No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Sexual Nostalgia as a Response to Unmet Sexual and Relational Needs: The Role of Attachment Avoidance
Abstract
Romantic relationships help people meet needs for connection and emotional and sexual fulfillment. In the current research, we investigate an unexplored response to feeling sexually and relationally unfulfilled: reflecting on positive sexual experiences with past partners (or sexual nostalgia). Across three studies, people low in attachment avoidance (i.e., comfortable with closeness) who were (a) single or (b) sexually or relationally dissatisfied reported greater sexual nostalgia, whereas people high in attachment avoidance (i.e., value autonomy) did not calibrate their feelings of sexual nostalgia based on their current relationship status or satisfaction. Sexual fantasies about past partners (i.e., sexual nostalgia) were distinct from other types of sexual fantasies (Study 1) and the effects could not be attributed to general nostalgia (Study 2) or sexual desire (Study 3). Chronic sexual nostalgia detracted from satisfaction over time. The findings have implications for theories of nostalgia and attachment and for managing unfulfilled needs in relationships.
... Moreover, when relationships end, such as through a breakup, echoes of the past can linger. Individuals may, for example, experience sexual nostalgia or reminisce about past intimacy as a response to current unmet needs (Muise et al., 2020). Barlow's (1986) Cognitive Model stresses the importance of present-focused awareness for healthy sexual functioning, emphasizing that cognitive distractions-such as intrusive thoughts (e.g., about the deceased)-can raise the risk of dysfunction. ...
... Sexual nostalgia-defined as reflecting fondly on sexual experiences with past partners-is a phenomenon which has been explored among current and voluntarily dissolved relationships (e.g., a "break-up"; Muise et al., 2020;Mizrahi et al., 2018). Individuals tend to engage in sexual nostalgia about a past partner when they are sexually dissatisfied in their current relationships and to maintain continued contact with their past partner (e.g., a longing to rekindle the relationship; Muise et al., 2020). ...
... Sexual nostalgia-defined as reflecting fondly on sexual experiences with past partners-is a phenomenon which has been explored among current and voluntarily dissolved relationships (e.g., a "break-up"; Muise et al., 2020;Mizrahi et al., 2018). Individuals tend to engage in sexual nostalgia about a past partner when they are sexually dissatisfied in their current relationships and to maintain continued contact with their past partner (e.g., a longing to rekindle the relationship; Muise et al., 2020). However, sexual nostalgia has never been explored in the context of when a romantic partner dies (i.e., involuntarily dissolved relationship). ...
The death of a romantic partner results in major changes to the surviving partner’s psychological and physical well-being, yet post-bereavement sexual experiences are often disregarded in both research and clinical settings. Continuing bonds theory suggests that an internal emotional bond can persist between the bereaved and the memory of the deceased after the physical end of the relationship; that is, continuing bonds are often maintained through reminiscing about the deceased. On this premise, we suggest and demonstrate that sexual bonds are also maintained through reminiscing. A sample of 165 Canadian individuals who were bereaved of a prior romantic partner were recruited via Leger panels, social media, and online grief forums to complete an online survey. Sexual reminiscing was very common (80.5% of participants sexually reminisce about the deceased), frequent (31.8% of participants sexually reminisce about the deceased once a week or more), and generally positively valenced. We used multiple regression to understand who sexually reminisced more frequently and who evaluated those experiences as more positive. Results indicated that stronger general continuing bonds, higher past sexual satisfaction with the deceased, and higher posttraumatic growth were positively associated with sexual reminiscing frequency, while stronger continuing emotional bonds and past sexual satisfaction were positively associated with sexual reminiscing valence. Findings regarding their relevance to individuals and clinicians (e.g., couples and grief therapists) are discussed.
... Moreover, when relationships end, such as through a breakup, echoes of the past can linger. Individuals may, for example, experience sexual nostalgia or reminisce about past intimacy as a response to current unmet needs (Muise et al., 2020). Barlow's (1986) Cognitive Model stresses the importance of present-focused awareness for healthy sexual functioning, emphasizing that cognitive distractions-such as intrusive thoughts (e.g., about the deceased)-can raise the risk of dysfunction. ...
