider that traditional models of relationship initiation are out-dated and not applicable to the study of relationship initiation and progression in the context of online matchmaking. Relationship researchers need to investigate: gender differences in filtering potential partners, the function of filtering in such a context, the developmental progression of filtering and the subsequent potential heightened importance of physical attraction verses the importance of compatibility in predicting relationship initiation in the online matchmaking environment. Additionally, future research should involve comparisons of various matchmaking services’, should utilize larger sample sizes and should follow participants for a longer period of time.Item Romantic partner communication about weight management: impact of personal and relational characteristics on message interpretation and health attitude outcomes(2009-05) Richards, Andrea Ann; Dailey, René M.Guided by a conceptual framework regarding how supportive messages interpreted as negatively controlling are related to individuals’ relational health and weight management efforts, this research explored participants’ interpretations of their romantic partner’s weight management messages in a two-phase study. In phase one, college students were presented with a sample of supportive weight management messages. Participants were asked to describe the degree to which each message communicated support and negative control as well as respond to items concerning their personal and relational characteristics. In phase two, participants were asked to report a memorable weight management message they received from their current romantic partner. These messages were then assessed for their degree of support and negative control by the participant. Additionally, students responded to measures concerning how perceptions of their health attitude and relational qualities changed after receiving the message. Results from phase one indicated that readiness to change, body esteem, external and internal locus of control, history of received support, and level of relational distress were all significant predictors of interpreting a supportive weight management message as negatively controlling. Phase two results indicated that perceived negative control in a partner’s weight management message is a significant predictor of perceived level of trust in their relationship, weight management commitment, exercise self-efficacy, diet self-efficacy, and perceived negative change in relational quality. The relevance of perceived negative control for relational functioning and health attitudes is discussed.Item Selection and Socialization of Young Adult Romantic Partners' Drinking(Texas Tech University, 2008-12) Wiersma, Jacquelyn D.; Fischer, Judith L.; Harris, Kitty S.; Cleveland, H. Harrington; Reifman, AlanAbundant research concerning adolescent and young adult drinking has focused primarily on factors that may explain the continuance of alcohol use from adolescence into young adulthood, such as parental alcohol use, peer alcohol use, personality characteristics, and the college environment. However, this study proposed that alcohol use among young adults can also be associated with the romantic relationship context of young adults. Drawing from a social learning theory framework, this study examined the associations between adolescent drinking, romantic partner drinking, and young adulthood drinking through the lenses of selection and socialization processes. In addition, moderation effects, such as relationship type and sex of participant were examined. Using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study used hierarchical regression analyses with control variables and propensity scores to examine selection and socialization processes that help to explain young adult drinking. Control variables used in the models included parental alcohol use, peer alcohol use, sensation seeking, and college enrollment. Results indicated significant associations between adolescent drinking, young adult drinking, and romantic partners’ drinking supporting selection and mutual selection effects. After examining the moderating effects of relationship type and participants’ sex, results indicated that romantic partners’ drinking was significantly associated with the participants’ young adult drinking only within nonmarried relationships. In addition, the effects of adolescent drinking and romantic partner drinking were more important for males as compared to females. Lastly, the association of adolescent drinking and young adult drinking among married female participants was significantly greater than that of unmarried women and married males, even after controlling for third variables. There are important implications for female and male individuals who are in nonmarried relationships and marital relationships. Nonmarried individuals may be at risk for continuing to drink if they pair up with drinking partners, especially among males. Once two people pair up, their mutual identity of either a “drinking” or “nondrinking” partnership may be associated with individuals’ drinking. And because individuals may increase their drinking in order to form and keep romantic relationships, romantic partners may play an important role in individual vulnerability to consuming alcohol.Item Serial hurt in romantic relationships : toward an understanding of recurring hurtful interactions(2011-05) Hampel, Alexa Danelle; Vangelisti, Anita L.; Daly, John A.; McGlone, Matthew S.; Dailey, Rene M.; Loving, Timothy J.The present study explored the phenomenon of serial hurt – hurtful interactions between romantic partners that reoccur about the same topic or issue. In this investigation, a framework of serial hurt was offered, and a number of research questions and hypotheses were examined. The first goal of this study was to assess whether serial hurt was discernable from discrete hurt that occurred in a single, isolated instance. The second purpose of this project was to provide an initial exploration of serial hurt as it occurs in romantic relationships. A community sample of romantic partners (N = 203) completed a series of self-report questionnaires pertaining to either discrete or serial hurt in their current romantic relationships. Results indicated that romantic partners made sense of and responded to hurtful exchanges with their partner in distinct ways depending on the type of hurt experienced. Specifically, the results indicated that discrete hurt and serial hurt are experienced in unique ways by individuals, both cognitively and behaviorally. Further, descriptive, exploratory data on serial hurt provided insight into an alternative perspective for examining hurtful interactions in relationships.Item Shared reality in courtship : does it matter for marital success?