Focusing on the exterior and the interior: Two investigations of the initiation of personal relationships.

Tested the hypothesis that the construct of self-monitoring would identify individuals who characteristically adopt distinctly different orientations when initiating dating relationships. In each of 2 studies, low and high self-monitoring men chose a female partner for a date. In Study 1, attentional differences in the initial information-seeking stage of relationship initiation in an open-field setting were examined with 19 high- and 20 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale. In Study 2, actual choices of dating partners were examined where one type of desirable attribute in a partner had to be sacrificed in order to obtain another type of desirable attribute. 16 high- and 16 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale participated. Behavioral and self-report evidence revealed that in both the initial information-gathering stage and the actual choice of whom to date, low self-monitoring Ss paid a greater amount of attention to and placed greater weight on information about interior personal attributes than did high self-monitoring Ss; by contrast, high self-monitoring Ss paid more attention to and put greater weight on exterior physical appearance than did low self-monitoring Ss. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and sexual relations.

Examined the relationship between self-monitoring propensities and orientations toward sexual relations among 116 female and 139 male undergraduates, who completed the Self-Monitoring Scale, questions pertaining to previous and anticipated overt sexual behavior, and attitudinal indices regarding sex without commitment and casual sex. Factor analysis revealed that high self-monitoring Ss tended to establish an unrestricted orientation toward sexual relations (e.g., having sex with others to whom they were not necessarily psychologically close), whereas low self-monitoring Ss tended to establish a restricted orientation (e.g., they would have sex only with partners to whom they were psychologically close). At the behavioral level, high relative to low self-monitoring Ss indicated that they had a larger number of different sexual partners within the preceding year, could foresee themselves having sex with a larger number of different partners within the next 5 yrs, and were more likely to have engaged in sex with someone on only 1 occasion. At the attitudinal level, low compared to high self-monitoring Ss indicated that they would be more reluctant to have sex with someone to whom they were not committed and that they would be more uncomfortable with, and less likely to enjoy engaging in, casual sex with different partners. Possible explanations for these contrasting orientations are discussed. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroticism and disclosure reciprocity.

32 college males with either normal or neurotic MMPI profiles participated in a dyadic interaction via telephone with a confederate who disclosed at either a high or low level of intimacy. Following the confederate's disclosure, Ss disclosed as long and as intimately as they cared to. Ratings of Ss' disclosures revealed that (a) normal Ss exposed to a high-disclosing confederate spent significantly more time in intimate disclosure than those exposed to a low-disclosing confederate and (b) neurotic Ss spent very little time in intimate self-disclosure, regardless of the level of disclosure they received from a confederate. This failure of neurotic Ss to reciprocate highly intimate disclosure is examined via a model that views appropriate self-disclosure as requiring several intra- and interpersonal skills. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and the transformation of interpersonal narratives in close relationships.

It is proposed that individuals develop story-like representations of their romantic partners that quell feelings of doubt engendered by their partners' faults. In Study 1, dating individuals were induced to depict their partners as rarely initiating disagreements over joint interests. Such conflict avoidance was then turned into a fault. In scaled questionnaires and open-ended narratives, low-conflict individuals then constructed images of conflict-engaging partners. These results suggest that storytelling depends on considerable flexibility in construal as low-conflict Ss possessed little evidence of conflict in their relationships. Study 2 further examined the construal processes underlying people's ability to transform the meaning of negativity in their stories (e.g., seeing virtues in faults). Paradoxically, positive representations of a partner may exist, not in spite of a partner's faults, but because of these imperfections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loneliness and patterns of self-disclosure.

