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Be yourself: Authenticity as a long-term mating strategy
Abstract
We hypothesize that “being yourself” is the dating strategy of individuals that have successful long-term relationships. Study 1 examined the relationships between authenticity and personality variables that predict relationship outcome. Study 2 employed a two-part acts nomination design to enumerate “being yourself” while dating and to examine personality correlates of “being yourself”. Study 3 explored whether individuals being themselves are attractive and if being yourself results in assortative mating with authentic individuals. Study 4 determined the effect of “be yourself” mindset priming on “be yourself” dating behavior. Study 1 found that authenticity is associated with emotional intelligence and positive relational outcomes. Study 2 found that “being yourself” dating behavior is associated with authenticity, secure attachment, and low narcissism. Study 3 found that “be yourself” dating behavior is attractive and facilitates assortative mating with authentic individuals. Study 4 found that rejection sensitive individuals are more likely to engage in “be yourself” dating behavior when made to feel safe to be themselves. “Be yourself” is the dating strategy that authentic individuals use to facilitate successful long-term relationships.
... While authenticity and inauthenticity are both commonly experienced by humans (Lenton et al., 2013), people generally strive for authenticity, which is associated with more positive affect, higher need fulfillment, and wellbeing (Harter, Marold, Whitesell, & Cobbs, 1996;Leak & Cooney, 2001;Lenton et al., 2013). Authenticity has also consistently been linked with higher relationship quality (Josephs et al., 2019;Lopez & Rice, 2006;Swann, De La Ronde, & Hixon, 1994), indicating that being honest and open toward others may be an important element of close relationships (Josephs et al., 2019). Research that connects authenticity to experiences of positive affirmation, secure attachment, and unconditional regard (Didonato & Krueger, 2010;Gillath, Sesko, Shaver, & Chun, 2010;Harter et al., 1996) suggests that in order to be able to feel authentic, individuals need to feel accepted. ...
... While authenticity and inauthenticity are both commonly experienced by humans (Lenton et al., 2013), people generally strive for authenticity, which is associated with more positive affect, higher need fulfillment, and wellbeing (Harter, Marold, Whitesell, & Cobbs, 1996;Leak & Cooney, 2001;Lenton et al., 2013). Authenticity has also consistently been linked with higher relationship quality (Josephs et al., 2019;Lopez & Rice, 2006;Swann, De La Ronde, & Hixon, 1994), indicating that being honest and open toward others may be an important element of close relationships (Josephs et al., 2019). Research that connects authenticity to experiences of positive affirmation, secure attachment, and unconditional regard (Didonato & Krueger, 2010;Gillath, Sesko, Shaver, & Chun, 2010;Harter et al., 1996) suggests that in order to be able to feel authentic, individuals need to feel accepted. ...
... Research that connects authenticity to experiences of positive affirmation, secure attachment, and unconditional regard (Didonato & Krueger, 2010;Gillath, Sesko, Shaver, & Chun, 2010;Harter et al., 1996) suggests that in order to be able to feel authentic, individuals need to feel accepted. Conversely, individuals seem to experience a heightened sense of inauthenticity when they anticipate that they may be rejected by others, as indicated by research associating inauthenticity with rejection sensitivity and feelings of being evaluated (Josephs et al., 2019;Snyder, 1987). ...
The social integration of the ever-growing number of refugees in receiving societies is of major importance. Perceived discrimination has been found to predict fewer friendships with natives over time. But what short-term mechanisms explain this effect? In a sample of 115 refugees living in Germany we (i) replicated the long-term discrimination-social-integration relationship, (ii) found short-term associations between discrimination and affective, motivational, and behavioral tendencies not to befriend natives, and (iii) showed authenticity to mediate this short-term relationship: with increasing discrimination, refugees felt less like they could show their authentic selves around natives, which in turn impaired tendencies to befriend natives. Discrimination may impede the formation of interethnic friendships by instilling feelings of inauthenticity. Implications for prevention measures are discussed.
... Public relations scholars (Molleda & Jain, 2013a;Sisson, 2017;Taiminen et al., 2015) have emphasized that practicing authentic communication reflecting an organization's character, values, and heritage is an important step in establishing a long-lasting organizational identity and building a quality relationship with its publics. The theoretical background for the impact of authenticity on relationship outcomes can be found in scholarship on romantic relationships (Josephs et al., 2019;Wickham, 2013). From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, authenticity is regarded as an indispensable strategy to initiate a "successful long-term relationship" (Josephs et al., 2019, p. 118). ...