(2011-05) Wilson, April Christine; Huston, Ted L.; Loving, Timothy; Gleason, Marci; Neff, Lisa; Vangelisti, AnitaThis study provides evidence that individuals who share similar experiences that are grounded in the actual features of the courtship are likely to remain married over 13 years later. Using logistic regression and path analyses to examine 168 married partners, results support previous research suggesting that “enduring dynamics” best predicts the developmental pathway for couples who remain married, whereas “disillusionment” prefigures marital instability. Specifically, findings revealed that marriages are more likely to be stable when premarital partners (a) feel similar depths of love for one another, (b) move toward marriage at comparable rates over the course of the courtship, and when feelings of (c) love and (d) ambivalence reflect how frequently they experience conflict and downturns in their estimations of the likelihood of marriage. Gender differences and exceptions to this pattern are discussed.Item The temporal course of love : the developmental trajectories of passionate and companionate love and their connections to relationship dissolution(2013-12) Schoenfeld, Elizabeth Austin; Loving, Timothy J.; Huston, Ted L.It has long been believed that passionate love wanes over time, whereas companionate love grows stronger with time. Using a sample of individuals in dating relationships who reported on their feelings of love for their partners up to 20 times over the course of several months, I tested whether passionate love and companionate love develop across the early months of romantic involvement in a manner consistent with theory. Additionally, I investigated whether certain developmental trajectories of both varieties of love are more predictive of relationship dissolution than others. To do this, I first examined the average trajectories of passionate and companionate love for those who stayed together with their partners and those who experienced a breakup, paying special attention to extraneous factors that were expected to influence the manner in which both varieties of love changed over time. The amount of time individuals knew their partners prior to becoming romantically involved, their feelings of the opposing variety of love, the extent to which individuals wanted to break up with their partners, their perceptions of their partners’ desire to break up, and gender all informed the ways in which love changed over time. Because it was expected that passionate love and companionate love would show substantial heterogeneity in their temporal trajectories, I then identified the prototypical patterns of development for passionate and companionate love. The results for passionate love revealed eight distinct linear trajectories, and six unique linear trajectories were identified for companionate love. For passionate love, individuals who experienced stable or declining levels of love were more likely to experience a breakup, but the connection between companionate love and relationship dissolution was less straightforward. Perhaps most importantly, passionate and companionate love interacted to predict the likelihood of dissolution, such that, to the extent that individuals who reported higher levels of passionate love also reported stronger feelings of companionate love, the lower their odds of dissolution. The current findings both complement and extend prior theoretical and empirical work on the developmental trajectories of passionate and companionate love and their connections to relationship dissolution.Item Therapeutic Assessment with couples(2010-08) Durham-Fowler, Jennifer Anne; Rude, Stephanie Sandra; Beretvas, Susan N.; Finn, Stephen E.; Sherry, Alissa; Tharinger, DeborahFinn (2007) recently outlined procedures for applying Therapeutic Assessment (TA) techniques to work with couples. The current study used a time-series design to follow three heterosexual couples as they took part in a TA intervention. Participants were couples who were involved in ongoing couples therapy at the time of the study, but who felt they were not making satisfactory progress in therapy. Participants completed brief, daily measures of relationship satisfaction before, during, and after the TA. In addition, couples completed longer, standardized measures of relationship satisfaction, psychological symptomatology, and therapy progress. Qualitative feedback about the TA was also elicited from couples and their therapists. A time-series analysis revealed that all six participants reported significant improvement on at least some daily measures of relationship satisfaction, and that many of these improvements were sustained over a four-week follow-up period. In addition, four of the six participants reported fewer psychological symptoms at follow-up. Finally, qualitative feedback from participants revealed that all three couples and their couples therapists found the TA intervention to be a largely positive, useful experience.Item Unsolicited confession of deception in romantic relationships(2016-05) Kearns, Kyle Daniel; McGlone, Matthew S., 1966-; Dailey, ReneWe have long known that deception plays a consistent and complicated role in romantic relationships. Though social scientists have studied the discovery and detection of deception in couples, unprompted confession of deception has yet to be explored. It is not yet known why people choose to confess their lies to significant others, nor how that confession affects relationships. The present study surveyed 373 undergraduate students about their experiences both confessing to their romantic partner and being confessed to, and found that their likelihood to confess was positively associated with how discoverable they perceived the lie to be. Those higher in commitment and with a more negative attitude toward deception were more likely to have plans to confess. Participants were questioned about the nature of each lie and how it affected their relationship in the short-term and long-term. Their responses are categorized and discussed.Item What happens when the standard for openness goes unmet in romantic relationships? : cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of stress, coping, and individual and relationship consequences(2013-08) Mooney, Charee Marshell; Vangelisti, Anita L.Individuals expect openness in their romantic relationships, and this standard, known as the standard for openness, is the focus of this project. Currently, little empirical evidence describes what individuals do to deal with any dissatisfaction, anger, and disappointment they feel toward their partners and relationships when standards, such as that for openness, go unfulfilled (Boldero et al., 2009). Based on Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory of stress and coping, this project's purpose was to address limitations in existing research by exploring the stress elicited when the standard for openness goes unmet, identifying the coping strategies individuals engage in when faced with this stress, and assessing the consequences of coping efforts for individuals and their relationships over time. Individuals in newly dating relationships (N = 203) responded to weekly questionnaires over the course of six weeks. Findings from cross-sectional analyses of Week 1 data revealed that exiting and using humor partially mediated the relationship between the stress associated with unfulfilled openness standards and relational satisfaction, and escaping fully mediated the relationship between stress and relationship satisfaction. Further, exiting, modeling, escaping, and reframing partially mediated the relationship between the stress associated with unfulfilled openness standards and mental well-being. Longitudinal analyses using data from all six weeks failed to support predictions that relational satisfaction and mental well-being were related to discrepancies in the fulfillment of openness standards and stress the following week.