Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value.

Although sexual desire for one's partner is theorized to serve as a gut-level indicator of partner mate value that motivates investment in valued partners, there is scant empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. Five studies addressed this possibility, examining whether experiencing sexual desire encouraged the enactment of relationship-promoting behaviors and whether perceptions of partner mate value motivated this proposed process. In a pilot study and Study 1, participants relived an activity they experienced with their partner, which was either sexual or non-sexual. Then, participants rated their desire to engage in sex and other non-sexual relationship-promoting activities with their partner (pilot study) and their partner's responsiveness to personal disclosures. Participants' enacted responsiveness was also evaluated by judges (Study 1). Results showed that experiences of desire enhanced relationship-promoting tendencies. Using experimental, daily experiences, and longitudinal methods, Studies 2-4 extended these findings, indicating that both manipulated and perceived partner mate value predicted desire, which, in turn, was associated with engagement in relationship-promoting behaviors. These findings demonstrate that sexual desire functions as a mechanism encouraging investment in partners who are perceived to be worth pursuing and retaining.

Expanding Who I Am: Validating the Self-Expansion Preference Scale.

People's self-concepts are subject to change through various processes, one of which is self-expansion. Self-expansion is a motivation to increase one's self-concept through engaging in novel, exciting, and interesting activities or by taking on one's partner's qualities. Despite the plethora of research on self-expansion, there has not been much work on whether people vary in their desire to expand. This study validates a new measure, called the Self-Expansion Preference Scale, to examine people's differing motivation for self-expansion. The sample included 611 participants who responded to 24 items, 12 of which pertained to self-expansion, a desire to increase the self-concept, and 12 of which pertained to self-conservation, a desire to maintain the self-concept. After reverse coding the 12 conserver items, an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that there was a single dominant factor of self-expansion. The single-factor scale positively correlated with a series of both convergent measures (e.g., openness to experience) and predictive measures (e.g., hedonic well-being). Ultimately, the Self-Expansion Preference Scale offers new insight into a well-established process in an easily administered format. Looking forward, it would be interesting to see the implications of the scale as applied to romantic relationships, where self-expansion was initially researched.

The prosocial versus proself power holder: how power influences sacrifice in romantic relationships.

Romantic partners often have to sacrifice their interests to benefit their partner or to maintain the relationship. In the present work, we investigated whether relative power within the relationship plays an important role in determining the extent to which partners are likely to sacrifice. Drawing from both classic theories and recent research on power, we tested two competing predictions on the relationship between power and sacrifice in romantic relationships. We tested whether (a) power is negatively related to sacrifice and (b) power is positively related to sacrifice. Furthermore, we also explored whether the association between power and sacrifice is moderated by commitment and inclusion of the other in the self. To test our hypotheses, we used different methodologies, including questionnaires, diary studies, and videotaped interactions. Results across the five studies (N = 1,088) consistently supported the hypothesis that power is negatively related to tendencies to sacrifice in close relationships.

Remind Me Who I Am: Social Interaction Strategies for Maintaining the Threatened Self-Concept.

After failure, individuals frequently turn to others for support. The current research examined the process through which individuals utilize interpersonal relationships to stabilize threatened self-views. We may seek support to reassure us with warmth and acceptance after a self-threat, or to provide support for threatened self-knowledge. We proposed that although both types of support are likely to repair the affective consequences of a self-threat, only interacting with others who can provide evidence from the individuals' past that reconfirms a threatened self-aspect would help stabilize the self-concept. Two studies demonstrated that, for individuals who have suffered a self-threat, receiving specific evidentiary support for the threatened self-aspect was more effective at restoring confidence in both the specific self-aspect and at recovering self-concept clarity than was receiving emotional support, whether the interaction was imagined (Study 1), or offered in person (Study 2) after the threat.

Me After You: Partner Influence and Individual Effort Predict Rejection of Self-Aspects and Self-Concept Clarity After Relationship Dissolution.

Individuals in ongoing romantic relationships incorporate attributes from their partner into their own self-concepts. However, little research has investigated what happens to these attributes should the relationship end. Across three studies, the present research sought to examine factors that predicted whether individuals retain or reject attributes from their self-concept that they initially gained during a relationship. We predicted that individuals would be more likely to reject attributes from their self post-dissolution if their ex-partner was influential in them adding those attributes to the self in the first place. However, we expected this effect to be moderated such that individuals who exerted greater, versus lesser, effort in maintaining relevant attributes would retain them as part of the self, regardless of whether the attribute originated from the partner. In addition, in two of our three studies, we explored the roles of partner influence, effort, and attribute rejection on individuals' post-dissolution self-concept clarity.