The 1st study examined the hypothesis that feeling lonely is related to a self-perceived lack of self-disclosure to significant others. 37 male and 38 female undergraduates rated themselves on the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Jourard Self-Disclosure Questionnaire. Analyses showed that for males and females, loneliness was significantly and linearly related to a self-perceived lack of intimate disclosure to opposite-sex friends. For females, loneliness was also associated with a perceived lack of self-disclosure to same-sex friends. The 2nd study investigated the relationship between loneliness and actual disclosure behavior. 24 lonely and 23 nonlonely Ss were paired with nonlonely partners in a structured acquaintanceship exercise. Both opposite-sex and same-sex pairs were included in the design. Postexercise ratings by partners indicated that lonely Ss were less effective than nonlonely Ss in making themselves known. Analysis of the intimacy level in the conversations showed that lonely Ss had significantly different patterns of disclosure than nonlonely Ss. The authors suggest that the self-disclosure style of the lonely person impairs the normal development of social relationships. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choosing friends as activity partners: The role of self-monitoring.

Two experiments with 105 undergraduates assessed the involvement of self-monitoring (SM) processes in friendship. Exp I focused on the differential considerations that are involved when high SM and low SM Ss choose friends as partners for leisure-time activities. High SM Ss chose friends as activity partners on the basis of their friends' particular skills in the activity domain. Low SM Ss chose friends as activity partners on the basis of general feelings of liking for their friends. Exp II examined the internal structures of the preferred social worlds of high SM Ss and low SM Ss. High SM Ss preferred relatively partitioned and compartmentalized social worlds in which they would engage in particular activities only with specific partners. Low SM Ss preferred relatively homogeneous and undifferentiated social worlds in which they would spend time with friends who were globally similar to them. Implications for understanding the processes by which individuals facilitate the enactment of their characteristic behavioral orientations, as well as for understanding the nature of friendship itself, are discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orientations toward personnel selection: Differential reliance on appearance and personality.

In two studies we examined the hypothesis that the psychological construct of self-monitoring would identify people who adopt distinctly different strategies in personnel selection. In both experiments, undergraduates examined information about the physical appearance and personalities of two applicants for a specific job and then decided which applicant should receive a job offer. In Study 1, information about the applicants' physical attractiveness and job-appropriate dispositions was varied. In Study 2, job appropriateness of the applicants' physical appearance and of their personalities were both varied. In each study, high self-monitoring individuals placed greater weight on information about physical appearance than did low self-monitoring individuals. By contrast, low self-monitoring individuals put greater weight on information about personal dispositions than did high self-monitoring individuals. We discuss the implications for understanding personnel selection as well as for decision making in interpersonal contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevalence and correlates of dating violence in a Canadian university sample.

Assessed the prevalence and correlates of dating violence among 116 female and 50 male undergraduates. Ss responded to the Conflict Tactics Scale, a self-esteem inventory, and questions regarding their course major, demographic characteristics, and current or most recent dating relationship. 52 women and 24 men reported having experienced physical violence in their current or most recent dating relationship. Ss who reported dating violence also reported greater relationship commitment, longer relationship durations, and higher levels of reasoning and verbal aggression strategies than did Ss who did not report dating violence. Women reported more frequent expressions of physically and verbally aggressive conflict resolution tactics than did men. Men were more likely than women to report being the targets of verbal and physical aggression by their partners. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Authenticity and positivity strivings in marriage and courtship.

Proposed that married persons would want their spouses to see them as they saw themselves but that dating persons would want their relationship partners to evaluate them favorably. A survey of 176 married and dating couples tested these predictions. Just as married persons were most intimate with spouses whose evaluations verified their self-views, dating persons were most intimate with partners who evaluated them favorably. For married people with negative self-views, then, intimacy increased as their spouses evaluated them more negatively. Marriage apparently precipitates a shift from a desire for positive evaluations to a desire for self-verifying evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Giving up and giving in: The costs and benefits of daily sacrifice in intimate relationships.

This research provided the first empirical investigation of how approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice in intimate relationships are associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. In Study 1, the nature of everyday sacrifices made by dating partners was examined, and a measure of approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice was developed. In Study 2, which was a 2-week daily experience study of college students in dating relationships, specific predictions from the theoretical model were tested and both longitudinal and dyadic components were included. Whereas approach motives for sacrifice were positively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality, avoidance motives for sacrifice were negatively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. Sacrificing for avoidance motives was particularly detrimental to the maintenance of relationships over time. Perceptions of a partner's motives for sacrifice were also associated with well-being and relationship quality. Implications for the conceptualization of relationship maintenance processes along these 2 dimensions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in the intimacy of social interaction: Further examination of potential explanations.

