Content uploaded by Stephanie S Spielmann
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Stephanie S Spielmann on Oct 06, 2014
Content may be subject to copyright.
Article
Ex Appeal: Current Relationship Quality
and Emotional Attachment to Ex-Partners
Stephanie S. Spielmann
1
, Samantha Joel
1
,
Geoff MacDonald
1
and Aleksandr Kogan
2
Abstract
Relationship research typically treats feelings about current romantic partners as independent of any lingering attachment to past
partners. In contrast, the current study tests for an inverse association between current relationship quality and attachment to ex-
partners. A longitudinal study followed individuals in relationships at three points over the course of 6 months. Participants
reported their current relationship quality, emotional attachment to ex-partners, and perceived quality of relationship alterna-
tives. Longitudinal declines in relationship quality predicted increased longing for ex-partners, above and beyond attention to rela-
tionship alternatives more generally. On the other hand, increased longing for ex-partners over time predicted decreased
relationship quality, but only among those considering recent ex-partners. These findings suggest that ex-partners may be used
in a substitution process to bolster belongingness needs when relationships sour and that resolving feelings for one’s most recent
ex may be important for maximizing a new relationship’s potential.
Keywords
relationship quality, emotional attachment to ex-partners, quality of alternatives, longitudinal data, need to belong
The interconnection between feelings for current romantic
partners and ex-partners has scarcely been examined in the
relationship literature. Research typically portrays new rela-
tionships as independent of, and unaffected by, past relation-
ships. However, the small body of literature on this issue
suggests that feelings for current and past partners may
mutually influence one another. For example, a new romantic
relationship can help in getting over an ex-lover, at least in the
short term (Spielmann, MacDonald, & Wilson, 2009). Conver-
sely, higher quality alternative relationships can thwart current
relationship development and undermine commitment (e.g.,
Miller, 1997). Construed as an attractive alternative, desirable
ex-partners may well hinder feelings for a current partner.
Correlational data are consistent with the existence of an
inverse relationship between feelings for current and past
romantic partners. Spielmann, MacDonald, and Tackett (in
press) found that feeling more connection and intimacy with
one’s current partner was associated with weaker desires for
an ex-partner. However, the direction of this inverse associa-
tion remains unclear. It may be the case that declining intimacy
in a current relationship promotes a heightened sense of con-
nection with an ex-partner. Alternatively, increased romantic
feelings for an ex-partner may undermine motivation to con-
nect with a current partner.
Through a 6-month longitudinal study, the present research
aimed to clarify the directional course of the dynamic
interrelation between current relationship quality and longing
for ex-partners. We predicted that changes in feelings for cur-
rent partners and past partners would demonstrate a hydraulic
relationship. Specifically, increased longing for desirable
ex-partners over time should predict declines in relationship qual-
ity, particularly among those whose most desirable ex-partner
was also their most recent. Recent ex-partners are often perceived
as interested in reconciling the relationship (e.g., Gray & Silver,
1990), and past research suggests that attractive alternatives who
express romantic interest and availability are particularly likely to
decrease commitment to current dating partners (Bazzini & Shaf-
fer, 1999, study 2). In thisway, increased longing for more recent
ex-partners may have a more negative impact on current relation-
ship quality due to increased perceptions of quality alternatives to
one’s relationship, relative to longing for more distant, potentially
unavailable, ex-partners. Regarding the reverse influence,
declines in current relationship quality should predict increased
longing for desirable ex-partners. We propose, specifically, that
individuals may long for ex-partners above and beyond the ten-
dency to turn to relationship alternatives more generally. In times
1
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
2
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Corresponding Author:
Stephanie S. Spielmann, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100
St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada.
Email: steph.spielmann@mail.utoronto.ca
Social Psychological and
Personality Science
4(2) 175-180
ªThe Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1948550612448198
spps.sagepub.com
at UNIV TORONTO on April 3, 2013spp.sagepub.comDownloaded from
of relationship decline, memories of a shared history and intimate
connection with an ex-partner may uniquely provide solace in a
way that considering more general alternatives to one’s relation-
ship may not, highlighting the unique interconnection between
past and present relationships.
