“Creeping” or just information seeking? Gender differences in partner monitoring in response to jealousy on Facebook

New media, such as Facebook, has implications for romantic relationships, including easing the ability to monitor a partner's activities. Across two studies we demonstrate that in response to feelings of jealousy, women are more likely than men to monitor their partner's activities on Facebook. In Study 1, participants were exposed to one of three experimental conditions meant to provoke jealousy, and their search time on a simulated Facebook environment was recorded. Jealousy predicted more time searching for women, but less for men. In Study 2, a dyadic daily experience study, on days when women (but not men) reported greater jealousy they spent more time monitoring their partner on Facebook, and anxious attachment was one mechanism that explained this association. The results are discussed in terms of gender differences in attachment and response to feelings of jealousy.     

Time to face it! Facebook intrusion and the implications for romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction

Young people's exposure to social network sites such as Facebook is increasing, along with the potential for such use to complicate romantic relationships. Yet, little is known about the overlaps between the online and offline worlds. We extended previous research by investigating the links between Facebook intrusion, jealousy in romantic relationships, and relationship outcomes in a sample of undergraduates currently in a romantic relationship. A Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire was developed based on key features of technological (behavioral) addictions. An eight-item Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire with a single-factor structure was supported; internal consistency was high. Facebook intrusion was linked to relationship dissatisfaction, via jealous cognitions and surveillance behaviors. The results highlight the possibility of high levels of Facebook intrusion spilling over into romantic relationships, resulting in problems such as jealousy and dissatisfaction. The results have implications for romantic relationships and for Facebook users in general.     

Attachment and the investment model: Predictors of relationship commitment,maintenance, and persistence

This research examines adult attachment and the investment model. Study 1 tests anxiety and avoidance predicting romantic relationship commitment, mediated by satisfaction, alternatives, and investments. Additional studies added outcomes of relationship maintenance (Study 2) and persistence (Study 3). In all 3 studies, satisfaction, alternatives, and investments mediated the associations between anxiety and avoidance and relationship commitment. A direct effect of avoidance on commitment remained. The investment model variables mediated the effect of anxiety and avoidance on accommodation and willingness to sacrifice (Study 2) and relationship persistence (Study 3). Direct effects remained for avoidance on accommodation and anxiety on persistence. The mediated model was supported for men and women, proximal and long‐distance relationships, and college student and community samples.     

How anxious and avoidant attachment affect romantic relationship quality differently: A meta‐analytic review

Adult attachment has been studied as an important predictor of romantic relationship quality in many empirical studies. This meta‐analysis quantitatively summarized the associations between the two insecure adult attachment dimensions, anxiety and avoidance, and cognitive, emotional, and behavioral indicators of romantic relationship quality based on 73 previous studies with 118 independent samples of 21 602 individuals. More importantly, we examined the different effects of anxiety and avoidance on relationship quality. We also tested the potential moderating effects of gender on the strength of these associations. Meta‐analytic results confirmed that both anxiety and avoidance were detrimental to the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of relationship quality. Compared with anxiety, avoidance was more negatively associated with general satisfaction, connectedness, and general support in relationships. In contrast, anxiety was more positively associated with general conflict in relationships. The moderating effect of gender was weak. However, supplementary analyses found that the type of couple interaction measures (self‐report versus observation) significantly moderated the relations between insecure attachments and the behavioral indicators of relationship quality. Our results integrate and extend previous findings about the dynamics of adult attachment and romantic relationship quality. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When wanting and fearing go together: The effect of co‐occurring social approach and avoidance motivation on behavior,affect, and cognition

Three studies investigated the association of social approach and avoidance motivation with cognition, behavior, emotions, and subjective well‐being. Study 1 (N = 245), a correlative self‐report study, showed that approach and avoidance motivation mediated the effects of adult attachment‐styles on social anxiety. A secure attachment‐style was associated with co‐occurring approach and avoidance motivation. Study 2, a social‐interaction study (N = 38), revealed an association of avoidance motivation with a negative experience and passive behavior, and approach motivation with a positive experience and active behavior. Interestingly, the interaction of approach and avoidance motivation predicted engaged behavior and a positive emotional experience. Study 3 (N = 203), an online survey, showed that subjective well‐being was negatively associated with high avoidance motivation, irrespective of the strength of approach motivation. Taken together, the studies show that social approach and avoidance motivation interact in predicting positive experiences and social behavior in a concrete social situation. However, from the long‐term perspective, the negative consequences of social avoidance motivation seem to prevail when approach and avoidance motivation co‐occur. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The association between self-concealment from one's partner and relationship well-being

