Relationship quality influences attitudes toward and perceptions of infidelity

Do attitudes toward and perceptions of infidelity depend on perceived relationship quality? A prediction was made that there should be a positive correlation between perceived relationship quality and negative attitudes and perceptions of infidelity, and that these correlations should be stronger for males than for females. These predictions were confirmed. More specifically, strongly negative evaluations of infidelity were reported by females regardless of relationship quality, and for males with high relationship quality. Negative attitudes toward infidelity increased for both males and females in high‐quality committed relationships, but males who reported lower relationship quality had the most favorable attitudes toward infidelity. These results are consistent with an evolutionary rationale, which suggests that males' attitudes and perceptions of infidelity depend on their perceived risk of cuckoldry.     

Work–family conflict,psychological availability,and child emotion regulation: Spillover and crossover in dual‐earner families

Work–family balance and child rearing are major social concerns. Few studies, however, have addressed how parents' work–family conflict (WFC) associates with children's emotion regulation. This study proposes the link to occur through parents' psychological availability (PA). In our model we tested both intraindividual and interindividual effects on a sample of 138 dual‐earner couples with preschool‐aged children. Our results showed that WFC related negatively to PA (actor and partner effects); fathers' and mothers' PA associated negatively with child lability and positively with child emotion regulation. Indirect effects were found for fathers' and mothers' WFC and children's emotion regulation and lability through partners' PA, controlling for child gender and temperament. These findings showed a dyadic pattern among couples' work–family balance, parenting, and children's emotion regulation.     

Temporal discounting for monetary and close relationship outcomes

The present study extended research on intertemporal choice—in which individuals choose between outcomes that may be received immediately or after a delay—to close relationships. In Experiment 1, New Zealand university students aged 18 to 25 made decisions about hypothetical monetary and relationship outcomes, and in Experiment 2, about relationship outcomes which emphasized companionate or sexual aspects (Ns = 64). Both experiments found effects of delay and magnitude on temporal discounting rates, and domain independence for choices about close relationships, similar to previous studies with monetary outcomes. There were no significant gender differences. Overall, results suggest that people make intertemporal choices about relationships according to a similar process used to make decisions involving other types of outcomes.