Two studies, with 58 female and 49 male undergraduates, evaluated potential explanations of the finding that males' same-sex interaction is less intimate than that of females. These explanations concerned differing criteria for intimacy, labeling differences, selectivity in the occasions or partners for intimacy, the question of capability vs preference, and gender-cued stereotypic judgments. In a replication of the essential datum, diarylike reports of naturalistic interaction indicated that males' same-sex interaction was substantially less intimate than that of females. Subsequently, Ss were asked to judge standard stimuli and to have an intimate conversation in a laboratory setting. Analyses revealed that the sex difference could not be attributed to differing criteria, labeling, selectivity, or gender-cued judgments. Further analyses indicated that preference played more of a role in the sex difference than did capability, because situational manipulations eliminated the sex difference. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A word-frequency cohort effect in young versus elderly adults' memory for words.

72 undergraduates and 72 elderly Ss (mean age 73.6 yrs) were tested for recall of 4 types of word lists that varied in terms of word frequency and datedness. "Popular" words had high frequency in both E. L. Thorndike's (1921) and H. Kucera and N. W. Francis's (1967) norms; "dated" words had high frequency in 1921 but low present-day frequency; "contemporary" words had low frequency in 1921 but high present-day frequency; "rare" words had low frequency in both norms. In both the sorting-recall and the standard multitrial free-recall tasks, the older Ss' pattern of list recall differed from that of the younger Ss. For older Ss, the feature of early high frequency promoted better recall (in the popular and dated lists) than did present-day high frequency (i.e., the contemporary list was recalled as poorly as the rare list). Results suggest a word-frequency cohort effect and indicate that high-frequency words from one's youth are particularly memorable, especially for elderly individuals. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's perceptions of the personal relationships in their social networks.

Tested the hypothesis that children would report that different social-network members provide different social provisions, using 199 5th–6th grade White children. Ss completed network of relationships inventories, which assessed 10 qualities of their relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. Consistent with R. S. Weiss's (1974) theory (i.e., that individuals seek specific social provisions or types of social support in their relationships with others), Ss reported seeking different provisions from different individuals. Mothers and fathers were turned to most often for affection, enhancement of worth, a sense of reliable aid, and instrumental aid. Next to parents, grandparents were turned to most often for affection and enhancement of worth, and teachers were turned to most often for instrumental aid. Friends were the greatest source of companionship, and friends and mothers received the highest ratings of intimacy. Ss also reported having more power in their relationships with other children than in those with adults. Conflict was perceived as occurring most often in sibling relationships. Ss were most satisfied with their relationships with mothers, and they thought their relationships with mothers and fathers were the most important. Bases for children's differentiations of their relationships and implications for understanding social networks are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trust, variability in relationship evaluations, and relationship processes.

Little is known about why some people experience greater temporal fluctuations of relationship perceptions over short periods of time, or how these fluctuations within individuals are associated with relational processes that can destabilize relationships. Two studies were conducted to address these questions. In Study 1, long-term dating partners completed a 14-day diary study that assessed each partner's daily partner and relationship perceptions. Following the diary phase, each couple was videotaped trying to resolve the most important unresolved problem from the diary period. As predicted, (a) individuals who trusted their partners less reported greater variability in perceptions of relationship quality across the diary period; (b) they also perceived daily relationship-based conflict as a relatively more negative experience; and (c) greater variability in relationship perceptions predicted greater self-reported distress, more negative behavior, and less positive behavior during a postdiary conflict resolution task (rated by observers). The diary results were conceptually replicated in Study 2a, in which older cohabiting couples completed a 21-day diary. These same participants also took part in a reaction-time decision-making study (Study 2b), which revealed that individuals tend to compartmentalize positive and negative features of their partners if they (individuals) experienced greater variability in relationship quality during the 21-day diary period and were involved in higher quality relationships. These findings advance researchers' understanding of trust in intimate relationships and provide some insight into how temporal fluctuations in relationship quality may undermine relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of physical attractiveness: Mechanisms involved in the maintenance of romantic relationships.

