Dylan SeltermanJohns Hopkins University | JHU · Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Dylan Selterman
Doctor of Philosophy
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30
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Introduction
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August 2011 - present
Publications
Publications (30)
Past research on extradyadic relationship experiences (including infidelity) often suffers from restricted sampling and retrospective accounts, which may have given researchers a distorted image of what it is like for people to have affairs. In this research, we shed light on the experiences people have during their affairs with a sample of registe...
This study compared dating experiences through smartphone apps (e.g., Tinder) with offline-initiated dating. Previous research suggests that people feel greater apprehensiveness toward internet dating relative to traditional dating methods. Using an experience-sampling design (N = 793) over one month, we examined attraction, perceptions of dating p...
Psychological research has produced a rich body of empirical data documenting humanity’s propensity to commit infidelity in the context of long-term relationships, but comparatively little work has been dedicated to synthesizing these data into an integrated framework that encompasses the full range of its processes, from why it occurs in the first...
This chapter describes research on nonmonogamous practices in nonheterosexual relationships. Specifically, it explores (1) the prevalence of both consensual nonmonogamy (e.g., open relationships, polyamory) and nonconsensual nonmonogamy (i.e., infidelity) in this population, (2) factors that may explain why both types of nonmonogamy appear to be mo...
In this study, we surveyed a sample of U.S. undergraduates and internet-based participants (N = 495) about their experiences during/after romantic infidelity (affairs), and their initial motivations to engage in infidelity. Meaningful associations emerged between motivation and experience variables. Dyadic motivations (e.g., anger at one’s partner,...
In this study, we surveyed a sample of U.S. undergraduates and internet-based participants (N = 495) about theirexperiences during/after romantic infidelity (affairs), and their initial motivations to engage in infidelity. Meaningfulassociations emerged between motivation and experience variables. Dyadic motivations (e.g., anger at one’s partner,la...
A key aspect of attachment functioning is the secure base, which empowers people to explore their environments, though some individuals do this more effectively than others. While most researchers have focused on adult attachment dynamics in terms of stress and threat (safe haven), we argue that concerted attention should also focus on relational p...
A key aspect of attachment functioning is the secure base, which empowers people to explore their environments, though some individuals do this more effectively than others. While most researchers have focused on adult attachment dynamics in terms of stress and threat (safe haven), we argue that concerted attention should also focus on relational p...
A key aspect of attachment functioning is the secure base, which empowers people to explore their environments, though some individuals do this more effectively than others. While most researchers have focused on adult attachment dynamics in terms of stress and threat (safe haven), we argue that concerted attention should also focus on relational p...
A world-famous classroom exercise gives students the choice between 2 points (the communal option) or 6 points (the overconsumption option) of extra credit toward an assignment in their course, but if more than 10% choose 6 points, no one receives any points. In the current variation, students (N = 795) were also given a third option—to sacrifice t...
In three experimental studies (total N = 1,056), we examined moral judgments toward relationship betrayals, and how these judgments depended on whether characters and their actions were perceived to be pure and loyal compared to the level of harm caused. In Studies 1 and 2, the focus was on confessing a betrayal, whereas in Study 3, the focus was o...
In three experimental studies (total N = 1,056), we examined moral judgments toward relationship betrayals, and how these judgments depended on whether characters and their actions were perceived to be pure and loyal compared to the level of harm caused. In Studies 1 and 2 the focus was confessing a betrayal, while in Study 3 the focus was on the a...
Relationship infidelities are motivated by many distinct factors, with previous research indicating motivations of dissatisfaction, neglect, anger, and sexual desire (Barta & Kiene, 2005). We expand on this by demonstrating additional, empirically distinct motivations for infidelity. Using an Internet-based questionnaire, participants (N = 495), mo...
Engaging in consensual departures from monogamy is common among bisexual, lesbian, and gay individuals. Although research has examined relationship qualities among those who engage in consensual nonmonogamy, personality-related antecedents of interest in these relationships are unclear. In the present research, the authors examined the relationship...
The current study examined how attitudes toward dreams, as well as an appraisal of typical emotions experienced in dreams, predicted greater subjective well-being. Participants completed a measure of attitude and beliefs about dreams, and appraised their positive and negative dream affect in an average dream. Additionally, participants completed me...
Evolutionary theory predicts that men will prefer physically attractive romantic partners, and women will prefer wealthy, high-status partners. This theory is well-supported when examining ideal hypothetical partner preferences, but less support has been found when people interact face-to-face. The present study served as a direct replication of re...
Empirically analyzing empirical evidence
One of the central goals in any scientific endeavor is to understand causality. Experiments that seek to demonstrate a cause/effect relation most often manipulate the postulated causal factor. Aarts et al. describe the replication of 100 experiments reported in papers published in 2008 in three high-ranking...
Two studies with a college student (n = 287) and an Internet volunteer sample (n = 795) assessed moral judgments for norm violations in close relationships. We developed a 31-item questionnaire that assessed participants’ moral judgments of potential norm violations in relationships, including sexual threats (e.g., watching others masturbate), emot...
In recent years, relationship science has produced innovative and provocative research focusing on consensual non-monogamy
(CNM)— that is, an explicit agreement between two partners that one or both of them can have other sexual and/or romantic relationships (Conley, Moors, Matsick, & Ziegler, 2013; Moors, Edelstein, & Conley, 2012). Research about...
A landmark debate in moral psychology concerns gender differences in moral judgment. This debate concluded that, when making moral judgments, women are primarily driven by moral concerns about caring for others, whereas men are primarily driven my moral concerns about fairness/justice. However, empirical findings have been inconsistent and limited...
Three studies examined the associations between relational adult attachment and moral judgment. Study 1 shows that attachment- related anxiety and avoidance are uniquely and differentially related to moral concerns. Relative to low insecurity, higher avoidance was associated with weaker moral concerns about harm and unfairness, whereas higher anxie...
This study examined the extent to which dreams of close others would predict subsequent waking experiences with those partners, suggesting a process for the effects of dreams parallel to findings on “priming” as observed in other contexts. Participants in committed relationships completed measures of attachment and relationship health (interdepende...
Research has shown that social support and materialism can both serve as coping mechanisms, reducing individuals’ experiences of physical and social pain (Zhou and Gao in Psychol Inq 19(3–4):127–144, 2008). We extend this paradigm by testing the buffering effects of secure attachment and material reward on a specific form of social psychological pa...
The present study was designed to investigate links between dimensions of romantic attachment and relationship functioning in a cross-sectional sample of people in same-sex relationships, with the goals of replicating basic findings from research on heterosexual couples and advancing understanding of unique issues faced by same-sex couples. The sam...
Reproducibility is a defining feature of science. However, because of strong incentives for innovation and weak incentives for confirmation, direct replication is rarely practiced or published. The Reproducibility Project is an open, large-scale, collaborative effort to systematically examine the rate and predictors of reproducibility in psychologi...
Recent research has demonstrated parallels between romantic attachment styles and general dream content. The current study examined partner-specific attachment representations alongside dreams that contained significant others. The general prediction was that dreams would follow the "secure base script," and a general correspondence would emerge be...
Expanding on previous research investigating the link between dreams and attachment, participants in committed dating relationships were recruited to fill out dream diaries for 1 week. It was hypothesized that when dreaming about romantic partners (attachment figures), dream content would vary by attachment style, such that insecurely attached indi...