Grounded in theories in relational authenticity, self-verification, and impression management, this study examines the effect of enacting authenticity in CSR communication through digital media as a relationship-cultivating strategy on organization-public relationship (OPR) outcomes. Using data obtained from an online survey (N = 501), we conduct both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to validate the proposed theory-driven measure for authenticity in CSR communication. We examine how authenticity in CSR communication predicts the four dimensions of quality OPRs. Results of CFA reveal that authenticity in CSR communication comprises three dimensions – genuineness, reflection of true identity, and consistency. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that authenticity in CSR communication predicts trust, commitment, satisfaction, and control mutuality. Major theoretical contributions of the study include: (1) Authenticity in CSR communication is an OPR antecedent. (2) The genuineness aspect of authenticity provides important implications for company-cause fit research on CSR communication. (3) The reflection of true identity can provide theoretical explanations as to what needs to be considered in practicing corporate social advocacy.
... Agreeableness and intellect-openness are the two most valued characteristics in a partner's personality for both sexes and individuals who have a partner high on these traits, along with emotional stability, are more satisfied with their marriage (Botwin et al., 1997). Alternatively, traits like the Dark Triad (e.g., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) are associated with interest in casual sex, more sex partners, promiscuous attitudes, behaviors, and desires (Jonason et al., 2009), tactics to capture mates from others (i.e., mate poaching; Jonason, Li, and Buss, 2010), and less relationship authenticity in long-term relationships (Holtzman and Strube, 2013;Josephs et al., 2019). Despite the large body of evidence on these topics, little is known about how people characterized by socially undesirable personality traits behave in romantic relationships (Jonason et al., 2020 and what is known tends to focus on relationship initiation (Jonason et al., 2011) and stability (Lavner et al., 2016;Smith et al., 2014;Yu et al., 2020), with little research on how those characterized by traits like the Dark Triad (Paulhus and Williams, 2002) end relationships (but see Moroz et al., 2018). ...
Researchers have extensively explored the early and middle stages of romantic and sexual relationships for those high on the Dark Triad traits (i.e., psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) but they have generally missed the termination stage of relationships. In this study we examined (N = 341) the role these traits play in one termination strategy, ghosting. Ghosting is when a person discontinues a relationship through silence; it is considered an indirect form of relationship termination. We found that (1) those who reported ghosting someone in the past (vs. those who did not) found ghosting to be acceptable and were more Machiavellian and psychopathic, (2) ghosting was most acceptable in the short-term (vs. long-term) context especially for those who had previously ghosted someone, and (3) those high in the Dark Triad traits rated ghosting more acceptable to terminate short-term relationships, but not long-term ones. We also found that the correlations between acceptability and ghosting short-term partners and the Dark Triad traits was localized to narcissistic men with a similar-yet-weak effect for psychopathy. Results are discussed in relation to how ghosting may be primarily committed by people who are interested in casual sex where investment is low and may be part of the fast life history strategies linked to the Dark Triad traits.
... In addition, employees can benefit from increased social resources (Hobfoll, 1989) through authentic relationships at work. Generally, employees who act authentically hold a relational orientation valuing openness and honesty, which is helpful for establishing intimate and trusting relationships with others (Josephs et al., 2019;Kernis & Goldman, 2006). Furthermore, these employees are willing to share their perceived stress and problems (Grandey, Foo, Groth, & Goodwin, 2012) and rely on close others for social support when encountering difficulties (Kernis & Goldman, 2006), thus accumulating social resources to become more confident and resilient in achieving their work goals. ...
Taking a resource perspective, we examined the relationships between employee authenticity and work attitudes/behaviors, focusing especially on the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of leader authenticity. Data were collected with a three-wave survey administered to a sample of 588 employees from a biological manufacturing company in eastern China. Our results showed that employee authenticity can promote positive work attitudes/behaviors and inhibit negative ones among employees. The underlying mechanism is that employee authenticity can be converted into psychological capital, which is a positive psychological resource, and can further shape employee work attitudes and behaviors. Additionally, leader authenticity, as a job resource in the work environment, strengthens this conversion. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
... Frame switching may have additional, powerful consequences for biculturals, particularly in romantic relationships. In Western societies, feeling and being perceived as authentic is fundamental to forming and maintaining romantic relationships (Josephs et al., 2019), and perceived inauthenticity can diminish relationship satisfaction, commitment, and support (Lopez & Rice, 2006;Wickham, 2013). Our final study examines the consequences of frame switching on biculturals' online dating prospects, an impactful real-world context in which concerns about authenticity are heightened (Toma et al., 2008). ...
A growing population of biculturals—who identify with at least two cultures—often frame switch, adapting their behavior to their shifting cultural contexts. We demonstrate that frame switching biculturals are perceived as inauthentic by majority Americans and consequently seen as less likable, trustworthy, warm, and competent compared to biculturals who do not frame switch or a neutral control (Studies 1–3, N = 763). In Study 2, describing the bicultural’s behavior as authentic despite its inconsistency partly alleviated the negative effects of frame switching. In our preregistered Study 3, majority American women were less romantically interested in and less willing to date a bicultural who frame switched in his dating profiles (mediated by inauthenticity). The way biculturals negotiate their cultures can have social costs and create a barrier to intercultural relations.