Changing me to keep you: state jealousy promotes perceiving similarity between the self and a romantic rival.

Individuals sometimes alter their self-views to be more similar to others--traditionally romantic partners--because they are motivated to do so. A common motivating force is the desire to affiliate with a partner. The current research examined whether a different motivation--romantic jealousy--might promote individuals to alter their self-views to be more similar to a romantic rival, rather than a partner. Romantic jealousy occurs when individuals perceive a rival as a threat to their relationship and motivates individuals to defend their relationship. We proposed that one novel way that individuals might defend their relationship is by seeing themselves as more similar to a perceived romantic rival. We predicted individuals would alter their self-views to be more similar to a rival that they believed their partner found attractive. Importantly, we predicted that state romantic jealousy would motivate these self-alterations. Three studies confirmed these hypotheses.

The voodoo doll task: Introducing and validating a novel method for studying aggressive inclinations.

Aggression pervades modern life. To understand the root causes of aggression, researchers have developed several methods to assess aggressive inclinations. The current article introduces a new behavioral method-the voodoo doll task (VDT)-that offers a reliable and valid trait and state measure of aggressive inclinations across settings and relationship contexts. Drawing on theory and research on the law of similarity and magical beliefs (Rozin, Millman, & Nemeroff [1986], Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 703-712), we propose that people transfer characteristics of a person onto a voodoo doll representing that person. As a result, causing harm to a voodoo doll by stabbing it with pins may have important psychological similarities to causing actual harm to the person the voodoo doll represents. Nine methodologically diverse studies (total N = 1,376) showed that the VDT had strong reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity. Discussion centers on the importance of magical beliefs in understanding the causes of aggressive inclinations.

A brief intervention to promote conflict reappraisal preserves marital quality over time.

Marital quality is a major contributor to happiness and health. Unfortunately, marital quality normatively declines over time. We tested whether a novel 21-min intervention designed to foster the reappraisal of marital conflicts could preserve marital quality in a sample of 120 couples enrolled in an intensive 2-year study. Half of the couples were randomly assigned to receive the reappraisal intervention in Year 2 (following no intervention in Year 1); half were not. Both groups exhibited declines in marital quality over Year 1. This decline continued in Year 2 among couples in the control condition, but it was eliminated among couples in the reappraisal condition. This effect of the reappraisal intervention on marital quality over time was mediated through reductions in conflict-related distress over time. This study illustrates the potential of brief, theory-based, social-psychological interventions to preserve the quality of intimate relationships over time.

Using I³ theory to clarify when dispositional aggressiveness predicts intimate partner violence perpetration.

Deriving hypotheses from I³ theory (pronounced "I-cubed theory"), the authors conducted 4 studies to clarify the circumstances under which dispositional aggressiveness predicts intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Consistent with the hypothesis that this link would be stronger when inhibitory processes are weak rather than strong, Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that dispositional aggressiveness was an especially robust predictor of IPV perpetration among people experiencing self-regulatory strength depletion. Consistent with the hypothesis that this Dispositional Aggressiveness × Inhibition interaction effect would be stronger when instigating triggers are strong rather than weak, Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that dispositional aggressiveness was an especially robust predictor of IPV perpetration among people characterized by both weak inhibition (poor executive control in Study 3, depletion in Study 4) and strong instigation (provocation in both studies). These effects were robust in studies employing experimental and nonexperimental designs, cross-sectional and longitudinal methods, dating and married participants, self-report and behavioral measures of IPV perpetration, and diverse operationalizations of all constructs. Discussion emphasizes the importance of incorporating instigating, impelling, and inhibiting processes into theoretical and empirical analyses of IPV perpetration.

Putting the brakes on aggression toward a romantic partner: the inhibitory influence of relationship commitment.

Why do people behave aggressively toward romantic partners, and what can put the brakes on this aggression? Provocation robustly predicts aggression in both intimate and nonintimate relationships. Four methodologically diverse studies tested the hypothesis that provocation severity and relationship commitment interact to predict aggression toward one's romantic partner, with the aggression-promoting effects of provocation diminishing as relationship commitment increases. Across all four studies, commitment to one's romantic relationship inhibited aggression toward one's partner when individuals were severely (but not mildly) provoked. Study 4 tested the hypothesis that this Partner Provocation × Commitment interaction effect would be strong among individuals high in dispositional tendencies toward retaliation but weak (perhaps even nonexistent) among individuals low in such tendencies. Discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding instigating, impelling, and inhibiting processes in the perpetration of aggression toward intimate partners.