Method
Participants and Procedure
Individuals in relationships were recruited through online for-
ums (e.g., craigslist.org) to participate in an online survey. Par-
ticipants were then invited personally by e-mail to participate
in the two online follow-ups, which took place 3 months and
6 months later. Participants were compensated with entry into
monetary draws at each wave. In total, including participants
who broke up with their partner between waves, 668 people
were recruited in Wave 1, 254 in Wave 2, and 176 in Wave 3.
1
For the purposes of the present research, we selected only those
individuals who (a) completed at least two consecutive waves
of the study (i.e., completed at least Waves 1 and 2;
n¼254), (b) remained in the same relationship at each wave
(n ¼180), and (c) reported on the same ex-partner at each wave
(n ¼123). In total, 98 females and 25 males, ranging in age
from 18 to 56 years (M¼26.5 years old, SD ¼8.5), satisfied
all criteria. Participants were primarily from Canada and the
United States. Participants who were included in versus
excluded from the final analyses did not significantly differ
on relevant demographic or relational variables, with the
exception of relationship quality. Those who satisfied all cri-
teria reported greater current relationship quality (M¼6.41,
SD ¼1.10) at Wave 1 than those who were not included
(M¼6.05, SD ¼1.45), t(662) ¼2.59, p¼.01.
Measures
Characteristics of current and past relationships. Participants
reported the lengths of their current relationships (range:
1–127 months; M¼13.4, SD ¼17.7) and past relationships
(range: 1–360 months; M¼32.9, SD ¼51.4), as well as the
number of months that had passed since their breakup (range:
2–420 months; M¼42.9, SD ¼54.9). To promote consider-
ation of ex-partners who may be considered high-quality alter-
natives to one’s current relationship, participants were asked to
consider the ex-partner ‘‘with whom you would most like
another chance.’’ At each wave, participants provided the initi-
als of this most-desired ex-partner. Fifty-five percent of parti-
cipants indicated that the ex-partner with whom they most
wanted another chance was their most recent ex-partner.
2
Cor-
relations between all time-related variables are presented in
Table 1.
Current relationship quality. An aggregate measure of relation-
ship quality (wave-level a¼.94, person-level a¼.95) was
created based on reports of satisfaction (e.g., ‘‘I feel satisfied
with our relationship’’; Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998),
commitment (e.g., ‘‘I want our relationship to last a very
long time’’; Rusbult et al., 1998), and perceived intimate connec-
tion with one’s partner (e.g., ‘‘My partner and I have a meaning-
ful connection’’; Spielmann, MacDonald, & Tackett, in press).
Perceived quality of relationship alternatives. Perceived quality
of alternatives to the current relationship was assessed with
items such as, ‘‘My needs for intimacy, companionship, etc.,
could easily be fulfilled in an alternative relationship’’ (Rusbult
et al., 1998; wave-level a¼.81, person level a¼.83).
Emotional attachment to ex-partner. Feelings of emotional
attachment to the ex-partner were assessed with items such
as, ‘‘I am still in love with him/her’’ (Spielmann et al., 2009;
Wegner & Gold, 1995; wave-level a¼.86, person-level
a¼.88).
Results
We tested our hypotheses using hierarchical linear modeling
(HLM Version 6.08; Raudenbush, Bryk, Cheong, & Congdon,
2004). Because of a small number of waves, all predictor
variables were grand-mean centered and analyses included
only random intercepts and not random slopes. Unstandardized
coefficients are reported.
