bims-chumac 2020-05-03 papers

Issue of 2020–05–03
four papers selected by
Jay Dixit, Storytelling.NYC

J Fam Psychol. 2020 Apr 30.

Trait perspective taking and romantic relationship satisfaction: A meta-analysis.

Vanessa A Cahill, John M Malouff, Callie W Little, Nicola S Schutte.

This meta-analysis evaluated the association between trait perspective taking and romantic relationship satisfaction. The study synthesized the association in 20 separate samples in a total of 18 published and unpublished studies, involving a total of 4,678 participants. The studies were completed by many different research teams, using different samples, different measures, and various correlational research designs. The results showed a significant association between trait perspective taking and romantic relationship satisfaction (r = .21, 95% confidence intervals [.17, .25]). The results did not vary significantly with whether the respondents were men or women, whether they rated their own perspective taking or that of their partner, or whether the perspective taking assessed was general or specific to the partner. The findings provide a basis for future intervention studies that test whether increasing perspective taking has a positive effect on relationship satisfaction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000661

Arch Sex Behav. 2020 Apr 30.

Sexual Arousal Patterns of Mostly Heterosexual Men.

Jeremy T Jabbour, Kevin J Hsu, J Michael Bailey.

Mostly heterosexual men describe themselves as slightly bisexual, with predominant sexual attraction to women but occasional attraction to men. After "completely heterosexual," "mostly heterosexual" is the most common male sexual orientation, by self-report. However, self-reported bisexual feelings among men can diverge from patterns of genital arousal, an objective measure of sexual interest with high validity. We compared 49 mostly heterosexual and 50 completely heterosexual men's patterns of genital and subjective sexual arousal to male and female erotic stimuli. In addition, we compared these groups on relevant self-report measures pertaining to sexual feelings, identity, and behavior. Results supported increased bisexual arousal with respect to self-report and genital arousal pattern among the mostly heterosexual men, compared with the completely heterosexual men. Furthermore, mostly heterosexual men reported more childhood gender nonconformity, greater male sex partners, and less self-reported disgust or aversion to sex acts with men. "Mostly heterosexual" appears to be a gradation of male sexual orientation associated with unique genital arousal patterns, among other correlates.

Keywords: Bisexuality; Mostly heterosexual; Sexual arousal; Sexual orientation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01720-z

J Pers Soc Psychol. 2020 Apr 30.

The friend number paradox.

Kao Si, Xianchi Dai, Robert S Wyer.

We identify a friend number paradox, that is, a mismatch between people's preferences for the friends they might acquire in social interactions and their predictions of others' preferences. People predict that others are attracted to them if they have a relatively large number of friends. However, they personally prefer to make friends with someone who has a relatively small number of friends. People regard a large number of friends as a signal of social capital that increases their interpersonal attractiveness. However, it can actually be a signal of social liabilities that diminish their ability to reciprocate obligations to others. We conducted a series of studies, including 3 speed-friending studies in which participants either engaged or expected to engage in actual interactions for the purpose of initiating long-term friendships. These studies provide converging evidence of the hypothesized mismatch and our conceptualization of its determinants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000244

J Soc Psychol. 2020 Apr 26. 1-16

Commitment strength versus commitment bolstering: Uncertainty undermines and promotes relationship success.

Vanessa Sawicki, Christopher R Agnew.

Little research has examined factors that might weaken or strengthen commitment effects on relationship outcomes. The current research integrates attitude strength and investment model perspectives to identify uncertainty as a new moderator of commitment's predictive ability. Consistent with an attitude strength perspective, having doubt associated with commitment undermines commitment's predictive power. However, uncertainty can motivate uncertainty reduction achieved by acting in line with commitment. Therefore, uncertainty amplifies commitment effects on relationship maintenance, but only when behaviors are perceived to have implications for uncertainty. Across studies, certainty was found to moderate the link between commitment and relationship outcomes. Whether uncertainty weakened or strengthened commitment's predictive power depends on an individual's focus (implication-focused or not) when making relationship judgments.

Keywords: investment model; relationship stability; uncertainty; Attitude strength; commitment

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2020.1756194