With theoretical and empirical interest in narcissism growing, there is a need for brief measures of pathological narcissism that can be used more practically while assessing the construct comprehensively. Data from four samples (total N = 3,851) collected across two separate research groups and representing undergraduate, community, and clinical populations were used to establish the reliability, validity, and utility of the Brief-Pathological Narcissism Inventory (B-PNI). Item response theory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine the best-performing 28 items from the original PNI and ensure that the B-PNI exhibited a factor structure consistent with the original PNI. Items were retained for all seven pathological narcissism facet scales. Additional results also support the criterion validity of the B-PNI, suggesting that it can be used in place of the original PNI to assess the various facets of pathological narcissism effectively and without loss of information, which may enhance the ability of researchers to investigate pathological narcissism in future work. (PsycINFO Database Record
(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
Up to the present, the relationship between Machiavellianism and adult attachment has remained a question to be answered in the psychological literature. That is why this study focused on the relationship between Machiavellianism and attachment towards significant others in general interpersonal relationships and in intimate-close relationships. Two attachment tests (Relationship Questionnaire and long-form of Experiences in Close Relationship) and the Mach-IV test were conducted on a sample consisting of 185 subjects. Results have revealed that Machiavellian subjects show a dismissing-avoidant attachment style in their general interpersonal relationships, while avoidance is further accompanied by some characteristics of attachment anxiety in their intimate-close relationships. Our findings further refine the relationship between Machiavellianism and dismissing-avoidant attachment. Machiavellian individuals not only have a negative representation of significant others, but they also tend to seek symbiotic closeness in order to exploit their partners. This ambitendency in distance regulation might be particularly important in understanding the vulnerability of Machiavellian individuals.
In this chapter we present an overview of life history theory and review its main psychological applications. We first discuss basic trade-offs in life history allocations and introduce the concept of life history strategies. We then consider the evolution of life history strategies at the population level and their development at the individual level. Next, we explore the question of which physiological and psychological mechanisms mediate the development and organization of life history strategies. Finally, we review current applications of life history theory to human growth and development, individual differences in developmental trajectories, personality, and psychopathology. We conclude with a summary of the theoretical and empirical challenges facing future research in this area.
‘Playing hard-to-get’ is a mating tactic in which people give the impression that they are ostensibly uninterested to get others to desire them more. This topic has received little attention because of theoretical and methodological limitations of prior work. We present four studies drawn from four different American universities that examined playing hard-to-get as part of a supply-side economics model of dating. In Studies 1a (N = 100) and 1b (N = 491), we identified the tactics that characterize playing hard-to-get and how often men and women enact them. In Study 2 (N = 290), we assessed reasons why men and women play hard-to-get along with the personality traits associated with these reasons. In Studies 3 (N = 270) and 4 (N = 425), we manipulated the rate per week prospective mates went out with people they had just met and assessed participants' willingness to engage in casual sex and serious romantic relationships with prospective mates (Study 3) and the money and time they were willing to invest in prospective mates (Study 4). We frame our results using a sexual economics model to understand the role of perceived availability in mating dynamics. Copyright © 2012 European Association of Personality Psychology
This meta-analysis of eight studies involving a total of 603 participants found a significant association (r = .32) between trait emotional intelligence and romantic-relationship satisfaction. The association between the emotional intelligence of an individual and his or her self-reported romantic relationship satisfaction was significant, as was the relationship between an individual’s emotional intelligence and the partner’s level of satisfaction with the relationship. The association between trait emotional intelligence and romantic relationship satisfaction provides a foundation for future research, such as intervention studies aimed at increasing emotional intelligence in couples in order to increase romantic relationship satisfaction.
One aim of this study was to test a model derived from Cutrona that conflict and depression partially mediate the relation between perceived and accurate empathy and relationship satisfaction. This was investigated in 149 heterosexual couples using dyadic analysis. As accurate empathy was not significantly related to relationship satisfaction when actual and assumed similarities were controlled, this model was only examined with perceived empathy. Apart from conflict in men, the actor effects of the model were supported. Perceived empathy was positively associated with relationship satisfaction and negatively associated with depression and conflict. Depression and conflict were negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. There were two partner effects. Conflict in women was significantly associated with depression and relationship dissatisfaction in men.
Two studies examined narcissism and commitment in ongoing romantic relationships. In Study 1, narcissism was found to be negatively related to commitment. Mediational analyses further revealed that this was primarily a result of narcissists’ perception of alternatives to their current relationship. Study 2 replicated these findings with an additional measure of alternatives. Again, narcissists reported less commitment to their ongoing romantic relationship. This link was mediated by both perception of alternatives and attention to alternative dating partners. The utility of an interdependence approach to understanding the role of personality in romantic relationships is discussed.