Change in Longing for Ex-Partners as a Predictor of
Change in Relationship Quality
We first tested whether changes in longing for ex-partners
accounted for inverse changes in relationship quality. Relation-
ship quality at a given wave (w) was modeled as a function of
relationship quality at the previous wave (w 1), such that the
outcome reflected residual change in relationship quality from
one wave to the next. The model further included emotional
attachment to the ex-partner at both the current wave (w) and
thepreviouswave(w1), such that attachment to the ex-
partner at the current wave reflected residual change in feelings
for the ex from one wave to the next (for further explanation of
residual change analyses, see Fagundes, 2012). Furthermore, to
account for change in longing for ex-partners above and
beyond desires for alternative partners more generally, we
included perceived quality of alternatives at the current wave
(w) and the previous wave (w 1). As can be seen in Table
2, longitudinal increases in longing for ex-partners predicted
significant decreases in relationship quality, above and beyond
perceived quality of alternatives.
Table 1. Intercorrelations Between Time-Related Variables at Wave 1.
12 3 4
1. Length of current relationship —
2. Length of relationship with ex-partner .15 —
3. Time since breakup with ex-partner .19* .07 —
4. Most recent ex-partner (0 ¼no,1¼yes) .03 .02 .45*** —
*p < .05. ***p < .001.
176 Social Psychological and Personality Science 4(2)
at UNIV TORONTO on April 3, 2013spp.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Does increased longing for an ex-partner more negatively
affect current relationship quality if the ex is an attainable,
desirable alternative? Because recent ex-partners are likely to
be more attainable alternatives than more distant ex-partners,
we tested whether the longitudinal effect of emotional attach-
ment to ex-partners on relationship quality was moderated by
ex-partner recentness. Ex-partner recentness was included as
a Level-2 between-participants predictor (1 ¼most recent
ex-partner,0¼not most recent ex-partner), with changes in
relationship quality and longing for the ex-partner as Level-1
variables. There was a significant interaction between
ex-partner recentness and residual change in attachment to the
ex-partner predicting change in relationship quality, b¼.39,
SE ¼.15, p¼.01 (see Figure 1). Simple effects tests revealed
that change in longing for an ex-partner over time predicted
significant change in relationship quality when considering
one’s most recent ex-partner, b¼.53, SE ¼.12, p< .001.
When the ex-partner in question was not the most recent,
changes in longing for the ex-partner from wave to wave did
not predict changes in relationship quality, b¼.15,
SE ¼.10, ns. These effects held when controlling for time
passed since the breakup. Moreover, in a parallel analysis in
which ex-partner recentness was substituted with the continuous
measure of time passed since the breakup, time since the breakup
was not a significant moderator of the association between
change in longing for ex-partners and change in current relation-
ship quality, b¼.002, SE ¼.002, ns. This finding suggests that
ex-partner recentness uniquely predicts the interconnection
between feelings for past and present partners in a way that can-
not directly be assessed with the mere passage of time.
To explore whether the moderation by ex-partner recentness
was due to recent ex-partners being associated with increased
quality of alternatives, we tested perceived quality of alterna-
tives as a mediator (Muller, Judd, & Yzerbyt, 2005; Zhang,
Zyphur, & Preacher, 2009). The first step of the multilevel
mediated moderation required demonstrating that increased
longing for more recent ex-partners is associated with
increased quality of alternatives over time (our proposed med-
iator), compared to longing for more distant ex-partners. A
moderation analysis revealed a significant interaction between
ex-partner recentness and residual change in attachment to the
ex-partner predicting change in perceived quality of alterna-
tives, b¼.94, SE ¼.30, p¼.003. Simple effects tests revealed
that increased longing for an ex-partner over time predicted
significant increases in perceived quality of alternatives when
considering attachment to one’s most recent ex-partner,
b¼.95, SE ¼.26, p< .001. However, when considering an
ex who was not their most recent partner, increased longing for
the ex-partner was not associated with perceived quality of
alternatives, b¼.02, SE ¼.16, ns.