In two studies the authors examined whether self-concealment from one's partner is associated with lower relationship well-being. In Study 1, participants who were in a romantic relationship (N = 165) completed an online survey. Self-concealment from one's partner was associated with lower relationship satisfaction and commitment. Furthermore, results were consistent with this relationship being mediated by autonomy and relatedness needs. In Study 2, couples (N = 50) completed daily records for 14 consecutive days. Multilevel analyses indicated that daily self-concealment from one's partner was associated with daily relationship satisfaction, commitment, and conflict. Lagged analyses also showed that self-concealment from one's partner predicted lower relationship well-being on the following day. Moreover, results supported that thwarted basic needs mediated the association between daily self-concealment and relationship well-being. Finally, actor-partner interdependence model over time analyses indicated that, apart from one's own self-concealment, one's partner's self-concealment was associated negatively with one's own relationship well-being.     

恋爱关系中触摸和依恋对嫉妒的影响

选取恋爱中的青年,探讨触摸类型、依恋和嫉妒的关系。实验1选取50名大学生,采用想象情境范式,探究触摸类型（分为“无触摸、脸部触摸和腰部触摸”三种条件）对嫉妒的影响。选择害怕、生气、尴尬、性唤起、悲伤和妒忌作为测量指标。结果显示,三种条件下嫉妒情绪无显著差异。实验2选取113名青年,将无触摸条件分为远距离和近距离两种,进一步探讨触摸类型、依恋和嫉妒的关系。依恋的测量选用亲密关系经验问卷,分为焦虑、回避两个维度。结果发现：（1）在远距离无触摸条件下,依恋焦虑和悲伤、害怕、妒忌、生气正相关;（2）近距离无触摸条件下,依恋回避和悲伤、妒忌、生气负相关;（3）脸部触摸条件下,依恋焦虑和害怕、性唤起正相关。总的来看,爱情依恋对嫉妒情绪的影响受到触摸类型的调节。     

Attachment‐related differences in secrecy and rumination in romantic relationships

The study examined attachment‐related predispositions and patterns of cognition and emotion that contribute to different secret‐keeping experiences. Participants (n = 380) reported on their secret keeping, rumination, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance via online questionnaires. Results showed that both anxiety and avoidance were positively associated with keeping a secret from a romantic partner, while only avoidance was associated with a greater total number of secrets kept. The association between avoidance and rumination was partially mediated by perceptions of a partner's ownership rights to the secret and guilt for keeping the secret, such that those who were highly avoidant were less likely to perceive a partner's ownership rights. Finally, highly anxious participants reported higher levels of rumination, which were mediated by feelings of guilt for keeping a secret. The study extends research on the link between secrecy and rumination by offering a theoretical account based on attachment for why some people are more likely to ruminate about their secrecy than others.     

Adult Attachment,Dependence, Self‐Criticism,and Depressive Symptoms: A Test of a Mediational Model

ABSTRACT Attachment anxiety is expected to be positively associated with dependence and self‐criticism. However, attachment avoidance is expected to be negatively associated with dependence but positively associated with self‐criticism. Both dependence and self‐criticism are expected to be related to depressive symptoms. Data were analyzed from 424 undergraduate participants at a large Midwestern university, using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that the relation between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms was fully mediated by dependence and self‐criticism, whereas the relation between attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by dependence and self‐criticism. Moreover, through a multiple‐group comparison analysis, the results indicated that men with high levels of attachment avoidance are more likely than women to be self‐critical.     