Examined the impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles on romantic relationships in a longitudinal study involving 144 dating couples. For both men and women, the secure attachment style was associated with greater relationship interdependence, commitment, trust, and satisfaction than were the anxious or avoidant attachment styles. The anxious and avoidant styles were associated with less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions in the relationship, whereas the reverse was true of the secure style. 6-mo follow-up interviews revealed that, among those individuals who disbanded, avoidant men experienced significantly less post-dissolution emotional distress than did other people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors describe the preliminary development and validation of the Authenticity in Relationships Scale. An initial pool of 37 items addressing various elements of the proposed definition of "relationship authenticity" was administered to 2 independent samples of undergraduates (N = 487) who acknowledged being in a current romantic relationship. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that 2 interpretable factors (Unacceptability of Deception, Intimate Risk Taking) effectively represented the data in both samples. Retest data over a 3-month interval were also gathered from a separate independent sample of 121 participants. Subscale scores composed of factor-unique items demonstrated good reliability and test-retest stability, correlated in expected directions with scores on several measures used to establish construct validity, and made unique contributions to the prediction of relationship satisfaction after gender, self-esteem, commitment level, and adult attachment orientations were controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Individuals differ in the strategies they use to regulate their emotions (e.g., suppression, reappraisal), and these regulatory strategies can differentially influence social outcomes. However, the mechanisms underlying these social effects remain to be specified. We examined one potential mediator that arises directly from emotion-regulatory effort (expression of positive emotion), and another mediator that does not involve emotion processes per se, but instead results from the link between regulation and self-processes (subjective inauthenticity). Across three studies, only inauthenticity mediated the link between habitual use of suppression and poor social functioning (lower relationship satisfaction, lower social support). These findings replicated across individuals socialized in Western and East Asian cultural contexts, younger and older adults, when predicting social functioning concurrently and a decade later, and even when broader adjustment was controlled. Thus, the social costs of suppression do not seem to be due to reduced positive emotion expression but rather the incongruence between inner-self and outer-behavior. Reappraisal was not consistently related to social functioning. Implications of these findings for emotion processes, self processes, and interpersonal relationships are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
We propose that the experience of state authenticity—the subjective sense of being one's true self—ought to be considered separately from trait authenticity as well as from prescriptions regarding what should make people feel authentic.
In Study 1 (N = 104), online participants rated the frequency of and motivation for experiences of authenticity and inauthenticity. Studies 2 (N = 268) and 3 (N = 93) asked (local or online, respectively) participants to describe their experiences of authenticity or inauthenticity. Participants in Studies 1 and 2 also completed measures of trait authenticity, and participants in Study 3 rated their experience with respect to several phenomenological dimensions.
Study 1 demonstrated that people are motivated to experience state authenticity and avoid inauthenticity and that such experiences are common, regardless of one's degree of trait authenticity. Coding of Study 2's narratives identified the emotions accompanying and needs fulfilled in each state. Trait authenticity generally did not qualify the nature of (in)authentic experiences. Study 3 corroborated the results of Study 2 and further revealed positive mood and nostalgia as consequences of reflecting on experiences of authenticity.
We discuss implications of these findings for conceptualizations of authenticity and the self.
This survey (N = 224) found that characteristics collectively known as the Dark Triad (i.e. narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism) were correlated with various dimensions of short-term mating but not long-term mating. The link between the Dark Triad and short-term mating was stronger for men than for women. The Dark Triad partially mediated the sex difference in short-term mating behaviour. Findings are consistent with a view that the Dark Triad facilitates an exploitative, short-term mating strategy in men. Possible implications, including that Dark Triad traits represent a bundle of individual differences that promote a reproductively adaptive strategy are discussed. Findings are discussed in the broad context of how an evolutionary approach to personality psychology can enhance our understanding of individual differences. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
And if by chance I wake at night and I ask you who I am, oh take me to the slaughterhouse I will wait there with the lamb. —Leonard CohenWhatever satisfies the soul is truth. —Walt WhitmanI prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence. —Frederick DouglassIn this chapter, we present research and theory pertaining to our multicomponent perspective on authentic functioning. We begin with a historical account of various philosophical perspectives on authentic functioning and briefly review several past and contemporary psychological perspectives on authenticity. We then define and discuss our multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity and describe each of its components and their relationships to other constructs in the psychology literature. Next, we present an individual differences measure we have developed to assess dispositional authenticity and each of its components, and we report findings attesting to the adequacy of its psychometric properties. In addition, we present findings from a variety of studies we have conducted to examine how authenticity relates to diverse aspects of healthy psychological and interpersonal functioning. These studies pertain to a wide range of phenomena, including the following: verbal defensiveness, mindfulness, coping styles, self‐concept structure, social‐role functioning, goal pursuits, general well‐being, romantic relationships, parenting styles, and self‐esteem. Following this, we discuss potential downsides or costs for authentic functioning and describe some future directions for research on authenticity.