3
Satisfying the conditions for mediated moderation, inclu-
sion of perceived quality of alternatives as a mediator reduced
the longing for ex-partner by ex-partner recentness interaction
to nonsignificance, b¼.15, SE ¼.14, p¼.25. Moreover, the
change in quality of alternatives was a significant negative
predictor of change in relationship quality, b¼.24,
SE ¼.06, p¼.001, and a significant Sobel test confirmed med-
iation, Sobel ¼2.47, SE ¼.09, p¼.01. In other words, those
who increased their longing for a recent ex-partner experienced
subsequent declines in relationship quality because they
viewed their recent ex-partners (but not their more distant ex-
partners) as desirable alternatives to their current relationship.
Change in Relationship Quality as a Predictor of Change
in Longing for Ex-Partners
Next, we constructed a reversed model, testing the possibility
that longitudinal changes in relationship quality from wave to
wave accounted for inverse changes in longing for ex-
partners, once again accounting for feelings for alternative
partners more generally. As can be seen in Table 2, longitudinal
declines in relationship quality predicted significant increases
in longing for ex-partners, over and above tendencies to turn
to relationship alternatives more generally.
We again tested whether the longitudinal effect of relation-
ship quality on emotional attachment to ex-partners was qual-
ified by an interaction with ex-partner recentness. The effect of
declining relationship quality on increased longing for ex-
partnerswas only marginally moderated by ex-partner recentness,
b¼.20, SE ¼.11, p¼.08, revealing a stronger association for
recent ex-partners, b¼.32, SE ¼.09, p¼.001, compared
to distant ex-partners, b¼.12, SE ¼.09, p¼.09.
Table 2. Results of Residual Change Analyses.
Outcome Predictors b(SE)
Relationship quality at wave w Relationship quality at wave w 1 .64 (.06)***
Emotional attachment to ex-partner at wave w 1 .16 (.08)*
Emotional attachment to ex-partner at wave w .24 (.07)**
Quality of alternatives at wave w 1 .10 (.04)*
Quality of alternatives at wave w .23 (.04)***
Emotional attachment to ex-partner at wave w Emotional attachment to ex-partner at wave w 1 .72 (.05)***
Relationship quality at wave w 1 .17 (.07)*
Relationship quality at wave w .21 (.06)**
Quality of alternatives at wave w 1 .03 (.04)
Quality of alternatives at wave w .03 (.03)
***p < .001. **p < .01. * p < .05.
Spielmann et al. 177
at UNIV TORONTO on April 3, 2013spp.sagepub.comDownloaded from
However, this interaction did not hold when accounting for
time passed since the breakup, b¼.13, SE ¼.12,
p¼.28. Importantly, this interaction was not accounted for
by perceived quality of alternatives, which were not pre-
dicted by an ex-partner recentness by relationship quality
interaction, b¼.06, SE ¼.27, ns. Taken together, when
relationship quality was on the decline, individuals increased
longing for their most desired ex-partners by and large
regardless of how recent or distant the ex-partners were, and
for motivations other than turning to relationship alternatives
more generally.
Alternative Hypotheses
For all analyses, results held when controlling for age, sex,
length of the current and past relationships, months passed
since the breakup, self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965), and anxious
and avoidant attachment (Feeney, Noller, & Hanrahan, 1994).
Furthermore, none of these variables significantly moderated
temporal changes in feelings for past or present romantic
partners.
Discussion
The present longitudinal study provides compelling support for
the notion that feelings for ex-partners and current partners are
more connected than relationship research has previously con-
sidered. Analyses revealed that increased longing for ex-
partners predicted declines in relationship quality, but only
when focused on one’s most recent ex-partner. This is because
longing for more recent ex-partners is associated with percep-
tions of relationship alternatives, while longing for more dis-
tant ex-partners is not. Conversely, declines in relationship
quality over time predicted increased longing for ex-partners,
above and beyond perceived quality of alternatives. In other
words, as current relationships became less gratifying, individ-
uals appeared to turn more strongly toward desirable ex-
partners. Taken together, the present findings suggest that
while continued longing for ex-partners particularly hinders
current relationship functioning when the ex-partner is consid-
ered an attractive alternative, unfulfilled needs in one’s rela-
tionship may promote turning to thoughts of ex-partners
more generally.