... Sexual nostalgia-defined as reflecting fondly on sexual experiences with past partners-is a phenomenon which has been explored among current and voluntarily dissolved relationships (e.g., a "break-up"; Muise et al., 2020;Mizrahi et al., 2018). Individuals tend to engage in sexual nostalgia about a past partner when they are sexually dissatisfied in their current relationships and to maintain continued contact with their past partner (e.g., a longing to rekindle the relationship; Muise et al., 2020). ...
... Sexual nostalgia-defined as reflecting fondly on sexual experiences with past partners-is a phenomenon which has been explored among current and voluntarily dissolved relationships (e.g., a "break-up"; Muise et al., 2020;Mizrahi et al., 2018). Individuals tend to engage in sexual nostalgia about a past partner when they are sexually dissatisfied in their current relationships and to maintain continued contact with their past partner (e.g., a longing to rekindle the relationship; Muise et al., 2020). However, sexual nostalgia has never been explored in the context of when a romantic partner dies (i.e., involuntarily dissolved relationship). ...
The death of a romantic partner results in major changes to the surviving partner’s psychological and physical well-being, yet post-bereavement sexual experiences are often disregarded in both research and clinical settings. Continuing bonds theory suggests that an internal emotional bond can persist between the bereaved and the memory of the deceased after the physical end of the relationship; that is, continuing bonds are often maintained through reminiscing about the deceased. On this premise, we suggest and demonstrate that sexual bonds are also maintained through reminiscing. A sample of 165 Canadian individuals who were bereaved of a prior romantic partner were recruited via Leger panels, social media, and online grief forums to complete an online survey. Sexual reminiscing was very common (80.5% of participants sexually reminisce about the deceased), frequent (31.8% of participants sexually reminisce about the deceased once a week or more), and generally positively valenced. We used multiple regression to understand who sexually reminisced more frequently and who evaluated those experiences as more positive. Results indicated that stronger general continuing bonds, higher past sexual satisfaction with the deceased, and higher posttraumatic growth were positively associated with sexual reminiscing frequency, while stronger continuing emotional bonds and past sexual satisfaction were positively associated with sexual reminiscing valence. Findings regarding their relevance to individuals and clinicians (e.g., couples and grief therapists) are discussed.
... Pertinent studies have linked bereavement (Reid et al., 2021), boredom (Van Tilburg et al., 2013, Study 5), loneliness (Abeyta et al., 2020, Study 1;Zhou et al., 2008, Study 1;Zhou et al., 2022, Studies 1-3), negative affect, regret, search for meaning, depression, and lower self-esteem (Newman et al., 2020, Study 2), as well as need to belong (Seehusen et al., 2013) to nostalgia, but the evidence is cross-sectional, precluding directional inferences. The same applies to research showing that feeling lonely or dissatisfied with one's sex life or current relationship is associated with sexual nostalgia (Muise et al., 2020, Studies 1 and 2), defined as "reflection on positive sexual experiences with past partners" (p. 1538). ...
... A daily diary study by Muise et al. (2020, Study 3) yielded more nuanced findings. On the one hand, withinperson analyses (i.e., using daily ratings) were generally consistent with the regulatory model: relationship dissatisfaction predicted sexual nostalgia. ...
... Future daily diary or ESM studies may clarify the level of support for the regulatory model. Importantly, the Muise et al. (2020) and findings point to interesting lines of research. For example, to what extent is the construct of sexual nostalgia similar or different to the construct of general or personal nostalgia that has guided the bulk of the literature? ...
Objective:
We were concerned with the relation between distress and nostalgia. At the state level, extensive research has established that momentary nostalgia is evoked by (experimentally manipulated) distress. However, at the trait level, the directionality of this relation is unclear. We conducted a longitudinal study to clarify the directional relation between these two constructs.
Method:
We surveyed first-year university students (N = 3,167) twice across six months. We assessed nostalgia, psychological distress (depression) and physical distress (somatization) at both timepoints. We also assessed Big Five personality at the first timepoint.
Results:
Initial distress prospectively predicted increased nostalgia, and initial nostalgia prospectively predicted reduced distress, six months later and independently of the Big Five.
