The present pair of studies tested the hypothesis that romantic investments are reciprocal, such that the investments made by one romantic partner motivate continued investment from the other partner. In Study 1, participants were presented with a hypothetical scenario involving a failing relationship, in which romantic investment was experimentally manipulated. High investments made by a romantic partner predicted continued relationship perseverance. In Study 2, participants in romantic relationships were randomly assigned to recall their own investments,their current partner‘s investments, or skip directly to the dependent measures (control). Participants who recalled their partners‘ investments reported higher intentions to continue to invest in their relationships. This effect was mediated by higher feelings of gratitude toward the partner and by increased feelings of trust in the romantic partner. The role of gratitude in particular suggests prosocial emotions and processes are an important factor in relationship decision making.

When romantic partners provide support to one another, their attempts are not always successful in relieving the distress of the support recipient. While unsuccessful support transactions are sometimes caused by insufficient skills on the caregiver’s part, research has also shown that certain individuals struggle to feel better regardless of the quality of support that they receive. The overall goal of the present set of studies was to examine how individuals who are inconsolable (i.e., who typically do not feel better when they receive support) impact the self-esteem and relationship satisfaction of their romantic partners, as well as the likelihood that their romantic partners will continue to provide support to them in the future. Study 1 showed that individuals who perceived their romantic partners to be more inconsolable were less likely to be satisfied with their romantic relationships, particularly if they were male, or high in rejection sensitivity. These individuals were also less likely to report engaging in actual support behaviours toward their romantic partners, and in contrast to the finding pertaining to relationship satisfaction, this result was stronger among individuals low in rejection sensitivity. Study 2 showed that when individuals imagined themselves as the support provider in a vignette where the support recipient was inconsolable, they predicted that they would experience lower state self-esteem and romantic relationship satisfaction, and that they would be less likely to provide the partner with support in the future. Conversely, in Study 3 participants who recalled and wrote about a time in which their romantic partner was inconsolable did not predict providing their partners with less support in the future, however, they did report lower state self-esteem, and among individuals who were high in rejection sensitivity, lower relationship satisfaction. Overall, these findings suggest that inconsolable individuals negatively impact the self-esteem and romantic relationship satisfaction of their partners, particularly if their partners are high in rejection sensitivity. Further, inconsolable individuals may also be at risk for receiving less support over time.

The current study examines both attachment style and the current romantic relationship's influence on exploration. A sample was gathered of 152 female and 130 male undergraduate students from Texas A&M University. The study found that attachment styles were related to the participants' perceptions of their partner with regards to exploration. Specifically, avoidant people report using exploration as a means to distance themselves from their partner. Anxious people respond that they are dependant on their partner to explore. In addition, the study found that the Anxiety dimension predicted exploration across a range of established scales from the literature. Finally, the study presents evidence that the degree to which anxious people feel that they explore out of dependency on their partner mediates the association between anxiety and exploration. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for the current relationship partner in future studies of exploration and attachment.

Ending a relationship is a common and often difficult experience for adolescents and young adults who are dating (Furman & Wehner, 1997). Yet, little is known about how romantic relationships deteriorate prior to breakup (Carver, Joyner, & Udry, 2003; Duck, 1981). The main goal of this study is to develop a definition of relationship deterioration that delineates the process of deterioration, by specifying a beginning and end point of deterioration and identifying characteristics that distinguish deterioration from breakup. Data for this study comes from the University of Texas Tracing Relationships and Commitment study (UT-TRAC), which contains 464 participants (232 heterosexual couples) who graphed changes in commitment over a 9-month period providing reasons describing each change. Deterioration, as defined as declines in commitment, was described by both partners in a romantic dyad in 90 couples whereas 75 individuals described deterioration and their romantic partner did not. A coding manual was created and pilot-tested to measure frequency and intensity of the four characteristics of deterioration in participant’s descriptions of changes in commitment. The current investigation used multi-level modeling separately for couples experiencing deterioration (to control for the dyadic nature of the data) and individuals whose partner did not report declines in commitment. Survival analyses using logistic regressions (Singer & Willett, 2003) were applied to measure how the characteristics of deterioration could predict breakup. Results of the analyses revealed that participants who experienced a breakup were more likely to report relationship deterioration, particularly for couples where both individuals described deterioration. Hierarchical linear models revealed that more frequent amounts of the deterioration characteristics was associated with deterioration as compared to pre-deterioration. However, intensity of the characteristics was not significant in differentiating between deterioration and pre-deterioration. In comparing deterioration with breakup, frequency of the deterioration characteristics predicted breakup only in descriptions of alternative partners, whereas intensity of the all four deterioration characteristics predicted breakup ranging from 37% (more intense scores of relational uncertainty) to 74% (more intense scores of alternative partners for an individual’s partner). Implications of this study will be in terms of commitment theory in order to further understand relationship processes. / text