The interconnection between feelings for current and past
partners has broad implications for relationship research, par-
ticularly concerning past relationships and perceived quality
of alternatives. The present findings replicate established
research on relationship alternatives. Specifically, the study
revealed that change in one’s perceived quality of alternatives
predicted change in one’s current relationship quality. This is in
line with extant research on the harmful effects of desirable
relationship alternatives (Kenrick, Neuberg, Zierk, & Krones,
1994; Lydon, 2010; Miller, 1997). However, the present
research is the first to explicitly demonstrate that ex-partners
may be considered in one’s evaluations of relationship alterna-
tives, affecting one’s current relational outcomes. The present
findings suggest that ex-partners may serve as desirable rela-
tionship alternatives, with romantic feelings for recent exes
interfering with current relationship quality. The present work,
therefore, has the potential to extend research on romantic
alternatives because of the unique characteristics of an ex-
partner as an alternative. Indeed, the present study revealed that
declines in relationship quality uniquely predicted turning to
thoughts of ex-partners, above and beyond general desires for
alternatives to one’s relationship, suggesting that motivations
for turning to ex-partners when a current relationship is on the
decline may not be the same motivations involved with turning
to relationship alternatives more generally. For instance, mem-
ories of ex-partners may be tinged with nostalgia, an emotional
state that may provide a particular sense of comfort during
times of relationship threat (e.g., Routledge, Arndt, Sedikides,
& Wildschut, 2008).
The complex interplay between feelings for current partners
and ex-partners also has implications for recovery from break-
ups and the phenomenon of rebound relationships. Spielmann,
MacDonald, and Wilson (2009) found that focusing on new
partners helped individuals to get over their ex-partners in the
short term. The present findings suggest, however, that not just
any new relationship will necessarily promote getting over an
ex. Those who choose relatively low-quality relationships seem
more vulnerable to longing for their ex as the honeymoon phase
fades in their new relationship.
Pining for ex-partners in the wake of decreased relationship
quality highlights the hydraulic nature of the need to belong.
The belonging substitution hypothesis suggests that close con-
nections with others are relatively substitutable for one another,
such that the loss of one connection can be tempered with
another (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). During troubled times
in a relationship, positive and affirming memories of a desir-
able ex-partner may validate one’s sense of self-esteem and
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
Low High
Relationship Qu ality
Not Most R ecent Ex-Part ner
Most Recent Ex-Partner
Emotional Attachment to Ex-partner
Figure 1. Change in relationship quality as a function of change in
emotional attachment to ex-partners and recentness of ex-partner.
178 Social Psychological and Personality Science 4(2)
at UNIV TORONTO on April 3, 2013spp.sagepub.comDownloaded from
love worthiness and may engender some hope of a relationship
that could again be a reality. Consistent with the substitution
hypothesis, we found that the less content individuals were in
their romantic relationships, the more they turned to thoughts
of ex-partners for belongingness satisfaction. On the other
hand, the belonging satiation hypothesis suggests that meeting
a threshold of belonging satisfaction limits desire to pursue
additional sources of belonging (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).
In support of the satiation hypothesis, participants in the current
study who continued longing for recent ex-partners experi-
enced declining relationship quality. Focusing romantic
thoughts on a recent ex-partner may have thwarted develop-
ment in a new intimate relationship.
An important limitation of the present research concerns the
largely female composition of the sample. Although females do
not necessarily have more difficulty getting over ex-partners
than males (Simpson, 1987; Sprecher, 1994; cf. Frazier &
Cook, 1993), and do not typically report different levels of
reward or satisfaction in their relationships (e.g., Kurdek,
2005; Spielmann et al., in press; cf. Sprecher, Felmlee, Metts,
Fehr, & Vanni, 1998), it is possible that the dynamics of turning
to thoughts of an ex-partner in response to declining relation-
ship quality differ across genders in a way our data do not
detect. Furthermore, the process of data collection in the pres-
ent study warrants consideration. While our online sample per-
mits generalization to a community of participants who are
arguably more representative than typical college student sam-
ples in terms of age and experience with lasting and committed
romantic relationships, the process of conducting longitudinal
studies with online samples is not without its complications.
