Self-monitoring and dating relationships.

Four investigations, with 479 university students, examined the involvement of self-monitoring propensities in dating relationships. Studies 1 and 2 examined willingness to change dating partners and form close, intimate dating relationships with other partners. Only Ss high in self-monitoring, as measured by the Self-Monitoring Scale, were willing to terminate current relationships in favor of alternative partners. In Study 3, for those involved in multiple dating relationships, high self-monitoring Ss reported having dated a greater number of partners in the preceding year than low self-monitoring Ss; for those in steady, exclusive dating relationships, low self-monitoring Ss reported having dated their current partner for considerably longer than high self-monitoring individuals. Study 4 examined growth of intimacy in dating relationships. The link between length of relationship and level of intimacy was more pronounced for low than high self-monitoring Ss. Findings suggest that high self-monitoring individuals adopt an "uncommitted" and low self-monitoring individuals a "committed" orientation toward dating relationships. Implications for understanding the evolution of intimate relationships, including marital ones, are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social exchange, equity, and commitment: Structural equation modeling of dating relationships.

Used structural equation modeling in 2 studies to evaluate the social exchange (SE) hypothesis, which states that relationship commitment results from satisfaction with the relationship, paired with the limited availability of desirable alternative relationships. College students in intimate relationships completed questionnaire measures of commitment, satisfaction, perceptions of alternatives, and inequity. The initial study, with 238 Ss, supported the SE model but also suggested that perceptions of alternatives involved separating the field of desirable alternatives from the field of available alternatives. Study 2, with 423 Ss, was a replication of Study 1. It also ruled out gender differences, and tested and supported an expanded SE model, which included the construct inequity as an additional intrinsic factor that had substantial indirect influences on relationship commitment as mediated through its effect on satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward intimate partner violence in dating relationships.

Prevention of intimate partner violence on college campuses includes programs designed to change attitudes, and hence, a scale that assesses such attitudes is needed. Study 1 (N = 859) cross validates the factor structure of the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scale-Revised using exploratory factor analysis and presents initial validity data on the scale. In Study 2 (N = 687), the obtained three-factor structure (Abuse, Control, Violence) is tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and it is shown to be concurrently related to assault in romantic relationships and to predict psychological aggression 14 weeks later. The findings are discussed in the context of how understanding and modifying attitudes assessed by the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scale-Revised may improve interventions aimed at reducing intimate partner violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Qualitative reports of problems in cohabiting relationships: Comparisons to married and dating relationships.

Although previous research has demonstrated increased relationship distress and separation for cohabiting couples, little is known about specific problems cohabiting individuals encounter in comparison to dating and married individuals. This study examines open-ended reports of 1,252 individuals' (220 dating, 231 cohabiting, and 801 married) relationship concerns using a detailed, reliable coding system. The top 5 areas considered most problematic by cohabiting individuals were problems in specific areas of their current relationship, individual problems, general communication, arguments, and emotional affection–distance. Dating and cohabiting individuals reported similar frequencies of global problems except that cohabiting individuals reported more problems with arguments and fewer problems with relationship commitment. Married and cohabiting individuals had more differences in their reports of relationship concerns; results suggested that cohabiting relationships tended to be both more vibrant and more volatile than marital relationships. However, most differences between relationship types were no longer significant after controlling for individuals' relationship and demographic characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships.

Communal relationships, in which the giving of a benefit in response to a need for the benefit is appropriate, are distinguished from exchange relationships, in which the giving of a benefit in response to the receipt of a benefit is appropriate. Based on this distinction, it was hypothesized that the receipt of a benefit after the person has been benefited leads to greater attraction when an exchange relationship is preferred and decreases attraction when a communal relationship is desired. These hypotheses were supported in Exp I, which used 96 male undergraduates. Exp II, which used a different manipulation of exchange vs communal relationships with 80 female undergraduates, supported the hypotheses that (a) a request for a benefit after the S is aided by the other leads to greater attraction when an exchange relationship is expected and decreases attraction when a communal relationship is expected, and (b) a request for a benefit in the absence of prior aid from the other decreases attraction when an exchange relationship is expected. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with moral commitment to long-distance dating relationships.