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.
There has been an exponential increase of interest in the dark side of human nature during the last decade. To better understand this dark side, the authors developed and validated a concise, 12-item measure of the Dark Triad: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism. In 4 studies involving 1,085 participants, they examined its structural reliability, convergent and discriminant validity (Studies 1, 2, and 4), and test-retest reliability (Study 3). Their measure retained the flexibility needed to measure these 3 independent-yet-related constructs while improving its efficiency by reducing its item count by 87% (from 91 to 12 items). The measure retained its core of disagreeableness, short-term mating, and aggressiveness. They call this measure the Dirty Dozen, but it cleanly measures the Dark Triad.
The construct of narcissism is inconsistently defined across clinical theory, social-personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Two problems were identified that impede integration of research and clinical findings regarding narcissistic personality pathology: (a) ambiguity regarding the assessment of pathological narcissism vs. normal narcissism and (b) insufficient scope of existing narcissism measures. Four studies are presented documenting the initial derivation and validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI). The PNI is a 52-item self-report measure assessing 7 dimensions of pathological narcissism spanning problems with narcissistic grandiosity (Entitlement Rage, Exploitativeness, Grandiose Fantasy, Self-sacrificing Self-enhancement) and narcissistic vulnerability (Contingent Self-esteem, Hiding the Self, Devaluing). The PNI structure was validated via confirmatory factor analysis. The PNI correlated negatively with self-esteem and empathy, and positively with shame, interpersonal distress, aggression, and borderline personality organization. Grandiose PNI scales were associated with vindictive, domineering, intrusive, and overly-nurturant interpersonal problems, and vulnerable PNI scales were associated with cold, socially avoidant, and exploitable interpersonal problems. In a small clinical sample, PNI scales exhibited significant associations with parasuicidal behavior, suicide attempts, homicidal ideation, and several aspects of psychotherapy utilization.
Sociosexuality is usually assessed as the overall orientation toward uncommitted sex, although this global approach may mask unique contributions of different components. In a large online study (N = 2,708) and a detailed behavioral assessment of 283 young adults (both singles and couples) with a 1-year follow-up, the authors established 3 theoretically meaningful components of sociosexuality: past behavioral experiences, the attitude toward uncommitted sex, and sociosexual desire (all measured by a revised version of the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory). Discriminant validity was shown with regard to (a) their factorial structure, (b) sex differences, (c) many established correlates of sociosexuality, and (d) the prediction of observed flirting behavior when meeting an attractive opposite-sex stranger, even down to the level of objectively coded behaviors, as well as (e) the self-reported number of sexual partners and (f) changes in romantic relationship status over the following year. Within couples, the 3 components also showed distinct degrees of assortative mating and distinct effects on the romantic partner. Implications for the evolutionary psychology of mating tactics are discussed.
This article proposes a contextual-evolutionary theory of human mating strategies. Both men and women are hypothesized to have evolved distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie short-term and long-term strategies. Men and women confront different adaptive problems in short-term as opposed to long-term mating contexts. Consequently, different mate preferences become activated from their strategic repertoires. Nine key hypotheses and 22 predictions from Sexual Strategies Theory are outlined and tested empirically. Adaptive problems sensitive to context include sexual accessibility, fertility assessment, commitment seeking and avoidance, immediate and enduring resource procurement, paternity certainty, assessment of mate value, and parental investment. Discussion summarizes 6 additional sources of behavioral data, outlines adaptive problems common to both sexes, and suggests additional contexts likely to cause shifts in mating strategy.
People who are sensitive to social rejection tend to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to it. This article shows that this cognitive-affective processing disposition undermines intimate relationships. Study 1 describes a measure that operationalizes the anxious-expectations component of rejection sensitivity. Study 2 provides experimental evidence that people who anxiously expect rejection readily perceive intentional rejection in the ambiguous behavior of others. Study 3 shows that people who enter romantic relationships with anxious expectations of rejection readily perceive intentional rejection in the insensitive behavior of their new partners. Study 4 demonstrates that rejection-sensitive people and their romantic partners are dissatisfied with their relationships. Rejection-sensitive men's jealousy and rejection-sensitive women's hostility and diminished supportiveness help explain their partners' dissatisfaction.