Importantly, the relatively large rate of attrition from wave to
wave is an important limitation. However, as we report above,
the sample of participants included in, versus excluded from,
the present research did not differ reliably on almost all vari-
ables of interest. Therefore, attrition likely did not impact the
generalizability of our sample. Along the lines of specific
inclusion criteria, however, our analyses included only those
who remained in their relationship over time. This subset of
participants was, not surprisingly, higher in relationship quality
than those who broke up, and reported relatively high levels of
relationship quality at each wave. While this subsample of par-
ticipants may limit generalizability to other relationship con-
texts, such as those in relatively unsatisfying relationships, it
appears to highlight the sensitive interconnection between feel-
ings for current partners and ex-partners by demonstrating that
even minor fluctuations in relationship quality affect, and are in
turn affected by, longing for ex-partners.
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank Emily Impett for her assistance and insight-
ful comments.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interests with respect
to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
Notes
1. These were the final sample sizes after excluding participants
whose data suggested response sets according to an algorithm
applied to reverse-coded items. The original sample sizes of parti-
cipants who completed the surveys in entirety were 798, 333, and
266 in Waves 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
2. Only 4%of the overall sample in Wave 1 (27 of 668 people) expli-
citly indicated that they had no desire to reunite with any ex-
partner.
3. The moderation was not significant when replacing ex-partner
recentness with time passed since the breakup. Furthermore, inde-
pendent models predicting change in perceived quality of alterna-
tives from a main effect of ex-partner recentness and time passed
since the breakup revealed a significant main effect of ex-partner
recentness, b ¼.39, SE ¼.20, p ¼.05, but not a significant main
effect of time since the breakup, b ¼.002, SE ¼.002, ns. More-
over, the effect of ex-partner recentness on perceived quality of
alternatives remained marginally significant when controlling for
time passed since the breakup, b ¼.39, SE ¼.23, p ¼.09. These
results suggest that whether or not one has dated other people since
breaking up with a desirable ex-partner has a more powerful effect
on changes in one’s perceptions of romantic alternatives and
changes in relationship quality with one’s current partner than does
the mere passage of time since the breakup with the ex-partner.
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire
for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
Psychological Bulletin,117, 497–529. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.
117.3.497
Bazzini, D. G., & Shaffer, D. R. (1999). Resisting temptation revis-
ited: Devaluation versus enhancement of an attractive suitor by
exclusive and nonexclusive daters. Personality and Social Psychol-
ogy Bulletin,25, 162–176. doi:10.1177/0146167299025002003
Fagundes, C. P. (2012). Getting over you: Contributions of attachment
theory for postbreakup emotional adjustment. Personal Relation-
ships,19, 37–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01336.x
Feeney, J. A., Noller, P., & Hanrahan, M. (1994). Assessing adult
attachment. In M. B. Sperling & W. H. Berman (Eds.), Attachment
in adults: Clinical and developmental perspectives (pp. 128–152).
New York, NY: Guilford.
Frazier, P. A., & Cook, S. W. (1993). Correlates of distress following
heterosexual relationship dissolution. Journal of Social and Per-
sonal Relationships,10, 55–67. doi:10.1177/0265407593101004
Gray, J. D., & Silver, R. C. (1990). Opposite sides of the same coin:
Former spouses’ divergent perspectives in coping with their
divorce. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,59,
1180–1191. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1180
Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., Zierk, K. L., & Krones, J. M. (1994).