The uncertainty of relationship transitions should elicit more elaborate cognitive processing about one's relationship. As a result, reports of a type of relationship commitment distinctive from satisfaction—moral commitment—might be obtained from those about to begin long distance relationships. Students assessed prior to the academic year reported 2 types of commitment: moral and enthusiastic. Moral commitment was highly correlated with the meaning of the relationship and investment in the relationship, whereas enthusiastic commitment was highly correlated with satisfaction. Moral (but not enthusiastic) commitment predicted the subsequent survival of the relationship. Moral commitment also predicted appraisals of increased investment in and meaning of the relationship by the end of the term. Finally, moral commitment predicted negative affect and illness symptoms for those whose relationships ended. For people remaining in relationships, a new construct of moral burden emerged at Time 2. Burden was related to relationship dissatisfaction and stress and predicted the initiation of a subsequent breakup. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Similarity of outcomes, interdependence, and conflict in dating relationships.

Dating couples (N?=?59) participated in a longitudinal study of hypotheses derived from interdependence theory. Whether each partner's activity preferences and similarity of preference, weighted by liking, would predict joint activity participation was examined. Preferences explained participation better than similarity, and own preferences predicted better than other's preferences. We hypothesized that conflict would increase with the strength of preferences but would decrease with similarity. The hypothesis concerning similarity was confirmed for some activities. Participation, similarity, and conflict explained relationship satisfaction and stability, but participation predicted better for men, whereas conflict and similarity predicted better for women. The findings support the theory but suggest that interdependence problems vary by activity type and gender. Three patterns are discussed: turn taking, unresolved competition, and cooperation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Keeping track of needs in communal and exchange relationships.

Two studies with 99 undergraduates examined the degree to which an individual will keep track of another's needs as a function of the type of relationship desired (communal or exchange) and perceived opportunity for the other to later reciprocate by keeping track of the S's needs (opportunity or no opportunity). Exp I tested the hypotheses that (a) when there is no opportunity for the other to reciprocate, keeping track of the other's needs will be greater if the person desires a communal rather than an exchange relationship with the other. (b) If the person desires an exchange relationship, keeping track of the other's needs will be greater when an opportunity for the other to reciprocate exists than when it does not. (c) If a communal relationship is desired, the existence of an opportunity for the other to reciprocate will not influence keeping track of the other's needs. Results support all 3 hypotheses. The 2nd experiment tested and found support for the hypothesis that even when nothing can be done to help the other, keeping track of the other's needs will be greater if a communal rather than an exchange relationship is desired. Overall findings support the view that keeping track of another person's needs differs depending on the type of relationship with the other person. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When the head protects the heart: Empathic accuracy in dating relationships.

This study investigated circumstances in which romantic partners may be motivated to inaccurately infer each other's thoughts and feelings. Dating couples rated and discussed pictures of opposite-sex people with whom they might later interact in a dating context. Couples evaluated either highly attractive persons or less attractive persons. As predicted, dating partners who were close, who were insecure about their relationship, and who evaluated highly attractive opposite-sex persons displayed the least empathic accuracy when they tried to infer each other's actual thoughts and feelings from the videotape of the rating and discussion task. The effects of these variables were additive, and they were mediated by the degree of perceived threat to the relationship. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of couple patterns of problem solving on distress and nondistress in dating relationships.

Tested a theory of couple patterns of problem solving that involves the voice/loyalty/neglect typology of problem-solving responses advanced by the 1st author and I. M. Zembrodt (1983). 68 undergraduate dating couples were administered a questionnaire that included a measure of self-reported responses and perceptions of partner's responses, a liking and loving instrument, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Destructive problem-solving responses (exit and neglect) were more powerfully predictive of couple distress/nondistress than were constructive problem-solving behaviors (voice and loyalty). Tendencies to react with voice to mild relationship problems were also significantly predictive of couple functioning. Partner perceptions of one another's problem-solving styles were related to couple distress/nondistress: Distress was greater to the extent that Ss perceived that their partners exhibited greater tendencies to engage in exit and neglect while showing lower levels of voice and (perhaps) loyalty. Certain interdependent patterns of partner problem solving were effectively predictive of couple health: Couple distress was greater to the degree that Ss reacted destructively and failed to respond constructively when their partners engaged in destructive problem-solving responses. Thus it is the way in which partners react in response to destructive behaviors from their partners that is best predictive of relationship health. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining employment relationships with social exchange and job embeddedness.