People continually make evaluations of their own and other people’s romantic relationships using various terms of relationship quality. Although relationship quality has been examined intensely among relationship researchers, existing theories have different views on what constitutes relationship quality (e.g., Rusbult, 1980; Sternberg, 1986). In five studies, I used a prototype approach to identify core features of relationship quality which are important for relationship functioning. I proposed that these core features are shared across relationship quality concepts (i.e., commitment, intimacy, love, passion, satisfaction, trust, and relationship quality; Fletcher, Simpson, & Thomas, 2000). Thus, I examined how shared and unique features of relationship quality concepts play a role in romantic relationship functioning. In Study 1, university students listed characteristics of each of the relationship quality concepts. These lists showed both shared features across concepts (e.g., caring, honesty, loyalty, and good communication) and unique features for each concept. In Study 2, another group of university students and a community sample rated how central each feature is to a corresponding concept. The results indicated that shared features were rated as more central to each of the concepts than the unique features. In Study 3, university students rated how important each feature is for good relationship functioning. Overall, as predicted, shared features were rated as more important for relationship functioning than unique features. I recorded reaction times in Study 4 as an implicit measure of judgments about whether shared and unique features were good indicators of relationship functioning. Participants made judgments on shared features more quickly than on unique features. Finally, Study 5 examined how the presence of these prototype features would be related to people’s evaluation of their ongoing romantic relationships. The presence of shared features and unique prototypical features predicted positive relationship evaluation more strongly than the presence of unique non-prototypical features. Overall, the results of these five studies support the idea that there are core characteristics of relationship quality across concepts (i.e., shared features). The current research makes contributions to the area of relationship research by identifying important aspects in evaluating the quality of romantic relationships.

People continually make evaluations of their own and other people’s romantic relationships using various terms of relationship quality. Although relationship quality has been examined intensely among relationship researchers, existing theories have different views on what constitutes relationship quality (e.g., Rusbult, 1980; Sternberg, 1986). In five studies, I used a prototype approach to identify core features of relationship quality which are important for relationship functioning. I proposed that these core features are shared across relationship quality concepts (i.e., commitment, intimacy, love, passion, satisfaction, trust, and relationship quality; Fletcher, Simpson, & Thomas, 2000). Thus, I examined how shared and unique features of relationship quality concepts play a role in romantic relationship functioning. In Study 1, university students listed characteristics of each of the relationship quality concepts. These lists showed both shared features across concepts (e.g., caring, honesty, loyalty, and good communication) and unique features for each concept. In Study 2, another group of university students and a community sample rated how central each feature is to a corresponding concept. The results indicated that shared features were rated as more central to each of the concepts than the unique features. In Study 3, university students rated how important each feature is for good relationship functioning. Overall, as predicted, shared features were rated as more important for relationship functioning than unique features. I recorded reaction times in Study 4 as an implicit measure of judgments about whether shared and unique features were good indicators of relationship functioning. Participants made judgments on shared features more quickly than on unique features. Finally, Study 5 examined how the presence of these prototype features would be related to people’s evaluation of their ongoing romantic relationships. The presence of shared features and unique prototypical features predicted positive relationship evaluation more strongly than the presence of unique non-prototypical features. Overall, the results of these five studies support the idea that there are core characteristics of relationship quality across concepts (i.e., shared features). The current research makes contributions to the area of relationship research by identifying important aspects in evaluating the quality of romantic relationships.