The Protective Influence of Relationship Commitment on the Effects of Facebook Addiction on Marital Disaffection

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that Facebook use can lead to adverse romantic relationship outcomes due to interpersonal conflicts, interactions with potential romantic alternatives, and jealousy. However, these associations have been explored mainly with undergraduates, focusing primarily on conflict rather than emotional disengagement. The current study examined the associations between Facebook addiction and marital disaffection (e.g., loss of love, emotional disengagement) amongst 138 (95 females and 43 males) cohabiting married Facebook users residing in the United States. The results revealed that Facebook addiction and marital disaffection were positively related, even after controlling for relationship commitment. Additionally, greater relationship commitment weakened the association between Facebook addiction and marital disaffection. There are likely multiple explanations for the current findings; however, results suggest that higher levels of relationship commitment may protect spouses against the negative relationship outcomes associated with Facebook addiction. Future longitudinal work with couples is needed to clarify the directionality of the relationship between Facebook addiction and marital disaffection.     

When sex is more than just sex: attachment orientations, sexual experience, and relationship quality

The authors explored the contribution of individual differences in attachment orientations to the experience of sexual intercourse and its association with relationship quality. In Study 1, 500 participants completed self-report scales of attachment orientations and sexual experience. The findings indicated that whereas attachment anxiety was associated with an ambivalent construal of sexual experience, attachment avoidance was associated with more aversive sexual feelings and cognitions. In Study 2, 41 couples reported on their attachment orientations and provided daily diary measures of sexual experiences and relationship interactions for a period of 42 days. Results showed that attachment anxiety amplified the effects of positive and negative sexual experiences on relationship interactions. In contrast, attachment avoidance inhibited the positive relational effect of having sex and the detrimental relational effects of negative sexual interactions. The authors discuss the possibility that attachment orientations are associated with different sex-related strategies and goals within romantic relationships.     

The adversity of secret relationships

Are secret romantic relationships alluring or aversive? Previous research suggests that romantic secrecy (i.e., keeping a romantic relationship secret from others) creates a cognitive preoccupation that enhances romantic attraction. In contrast, we predicted that romantic secrecy interferes with relationship interdependence and thereby decreases relationship quality. Three studies of secrecy in ongoing romantic relationships confirmed this prediction. In Study 1, romantic secrecy predicted lower levels of initial relationship quality and decreased relationship quality over a 2‐week period. In Study 2, relationship burden mediated partially the negative association between romantic secrecy and relationship quality. In Study 3, the negative association between romantic secrecy and relationship quality was primarily explained by decreased relationship satisfaction. The importance of understanding romantic secrecy is discussed.     

Not all attachment relationships develop alike: Normative cross-sectional age trajectories in attachment to romantic partners,best friends,and parents

Previous research has found that age is negatively correlated with general-romantic attachment anxiety and positively correlated with general-romantic attachment avoidance. The present study examined cross-sectional age trajectories in global attachment, as well as relationship-specific attachment with romantic partners, best friends, mothers, and fathers. Across all specific relationships, older individuals reported higher attachment avoidance. In contrast, attachment anxiety with romantic partners and friends was negatively associated with age, whereas attachment anxiety with parents normatively increased as a function of age. These findings underscore the importance of examining the normative age trajectories of attachment across both global and specific levels of abstraction.     

Development of the Romantic Jealousy-Induction Scale and the Motives for Inducing Romantic Jealousy Scale

Relatively little research exists regarding individuals who intentionally induce jealousy in their romantic partners, which is partially due to the absence of validated measures assessing romantic jealousy-induction behaviors and motivations. In the current study, we developed measures and examined the correlates of romantic jealousy-induction behaviors and motivations. Results indicated that the Romantic Jealousy-Induction Scale was unifactorial and reliable, whereas the Motives for Inducing Romantic Jealousy Scale consisted of five theoretically meaningful and reliable factors. In general, the romantic jealousy-induction behaviors and motives were associated with greater experienced jealousy, greater attachment avoidance and anxiety, lower relationship satisfaction and commitment, greater relationship alternatives, less passionate love, and greater game-playing and obsessive love.     

The association between compassionate goals and relational-interdependent self-construal

Although research has examined the consequences of relational self-construal (RSC), little is known about what psychological factors predict it. Four studies examined the association between compassionate goals and RSC. Study 1 showed that compassionate goals are positively associated with RSC in college students. Study 2 replicated this association among adults in romantic relationships. Studies 3 and 4 showed that compassionate goals predict increased RSC over time in college roommates. Moreover, Studies 2–4 showed that responsiveness to relationship partners statistically mediated the association between compassionate goals and self-construal. These studies suggested that people with compassionate goals have high RSCs and that they also develop higher levels of RSC by being responsive to relationship partners.     