Five studies investigated the links among narcissism, self-esteem, and love. Across all studies, narcissism was associated primarily with a game-playing love style. This link was found in reports of general love styles (Study 1a) and of love in ongoing romantic relationships (Studies 1b-3, 5). Narcissists' game-playing love style was the result of a need for power and autonomy (Study 2) and was linked with greater relationship alternatives and lesser commitment (Study 3). Finally, narcissists' self-reports of game playing were confirmed by their partners in past and current relationships (Studies 4, 5). In contrast, self-esteem was negatively linked to manic love and positively linked to passionate love across studies. Implications for the understanding of narcissism in relationships are discussed.
We developed a 12-item, short form of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 19985.
Brennan , K. A. ,
Clark , C. L. and
Shaver , P. R. 1998. “Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview”. In Attachment theory and close relationships, Edited by:
Simpson , J. A. and
Rholes , W. S. 46–76. New York: Guilford. [CrossRef]View all references) across 6 studies. In Study 1, we examined the reliability and factor structure of the measure. In Studies 2 and 3, we cross-validated the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short form measure; whereas in Study 4, we examined test-retest reliability over a 1-month period. In Studies 5 and 6, we further assessed the reliability, factor structure, and validity of the short version of the ECR when administered as a stand-alone instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that 2 factors, labeled Anxiety and Avoidance, provided a good fit to the data after removing the influence of response sets. We found validity to be equivalent for the short and the original versions of the ECR across studies. Finally, the results were comparable when we embedded the short form within the original version of the ECR and when we administered it as a stand-alone measure.
Contrasting explanations of variation in reproductive strategies emphasize nature (i.e., heritability) and nurture (i.e., environment). In this chapter it is argued that both may be correct, but not simply because, as so commonly assumed, nature and nurture interact to shape development. Rather, the proposition is advanced that there may be variation in susceptibility to rearing influence. Thus, in the case of some individuals, early vs. late maturation, promiscuous vs. committed sexuality, producing many vs. few offspring, and low- vs. high-investment parenting may reflect heritable proclivities (i.e., alternative reproductive strategies). In other individuals, however, environmental effects may account for observed differences in such features of development and behavior that define reproductive strategies (i.e., conditional strategies). After advancing this differential-susceptibility argument with respect to reproductive strategy, evidence is reviewed suggesting that highly negative infants may be most susceptible to rearing influence, at least with respect to the development of problem behavior, self control, and conscience, in order to illustrate the argument that individuals may vary in the degree to which their development is shaped by forces of nature and nurture.
This study employed a dyadic data analysis approach to examine the association between partners’ empathy and relationship quality among cohabitating couples. Data were collected from 374 cohabitating but nonmarried couples who were participants in the Wave 3 romantic pairs subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Men’s higher empathy was related to their own perceptions of better relationship quality and women’s higher empathy was related to their own as well as their partner’s perceptions of better relationship quality. These findings show that individuals’ abilities to be understanding, compassionate, and sympathetic may be related to the overall feeling of satisfaction and love in romantic relationships. The only effect that did not reach statistical significance was the partner effect from men’s empathy to women’s relationship quality. Although previous research with married couples has shown that men’s empathy may play a more important role in shaping couples’ perceptions of relationship quality, according to the current findings, these findings may not extend to cohabitating couples. The current results provide beneficial guidance to clinicians working with distressed, nonmarried couples.
This chapter provides an overview of life history theory (LHT). LHT conceptualizes specific allocation tradeoffs in terms of three broad, fundamental trade-offs: the present-future reproduction trade-off, the quantity-quality of offspring trade-off, and the tradeoff between mating effort and parenting effort. The chapter then considers specific applications of LHT to an understanding of the human life course. The topics concerning human life histories are the evolution of large brains, development and childhood, and aging. The chapter argues for ways in which LHT can and should be infused into evolutionary psychology. Over the past 40 years, evolutionary biology has witnessed a tremendous explosion in understanding of adaptations, particularly as they relate to behavior. A key foundation of these developments is economic cost-benefit analysis of selection pressures. LHT is not a particular domain of cost-benefit analysis; rather, it is a broad, overarching perspective within which understanding of adaptation must ultimately be situated.
This paper proposes a new type of multivariate EWMA control chart for detecting the process mean shift on the basis of a series of most recent T-squared statistics. We established a multiple hypothesis testing which uses the false discovery rate as the error to be controlled. Particularly, Benjamini–Hochberg procedure is applied to develop a new control scheme. A nonparametric density estimation based on the Parzen windows is adopted to approximate the distribution of the T-square statistics, from which the p-values are calculated. The performance of the proposed control charts is evaluated in terms of the out-of-control average run length and the in-control average run length according to various non-centrality parameters associated with the mean shifts. The result shows that the proposed control chart performs better than the existing multivariate EWMA chart for all mean shifts. The proposed method seems to be rigorous in the sense that error rates for the multiple hypotheses are considered in an integrated way via FDR rather than considering type I and II errors separately.