Evolution and social cognition: Contrast effects as a function of sex,
Spielmann et al. 179
at UNIV TORONTO on April 3, 2013spp.sagepub.comDownloaded from
dominance, and physical attractiveness. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin,20, 210–217. doi:10.1177/0146167294202008
Kurdek, L. A. (2005). Gender and marital satisfaction early in
marriage: A growth curve approach. Journal of Marriage and
Family,67, 68–84. doi:10.1111/j.0022-2445.2005.00006.x
Lydon, J. E. (2010). How to forego forbidden fruit: The regulation of
attractive alternatives as a commitment mechanism. Personality
and Social Psychology Compass,4, 635–644. doi:10.1111/j.
1751-9004.2010.00283.x
Miller, R. S. (1997). Inattentive and contented: Relationship commit-
ment and attention to alternatives. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology,73, 758–766. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.4.758
Muller, D., Judd, C. M., & Yzerbyt, V. Y. (2005). When moderation is
mediated and mediation is moderated. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology,89, 852–863. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.852
Raudenbush, S. W., Bryk, A. S., Cheong, Y. F., & Congdon, R. T.
(2004). HLM 6: Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling. Chi-
cago, IL: Scientific Software International.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Prince-
ton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Routledge, C., Arndt, J., Sedikides, C., & Wildschut, T. (2008). A
blast from the past: The terror management function of nostalgia.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,44, 132–140. doi:
10.1016/j.jesp.2006.11.001
Rusbult, C. E., Martz, J. M., & Agnew, C. R. (1998). The Investment
Model Scale: Measuring commitment level, satisfaction level, quality
of alternatives, and investment size. Personal Relationships,5,
357–391. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.1998.tb00177.x
Simpson, J. A. (1987). The dissolution of romantic relationships:
Factors involved in relationship stability and emotional distress.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,53, 683–692. doi:
10.1037/0022-3514.53.4.683
Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., & Tackett, J. L. (in press). Social
threat, social reward, and the regulation of investment in romantic
relationships. Personal Relationships. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.
2011.01377.x.
Spielmann,S.S.,MacDonald,G.,&Wilson,A.E.(2009).Onthe
rebound: Focusing on someone new helps anxiously attached
individuals let go of ex-partners. Personality and Social Psychol-
ogy Bulletin,35, 1382–1394. doi:10.1177/0146167209341580
Sprecher, S. (1994). Two sides to the breakup of dating relationships.
Personal Relationships,1, 199–222. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.
1994.tb00062.x
Sprecher, S., Felmlee, D., Metts, S., Fehr, B., & Vanni, D. (1998). Fac-
tors associated with distress following the breakup of a close rela-
tionship. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,15,
791–809. doi:10.1177/0265407598156005
Wegner, D. M., & Gold, D. B. (1995). Fanning old flames: Emotional
and cognitive effects of suppressing thoughts of a past relationship.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,68, 782–792. doi:
10.1037/0022-3514.68.5.782
Zhang, Z., Zyphur, M. J., & Preacher, K. J. (2009). Testing multilevel
mediation using hierarchical linear models: Problems and
solutions. Organizational Research Methods,12, 695–719.
doi:10.1177/1094428108327450
Author Biographies
Stephanie S. Spielmann is a doctoral candidate in the Department of
Psychology at the University of Toronto. Her research examines
deprived needs for love and belonging and continued emotional
attachment to ex-partners.
Samantha Joel is a graduate student in the Department of Psychology
at the University of Toronto. Her research explores romantic relation-
ship processes from a judgment and decision-making framework.
Geoff MacDonald is an associate professor in the Department of Psy-
chology at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on various
aspects of social acceptance and rejection and relational insecurity.
Aleksandr Kogan is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psy-
chology at the University of Toronto. He completed his PhD at the
University of Hong Kong in 2011. His research explores the causes,
experiences, and consequences of positive emotions and prosociality
at both the biological and psychological levels of analysis.
180 Social Psychological and Personality Science 4(2)
at UNIV TORONTO on April 3, 2013spp.sagepub.comDownloaded from