Attachment insecurity and inducing guilt to produce desired change in romantic partners

Three studies examined the links between attachment insecurity and the use and effectiveness of inducing guilt to produce change in romantic partners (negative‐indirect partner regulation strategies). Individuals higher in attachment anxiety engaged in more negative‐indirect partner regulation strategies (Studies 1–3), but the effectiveness of negative‐indirect strategies depended on targeted partners' attachment avoidance. Targets higher in attachment avoidance reported regulation agents were less successful (Study 1) and reported less motivation to change across time (Study 2) when agents used more negative‐indirect regulation strategies. Negative‐indirect strategies during couples' conflict discussions were also associated with lower problem resolution when targets were higher in avoidance (Study 3). These results provide the first demonstration that target characteristics moderate the effectiveness of negative‐indirect regulation strategies.     

Beyond the borders of reality: Attachment orientations and sexual fantasies

Two studies examined the associations between attachment orientations and sexual fantasies. In Study 1, 176 participants completed a sexual fantasy checklist. The findings indicated that attachment anxiety was associated with frequent sexual fantasizing (e.g., submission themes). More anxiously attached women were particularly likely to report extrapair fantasies, whereas more anxiously attached men were especially likely to report romantic fantasies. Attachment avoidance was negatively associated with romantic themes, primarily among men. In Study 2, 115 participants described a sexual fantasy in narrative form. Findings paralleled those of Study 1, with the exception that the avoidant effects were more pronounced in women’s sexual fantasies than in men’s. Implications for understanding the interplay of the attachment and sexual behavior systems are discussed.     

Coupling Longitudinal Data and Multilevel Modeling to Examine the Antecedents and Consequences of Jealousy Experiences in Romantic Relationships: A Test of the Relational Turbulence Model

We used longitudinal data and multilevel modeling to examine how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and failed attempts at interdependence influence emotional, cognitive, and communicative responses to romantic jealousy, and how those experiences shape subsequent relationship characteristics. The relational turbulence model ( Solomon & Knobloch, 2004 ) highlights how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference from partners influence and reflect reactions to events that occur within romantic relationships. Drawing from the theory, we predicted that (a) relational uncertainty and interference from partners are positively associated with cognitive and emotional jealousies; (b) the intensity of romantic jealousy, relational intimacy, and a partner’s interference is positively associated with the directness of communication about jealousy; (c) relational uncertainty is negatively associated with communicative directness; and (d) cognitive jealousy, emotional jealousy, and the directness of communicative responses to jealousy influence subsequent relationship characteristics. The results of the multilevel modeling revealed mixed support for our predictions. We explore the implications of this study for research on the relational turbulence model, relationship development, and jealousy.     

Performance comparisons and attachment: An investigation of competitive responses in close relationships

Two studies investigated whether affective responses to competitive performance situations are moderated by attachment style. In Study 1, participants (n= 115) imagined their reactions to a superior or inferior performance against their romantic partner or an acquaintance. Results showed that participants low in attachment avoidance, relative to those high in avoidance, indicated more positivity after an inferior performance (empathy effect) to their partners, and this finding held only in domains of high importance to the partner. In Study 2, participants (n= 53) imagined comparisons with their partner or a close friend. Low‐avoidance participants, relative to high‐avoidance participants, exhibited sympathy and empathy effects in comparisons involving their romantic partner but not those involving a friend. The findings are discussed in terms of one's model of other and perceived self–other separation, which are defined by avoidance but not anxiety.     

Achievement Goals,Physical Self‐Concept,and Social Physique Anxiety in a Physical Activity Context1

Three studies tested relations between self‐related constructs and approach and avoidance achievement goals in a health‐related physical activity context. Physical self‐concept was hypothesized to be positively related, and social physique anxiety to be negatively related, to approach goals in physical activity. Achievement goals were also expected to mediate relations between the self‐related constructs and behavior. Structural equation models supported the hypothesized pattern of effects in a physical activity context (Study 1). The model for physical activity was invariant across collectivistic and individualistic cultures (Study 2). Relations between physical self‐concept, social physique anxiety, and achievement goals were stronger among regular gym and fitness center users than among nonusers (Study 3). The findings are discussed in relation to achievement goal theory.