In this study, self and other ratings of dyadic empathy are proposed
to predict relationship satisfaction. One-hundred and fifty-one individuals
over the age of eighteen who were in a relationship of at
least six months in length at the time of the survey completed the
Interpersonal Reactivity Index for Couples (P´eloquin & Lafontaine,
2010) and the Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge, 2007).
Total scores for self and other rated dyadic empathy as well as
scores of the congruity between self and other were assessed for
each respondent. The results indicated that total perceived dyadic
empathy and perceived dyadic empathic congruity were significant
predictors of relationship satisfaction.
The current study investigated the influence of Machiavellianism, a personality trait characterized by a manipulative interpersonal style and willingness to exploit others (Christie & Geis, 1970), on three areas of sexual behavior. Men (N = 90) and women (N = 192) aged 18–81 years (M = 25.82, SD = 9.85) com-pleted the Mach IV (Christie & Geis,. Those with high levels of Machiavellianism were more likely to engage in sexual behavior for physical reasons, goal attainment and insecurity. In particular, Machiavellian men and women endorsed stress reduction, experience seeking, resources, social status, revenge, utilitar-ian reasons, boosting self-esteem, duty/pressure, and mate guarding as motivations for sexual behavior. Machiavellianism was also a significant predictor of each form of sexual deception investigated (blatant lying, self-serving and avoiding confrontation) and intentions to engage in infidelity. Sex did not moder-ate the influence of Machiavellianism on sexual behavior.
G*Power (Erdfelder, Faul, & Buchner, 1996) was designed as a general stand-alone power analysis program for statistical tests commonly used in social and behavioral research. G*Power 3 is a major extension of, and improvement over, the previous versions. It runs on widely used computer platforms (i.e., Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X 10.4) and covers many different statistical tests of the t, F, and chi2 test families. In addition, it includes power analyses for z tests and some exact tests. G*Power 3 provides improved effect size calculators and graphic options, supports both distribution-based and design-based input modes, and offers all types of power analyses in which users might be interested. Like its predecessors, G*Power 3 is free.
This study links Horney’s account of human growth and neurosis to authenticity by examining aggressive responses on the point subtraction aggressive paradigm, providing the first empirical test of whether authenticity can predict objective behavior. Data from undergraduate, postgraduate, and mature students demonstrate that when controlling for age, gender, trait-anger, agreeableness, and functional dimensions of coping, individuals who measure high on authentic-living respond less aggressively to attacks and counter-attacks in unfair situations. Authentic-living uniquely accounted for 14.2% of variance in aggressive-responses (r = −.37). The findings suggest that inauthenticity is a strong predictor of aggressive behavior, and therefore increasing levels of authenticity in counseling practice may reduce maladaptive levels of anger. We suggest future exploration between authenticity and models of emotional regulation will unearth the cause and effects of aggression within inauthentic individuals.
In this study, we assessed how attachment orientations and degree of relationship dependence influence individuals' own behavior and their partners' behavior in a stressful situation using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kashy & Kenny, 2000). Dating couples were videotaped while the female partner was waiting to engage in an anxiety-provoking task. Raters then evaluated the behavior of each partner on theoretically relevant dimensions. We found that more avoidantly attached individuals behaved more negatively toward their partners. Moreover, people behaved more negatively if their partners were more avoidant. Very few direct effects of dependence emerged. However, attachment orientations, particularly avoidant attachment and level of dependence, interacted to predict the behavior of both partners. In particular, less avoidant and highly dependent people behaved less negatively toward their partners, whereas more avoidant and less dependent people behaved more negatively. These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory, interdependence theory, and the APIM.
Recent research has suggested that adult attachment style, an orientation to relationships thought to be determined by child-hood relationships with parents and subsequent experiences with important attachment figures, affects the experience of romantic love. Several hypotheses were generated regarding attachment-style differences in affect-regulation strategies (nonintimate sexual behavior, alcohol use, and eating disorders) and attachment experiences and dynamics in couples (e.g., relationship satisfaction, partner-matching on attachment style). These hypotheses were tested using seven theoretically derived attachment scales, which reveal the specific attributes of a person's attachment style. Results indicate substantial associations between attachment dimensions and relationship satisfaction, nonintimate sexuality, eating disorders, and motives for drinking, and replicate previous research showing nonrandom but weak pairing of attachment styles in dating couples.
This investigation examined the impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles on romantic relationships in a longitudinal study involving 144 dating couples. For both men and women, the secure attachment style was associated with greater relationship interdependence, commitment, trust, and satisfaction than were the anxious or avoidant attachment styles. The anxious and avoidant styles were associated with less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions in the relationship, whereas the reverse was true of the secure style. Six-month follow-up interviews revealed that, among those individuals who disbanded, avoidant men experienced significantly less post-dissolution emotional distress than did other people.