So far away from one's partner, yet so close to romantic alternatives: avoidant attachment, interest in alternatives, and infidelity.

Temptation pervades modern social life, including the temptation to engage in infidelity. The present investigation examines one factor that may put individuals at a greater risk of being unfaithful to their partner: dispositional avoidant attachment style. The authors hypothesize that avoidantly attached people may be less resistant to temptations for infidelity due to lower levels of commitment in romantic relationships. This hypothesis was confirmed in 8 studies. People with high, vs. low, levels of dispositional avoidant attachment had more permissive attitudes toward infidelity (Study 1), showed attentional bias toward attractive alternative partners (Study 2), expressed greater daily interest in meeting alternatives to their current relationship partner (Study 5), perceived alternatives to their current relationship partner more positively (Study 6), and engaged in more infidelity over time (Studies 3, 4, 7, and 8). This effect was mediated by lower levels of commitment (Studies 5-8). Thus, avoidant attachment predicted a broad spectrum of responses indicative of interest in alternatives and propensity to engage in infidelity, which were mediated by low levels of commitment.

Who am I without you? The influence of romantic breakup on the self-concept.

Romantic relationships alter the selves of the individuals within them. Partners develop shared friends and activities and even overlapping self-concepts. This intertwining of selves may leave individuals' self-concepts vulnerable to change if the relationship ends. The current research examines several different types of self-concept change that could occur after a breakup and their relation to emotional distress. Across three studies, using varied methodologies, the authors examined change in both the content (Study 1a and 1b) and the structure of the self-concept, specifically, reduced self-concept clarity (Studies 1 through 3). As predicted, individuals experienced self-concept content change and reduced self-concept clarity post-breakup. Additionally, reduced clarity uniquely predicted post-breakup emotional distress.

Self-regulatory failure and intimate partner violence perpetration.

Five studies tested the hypothesis that self-regulatory failure is an important predictor of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Study 1 participants were far more likely to experience a violent impulse during conflictual interaction with their romantic partner than they were to enact a violent behavior, suggesting that self-regulatory processes help individuals refrain from perpetrating IPV when they experience a violent impulse. Study 2 participants high in dispositional self-control were less likely to perpetrate IPV, in both cross-sectional and residualized-lagged analyses, than were participants low in dispositional self-control. Study 3 participants verbalized more IPV-related cognitions if they responded immediately to partner provocations than if they responded after a 10-s delay. Study 4 participants whose self-regulatory resources were experimentally depleted were more violent in response to partner provocation (but not when unprovoked) than were nondepleted participants. Finally, Study 5 participants whose self-regulatory resources were experimentally bolstered via a 2-week training regimen exhibited less violent inclinations than did participants whose self-regulatory resources had not been bolstered. These findings hint at the power of incorporating self-regulation dynamics into predictive models of IPV perpetration.

Where do you end and I begin? Evidence for anticipatory, motivated self-other integration between relationship partners.

Perceiving similarity between oneself and one's romantic partner benefits both the individual and the relationship and can arise from multiple pathways that draw either the partner closer to the self or the self closer to the partner. The current research focuses on the latter. The authors investigate novel circumstances under which the self-concepts of individuals in romantic relationships may intertwine. Although self-other integration typically grows from the depth of shared experiences between relationship partners, the current research proposes a secondary pathway through which self-other integration may occur: Specifically, motivation to draw close to a romantic partner may be sufficient to evoke self-other integration even in the absence of shared experience. In 6 studies, the authors explored this anticipatory self-other integration pathway, using both current and potential romantic partners. The results supported the hypotheses by demonstrating that self-other integration can occur in an anticipatory fashion with the appropriate motivation.

The strange case of sustained dedication to an unfulfilling relationship: predicting commitment and breakup from attachment anxiety and need fulfillment within relationships.

Two studies investigated whether need fulfillment within relationships moderates the associations of attachment anxiety with relationship commitment and persistence. The authors hypothesized that individuals who experience low attachment anxiety would exhibit declining commitment and increased risk of breakup if their partner failed to meet their core psychological needs, whereas individuals who experience high attachment anxiety would not. Study 1 employed longitudinal procedures to examine the associations among need fulfillment within relationships, attachment anxiety, commitment, and breakup. Study 2 employed experimental procedures to examine whether the temporary activation of attachment anxiety alters the association of need fulfillment with commitment. As predicted, relative to their high anxiety counterparts, individuals experiencing low attachment anxiety reported less commitment at study entry (Studies 1 and 2), declining commitment over time (Study 1), and an increased risk of breakup (Study 1)-but only when their partner failed to help them fulfill their relatedness and autonomy needs.