The present research explores a novel construct of fear of being single, without a romantic partner. This research demonstrates that those who fear being single may lower their relationship standards without realizing it, even accounting for constructs typically examined in relationship research such as anxious attachment and neuroticism. Study 1 explored the content of people’s thoughts about being single. Studies 2A and 2B involved the development and validation of the Fear of Being Single scale. Study 2C provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that fear of being single predicts settling for less in ongoing relationships, showing that fear of being single predicted greater dependence on unsatisfying relationships. Studies 3A and 3B explored the predictive ability of fear of being single for self-reported dating standards. Across both samples, fear of being single was unrelated to self-reported standards for a mate, with the exception of consistently higher standards for parenting. However, Studies 4 and 5 explored romantic interest in targets that were manipulated to vary in responsiveness (both Studies 4 and 5) and physical attractiveness (Study 5 only). These studies found that fear of being single consistently predicted higher levels of romantic interest in less responsive and less attractive dating targets. Taken together, the present research suggests that fear of being single is a meaningful predictor of settling for less in relationships.

The present research explores a novel construct of fear of being single, without a romantic partner. This research demonstrates that those who fear being single may lower their relationship standards without realizing it, even accounting for constructs typically examined in relationship research such as anxious attachment and neuroticism. Study 1 explored the content of people’s thoughts about being single. Studies 2A and 2B involved the development and validation of the Fear of Being Single scale. Study 2C provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that fear of being single predicts settling for less in ongoing relationships, showing that fear of being single predicted greater dependence on unsatisfying relationships. Studies 3A and 3B explored the predictive ability of fear of being single for self-reported dating standards. Across both samples, fear of being single was unrelated to self-reported standards for a mate, with the exception of consistently higher standards for parenting. However, Studies 4 and 5 explored romantic interest in targets that were manipulated to vary in responsiveness (both Studies 4 and 5) and physical attractiveness (Study 5 only). These studies found that fear of being single consistently predicted higher levels of romantic interest in less responsive and less attractive dating targets. Taken together, the present research suggests that fear of being single is a meaningful predictor of settling for less in relationships.

When romantic partners provide support to one another, their attempts are not always successful in relieving the distress of the support recipient. While unsuccessful support transactions are sometimes caused by insufficient skills on the caregiver’s part, research has also shown that certain individuals struggle to feel better regardless of the quality of support that they receive. The overall goal of the present set of studies was to examine how individuals who are inconsolable (i.e., who typically do not feel better when they receive support) impact the self-esteem and relationship satisfaction of their romantic partners, as well as the likelihood that their romantic partners will continue to provide support to them in the future. Study 1 showed that individuals who perceived their romantic partners to be more inconsolable were less likely to be satisfied with their romantic relationships, particularly if they were male, or high in rejection sensitivity. These individuals were also less likely to report engaging in actual support behaviours toward their romantic partners, and in contrast to the finding pertaining to relationship satisfaction, this result was stronger among individuals low in rejection sensitivity. Study 2 showed that when individuals imagined themselves as the support provider in a vignette where the support recipient was inconsolable, they predicted that they would experience lower state self-esteem and romantic relationship satisfaction, and that they would be less likely to provide the partner with support in the future. Conversely, in Study 3 participants who recalled and wrote about a time in which their romantic partner was inconsolable did not predict providing their partners with less support in the future, however, they did report lower state self-esteem, and among individuals who were high in rejection sensitivity, lower relationship satisfaction. Overall, these findings suggest that inconsolable individuals negatively impact the self-esteem and romantic relationship satisfaction of their partners, particularly if their partners are high in rejection sensitivity. Further, inconsolable individuals may also be at risk for receiving less support over time.

Conflict experiences of long-distance dating relationships versus geographically close dating relationships Abigail Hammonds, Department of Communication and Performance, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tn. Interpersonal relationships inherently involve conflict. Previous research has examined conflict in romantic relationships, but few studies have compared the experiences of long-distance partners and geographically close partners. This study was designed to examine whether individuals in long-distance dating relationships and geographically close dating relationships would differ in their use of conflict strategies and experiences of conflict intensity. Participants were recruited from Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.com. Participants completed a survey including the 39-item Romantic Partner Conflict Scale designed to measure six subscales of conflict management strategies; as well as a new 7-item measure of conflict intensity that was developed for this study. The items were derived from previous research and the measure was tested for reliability. This study found that individuals in long-distance dating relationships and individuals in geographically close dating relationships have extremely similar experiences of conflict and conflict management styles. These results indicate that conflict management styles alter more based on the individual members in the relationship and are unlikely to be changed due to the nature of the relationship. Feature research should be completed to explore determinants of conflict style.