In 2 studies, factors involved in the perception of attractiveness of opposite-sex persons were examined. Investigation 1 revealed that individuals involved in dating relationships, relative to those not involved in them, tend to perceive opposite-sex persons as less physically and sexually attractive. Investigation 2 revealed that this dating effect was not attributable to differences in physical attractiveness, self-esteem, empathy, self-monitoring, or altruism between individuals who were and those who were not involved in exclusive dating relationships. Moreover, both groups perceived young/same-sex and older/opposite-sex persons as equally attractive, suggesting that the effect is specific to young/opposite-sex persons. Results are discussed in terms of possible proximate and ultimate explanations underlying relationship maintenance processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dissolution of romantic relationships: Factors involved in relationship stability and emotional distress.

A large sample of individuals involved in ongoing dating relationships completed an extensive questionnaire survey that assessed 10 factors: satisfaction with the current partner, closeness of the relationship, duration of the relationship, sexual nature of the relationship, the quality of the best actual and imagined alternative dating partner(s), the ease with which a suitable alternative partner could be found, exclusivity of the relationship, self-monitoring propensity, and orientation to sexual relations. Approximately 3 months later, all individuals were recontacted to determine whether they were still dating the same partner and if not, how much emotional distress they experienced following relationship dissolution. Analyses revealed that at a univariate level, all 10 factors successfully forecasted relationship stability. Three of the 10 factors—closeness, duration, and ease of finding an alternative partner—reliably and independently predicted the intensity and duration of emotional distress. Specifically, individuals who were close to their former partner, who had dated the former partner for a long time, and who believed they could not easily acquire a desirable alternative tended to experience more pronounced distress following dissolution. These results are discussed in terms of the investment model and recent theorizing on emotion in relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Current Relationship Functioning Among World War II Ex-Prisoners of War.

This study examined the association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the quality of intimate relationships among present-day male World War II ex-prisoners of war (POWs). Ex-POWs had considerable marital stability; those with PTSD were no less likely to be in an intimate relationship. Ex-POWs in an intimate relationship who had PTSD (N=125 ) were compared with ex-POWs in a relationship who did not have PTSD (N=206). Marital functioning was within a range expected for persons without traumatic exposure. Yet, over 30% of those with PTSD reported relationship problems compared with only 11% of those without PTSD. Ex-POWs with PTSD reported poorer adjustment and communication with their partners and more difficulties with intimacy. Emotional numbing was significantly associated with relationship difficulties independent of other symptom complexes and severity of PTSD. Implications for clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metaperceptions of bias in intimate relationships.

Meta-awareness of bias in intimate partner judgments was investigated in 3 studies. In Study 1, participants rated fictional partners in happier relationships as more positively biased in their partner perceptions. In Study 2, participants thought their judgments of their own current partners were positively biased and that they were judged by their partners in a positively biased fashion. Using a sample of couples, Study 3 showed that metaperceptions of bias were anchored to actual levels of bias at the individual and relationship levels. In addition, positive bias was accentuated for traits that were more relevant to mate evaluation. These findings (as expected) suggest that positive bias in partner judgments can be a normative and consciously accessible feature of intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An investment model prediction of dating infidelity.

Many researchers have examined the justifications individuals give after being unfaithful to their romantic partners. However, very little research has been done to determine factors that actually predict infidelity. Two studies were conducted using the investment model (C. E. Rusbult, 1980, 1983) to predict instances of physical and emotional infidelity in dating relationships. The 1st study found that commitment level at the beginning of the semester successfully predicted later emotional and physical infidelity. The 2nd study used an interaction diary method to predict the physical and emotional intimacy of nonpartner opposite-sex interactions over the course of the week-long university holiday known as spring break. Once again, commitment level before spring break successfully predicted the emotional and physical intimacy of such interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)