The research reported in this article clarifies how employee–organization relationships (EORs) work. Specifically, the authors tested whether social exchange and job embeddedness mediate how mutual-investment (whereby employers offer high inducements to employees for their high contributions) and over-investment (high inducements without corresponding high expected contributions) EOR approaches, which are based on Tsui, Pearce, Porter, and Tripoli's (1997) framework, affect quit propensity and organizational commitment. Two studies evaluated these intervening mechanisms. Study 1 surveyed 953 Chinese managers attending part-time master of business administration (MBA) programs in China, whereas Study 2 collected cross-sectional and longitudinal data from 526 Chinese middle managers in 41 firms. Standard and multilevel causal modeling techniques affirmed that social exchange and job embeddedness translate EOR influence. A second multilevel test using lagged outcome measures further established that job embeddedness mediates long-term EOR effects over 18 months. These findings corroborate prevailing views that social exchange explains how mutual- and over-investment EORs motivate greater workforce commitment and loyalty. This study enriches EOR perspectives by identifying job embeddedness as another mediator that is more enduring than social exchange. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ups and downs of dating: Fluctuations in satisfaction in newly formed romantic relationships.

This research examined the association between relationship satisfaction and later breakup status, focusing on the temporal changes in satisfaction ratings of individuals in newly formed dating relationships. Growth curve analytic techniques were used in 2 longitudinal studies to create 4 predictors: each participant's initial level of satisfaction, linear trend in satisfaction over time, degree of fluctuation in satisfaction over time, and mean level of satisfaction. Consistent with hypotheses, individuals who exhibited greater fluctuation in their repeated satisfaction ratings were more likely to be in relationships that eventually ended, even after controlling for overall level of satisfaction. Individuals with fluctuating levels of satisfaction also reported relatively lower commitment. The results are discussed in terms of conditions that promote versus undermine relationship stability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creating satisfaction in steady dating relationships: The role of personal goals and situational affordances.

This research extends previous work indicating that individuals are more effective at regulating their behavior when they are in goal-congruent contexts by examining whether individuals particularly need concrete goal-relevant situational affordances once they are in these broadly affirming contexts. Specifically, the authors explore this issue by using the broad context of steady dating relationships (i.e., intimacy-relevant contexts), and considering the role of both intimacy goals and intimacy-affording daily life situations in producing relationship satisfaction and maintenance over time. Results indicate that those with a strong focus on intimacy experience considerable relationship satisfaction regardless of whether they spend time in daily life situations that facilitate intimacy, whereas those without such a focus depend for satisfaction on the presence of intimacy-conducive situations (e.g., time alone with one's partner, or social support from one's partner). Discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of these findings for the Person x Situation literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk models of dating aggression across different adolescent relationships: A developmental psychopathology approach.

The present study examined physical dating aggression in different adolescent relationships and assessed linear, threshold, and moderator risk models for recurrent aggressive relationships. The 621 participants (59% girls, 41% boys) were drawn from a 1-year longitudinal survey of Canadian high school youths ranging from Grade 9 through Grade 12. Approximately 13% of participants reported recurrent dating aggression across 2 different relationships. Using peer and dyadic risk factors from Time 1 of the study, the authors confirmed a linear risk model, such that adolescents in 2 different violent relationships had significantly more contextual risk factors than did adolescents in 1 or no violent relationship. Further, structural equation modeling assessing moderation of contextual risk factors indicated that, for adolescents with high acceptance of dating aggression, peer aggression and delinquency significantly predicted recurrent aggression in a new relationship. In comparison, for adolescents with low acceptance of dating aggression, negative relationship characteristics significantly predicted recurrent aggression. Acceptance did not moderate concurrent associations between risk factors and aggression in 1 relationship. Results support a developmental psychopathological approach to the understanding of recurrent aggression and its associated risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship perceptions and persistence: Do fluctuations in perceived partner commitment undermine dating relationships?