The goal of this research was to extend prior work on adult attachment and sexuality, which has tended to focus on samples of adolescents and undergraduate students. A Canadian sample of 116 married couples aged 21–75 years completed self-report measures of adult attachment, marital, and sexual satisfaction. Results revealed that participants with higher levels of anxiety and avoidance reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction at the individual level. Individuals with more avoidant spouses also reported lower levels of sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between sexual and marital satisfaction was stronger for more anxiously attached individuals and those with more anxiously attached spouses. These results suggest that attachment is linked in theoretically predictable ways to marital and sexual satisfaction.
Recently, increasing numbers of scholars have argued that emotional intelligence (EI) is a core variable that affects the performance of leaders. In this study, we develop a psychometrically sound and practically short EI measure that can be used in leadership and management studies. We also provide exploratory evidence for the effects of the EI of both leaders and followers on job outcomes. Applying Gross' emotion regulation model, we argue that the EI of leaders and followers should have positive effects on job performance and attitudes. We also propose that the emotional labor of the job moderates the EI–job outcome relationship. Our results show that the EI of followers affects job performance and job satisfaction, while the EI of leaders affects their satisfaction and extra-role behavior. For followers, the proposed interaction effects between EI and emotional labor on job performance, organizational commitment, and turnover intention are also supported.
We examined trait emotional intelligence (EI), conflict communication patterns, and relationship satisfaction in cohabiting heterosexual couples. Participants were 82 couples (N = 164) who completed the TEIQue – Short Form (Petrides & Furnham, 2006), the Communication Patterns Questionnaire (Christensen & Sullaway, 1984), and the Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC) Inventory (Fletcher, Simpson, & Thomas, 2000). The most satisfied couples were those who did not avoid discussion of relationship problems and who rated their partners high in EI. Satisfied couples were more likely than dissatisfied couples to perceive themselves as having levels of EI similar to their partner. We also examined whether actor or partner effects, or a combination of the two, best predicted relationship satisfaction and found that actor variables were the only significant predictors. These results are discussed with reference to the importance of EI and communication patterns in relationship satisfaction.
A new 4-group model of attachment styles in adulthood is proposed. Four prototypic attachment patterns are defined using combinations of a person's self-image (positive or negative) and image of others (positive or negative). In Study 1, an interview was developed to yield continuous and categorical ratings of the 4 attachment styles. Intercorrelations of the attachment ratings were consistent with the proposed model. Attachment ratings were validated by self-report measures of self-concept and interpersonal functioning. Each style was associated with a distinct profile of interpersonal problems, according to both self- and friend-reports. In Study 2, attachment styles within the family of origin and with peers were assessed independently. Results of Study 1 were replicated. The proposed model was shown to be applicable to representations of family relations; Ss' attachment styles with peers were correlated with family attachment ratings.
Many published papers include large numbers of significance tests. These may be difficult to interpret because if we go on testing long enough we will inevitably find something which is “significant.” We must beware of attaching too much importance to a lone significant result among a mass of non-significant ones. It may be the one in 20 which we expect by chance alone.
Lee et al simulated a clinical trial of the treatment of coronary artery disease by allocating 1073 patient records from past cases into two “treatment” groups at random.1 They then analysed the outcome as if it were a genuine trial of two treatments. The analysis was quite detailed and thorough. As we would expect, it failed to show any significant difference in survival between those patients allocated to the two treatments. Patients were then subdivided by two variables which affect prognosis, the number of diseased coronary vessels and whether the left ventricular contraction pattern was normal or abnormal. A significant difference in survival between the two “treatment” groups was found in those patients with three diseased vessels (the maximum) and abnormal ventricular contraction. As this would be the subset of patients with the worst prognosis, the finding would be easy to account for by saying that the superior “treatment” …
Relationships between patterns of extradyadic involvement (EDI) and adult attachment were examined separately with undergraduates and community adults reporting prior EDI. Those with fearful or preoccupied styles reported more intimacy motivations for EDI, and undergraduates with these styles also reported more self-esteem motivations. Conversely, those with a dismissive style reported more autonomy motivations for EDI. Those with a fearful attachment style reported ambivalence about intimacy in the EDI. Fearful and preoccupied undergraduates and community males reported a more obsessive extradyadic relationship. However, dismissive individuals did not report more casual EDI. Gender effects also emerged, with females reporting more intimacy motivations than males, and undergraduate males reporting more casual EDI than undergraduate females. In the undergraduate sample, dismissive males had the most extradyadic partners over the prior 2 years relative to all other groups, and preoccupied females reported more partners than secure females. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
The dark triad: Facilitating a short-term mating strategy in men
- Jonason