The authors propose specific temporal profiles that reflect certainty versus doubt about where a partner stands with respect to a dating relationship over time. Two multiwave longitudinal studies focused on within-participant changes in perceived partner commitment. Results from multilevel modeling indicate that individuals whose perceptions of partner commitment fluctuate over time were more likely to be in a relationship that eventually ended than were individuals whose perceptions remained relatively steady. For individuals in recently initiated relationships, the association of fluctuation in perceived partner commitment with later breakup was significant regardless of the initial level of perceived partner commitment or the trend, and for all participants, it remained significant when initial level, trend over time, and fluctuation over time of other meaningful variables were controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The joint effects of personality and workplace social exchange relationships in predicting task performance and citizenship performance.

This field study examines the joint effects of social exchange relationships at work (leader-member exchange and team-member exchange) and employee personality (conscientiousness and agreeableness) in predicting task performance and citizenship performance. Consistent with trait activation theory, matched data on 230 employees, their coworkers, and their supervisors demonstrated interactions in which high quality social exchange relationships weakened the positive relationships between personality and performance. Results demonstrate the benefits of consonant predictions in which predictors and outcomes are matched on the basis of specific targets. We discuss theoretical and practical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trends in continuing education and competency demonstrations.

Continuing education has become a requirement for increasing numbers of psychologists, and the trend appears likely to continue. The present article discusses such developments within the broad context of the rationales and available models in the movement. Recent survey data are reviewed, and new data from the District of Columbia Psychological Association are presented. Psychologists' views on continuing education models and on preferred roles for the state psychological association, as well as their attitudes on the protection of consumers of psychological services through continuing education are examined and discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Probability of acceptance in dating choice.

Examined the influence of probability of acceptance and physical attractiveness on dating choice in 3 experiments. In Exp I, 15 female undergraduates made preferential choices between 2 male dates, each described by a photograph and a statement of the probability of acceptance. Both probability and attractiveness of the date were found to be important in Ss' judgments. Further, a multiplying rule for the combination of probability of acceptance and attractiveness was supported, in agreement with the subjective expected utility theory of risky decision making. In Exp II, the same Ss made preferential choices between pairs of dates described by photographs alone. The preferences for 11 of the 15 Ss could be accounted for only by using both probability and attractiveness. A multiplicative combination of probability and attractiveness was also found to be predictive of dating choices made by these Ss. Exp III replicated the results of Exp II with a new group of 14 Ss. Results suggest that (a) females are influenced by both probability of acceptance and physical attractiveness in dating choice, and (b) they tend to combine probability with attractiveness in a multiplicative fashion. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Condom use in sexual exchange relationships among young single adults in Ghana

This article discusses some personal and situational factors which hinder the use of condoms among young single adults ages 18 to 25 years engaged in sexual exchange relationships in a Ghanaian town. Based on focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, this article highlights some key impediments often not adequately discussed in the discourse on condom use but considered vital in any attempt to increase condom use and ultimately reduce HIV transmission. The includes the dilemma facing women who want to use condoms for HIV prevention in premarital sexual exchange relationships (quite different from prostitution) contracted with material gain in mind. Women may face the risk of losing material benefits from sexual exchange relationships if the man is unwilling to use condoms. It is recommended that HIV health educators must increase the involvement of young single adults in exploring these and situational impediments and together design interventions to improve condom use.     

Preliminary report on practice dating and feedback as treatment for college dating problems.

Matched 14 male and 14 female undergraduates who volunteered for a program to increase their dating effectiveness for 6 dates, each date with a different opposite-sex S. Matching was random within S-specified constraints of age, height, race, and distance from campus. After each date, Ss exchanged feedback forms via the E. Feedback forms called for 4 positive aspects of the other and 1 behavior that the other should change. Heterosexual interaction frequency and subjective measures of comfort (e.g., a Social Anxiety and Distress scale, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, and the S-R Inventory of Anxiousness) increased significantly with treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)