Conclusions:
Habitual nostalgia follows rather than precedes naturalistically occurring distress, and serves to relieve it.
... Despite the benefits of nostalgizing on romantic relationship functioning, only one study has attempted to investigate the impact of nostalgia on sexual functioning. This study examined the association between participation in sexual nostalgia (i.e., a type of sexual fantasy involving "sentimental longing for or wishful reflection on sexual memories;" Muise et al., 2020Muise et al., , p. 1539 with past sexual partners, potentially resulting from unmet sexual or romantic needs with a current partner. ...
... Although Muise et al. (2020) conceptualized sexual nostalgia as similar to sexual fantasy, they argued that it is distinct in ways relating to the reliance on one's sexual partner. In particular, they argued that sexual fantasy is different from sexual nostalgia in that fantasy can be autonomous, not depending on the presence of past or current partners, and/or could be imaginations of future desirable sexual behaviors (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995). ...
... Although Muise et al. (2020) were the first to apply nostalgia to sexual satisfaction, much remains unknown regarding the relationship between sexual nostalgia with regards to one's current sexual partner and sexual satisfaction. For example, with regard to one's current sexual partner, it is unclear the extent to which sexual nostalgia is used as a tool to combat loneliness or manage high sexual desire. ...
Sexual satisfaction contributes significantly to one's quality of life and offers a variety of mental and physical health benefits. Consequently, numerous studies have examined ways to improve sexual satisfaction. However, no research has investigated how sexual nostalgia (i.e., "the sentimental longing for or wistful reflection on past sexual memories," p. 1539) with one's current partner impacts sexual satisfaction. Thus, this program of research was designed to develop the Sexual Nostalgia Inventory, assess the relationship between sexual nostalgia and sexual satisfaction, and to examine the moderating role of romantic attachment. The results of Study One (N = 227) indicated that the content of sexual memories can be conceptualized into one factor. The results from Study Two (N = 619) revealed that sexual nostalgia was positively related to sexual satisfaction and that romantic attachment moderated these relationships. In particular, the positive association between sexual nostalgia and satisfaction was greatest for those insecurely attached (i.e., those high in anxious and avoidant attachment). These findings have important implications for researchers looking to establish the causal link between nostalgia and satisfaction and clinicians working with couples experiencing low sexual desire and/or unmet sexual needs.
... The results of Study 1 show that reflecting on nostalgic memories about one's ex-partner results in an increase in perceived current relationship quality. Although Muise et al. (2020) found that chronic sexual nostalgia for an ex-partner decreased relationship satisfaction, we found that temporarily inducing nostalgic memories about an ex-partner actually made participants feel good about their current relationship. Although these findings seem counterintuitive, they are in line with theories and findings from the nostalgia literature (e.g. ...
... At first glance, the beneficial outcomes of reflecting on nostalgic memories involving ex-partners may seem contradictory to the detrimental role ex-partners are thought to play in current relationships, which was repeatedly found in the close relationships literature (e.g. Muise et al., 2020;Spielmann et al., 2013). However, studies in the close relationships literature mostly regard ex-partners as attractive alternatives and tend to focus on continued desires or emotional attachments people may hold towards ex-partners (Spielmann et al., 2013). ...
... However, studies in the close relationships literature mostly regard ex-partners as attractive alternatives and tend to focus on continued desires or emotional attachments people may hold towards ex-partners (Spielmann et al., 2013). People might behaviourally or emotionally reach out to an ex-partner when their needs are unmet or unable to be met in their current relationship (Muise et al., 2020;Spielmann et al., 2013). Continued contact with or emotional desire for an ex-partner can be maladaptive because it can prevent people from being available and invested in their current relationships (Cravens & Whiting, 2016;Spielmann et al., 2013). ...
Research on the impact of ex‐romantic partners on current romantic relationships is mainly focused on negative aspects. Here instead we focus on the potential positive influence of reflecting on nostalgic memories of one's ex‐partner. In three studies, we found that reflecting on nostalgic memories of one's ex‐partner increased the perception of current relationship quality (Studies 1– 3) and approach motivation towards the current relationship (Study 3), compared to a control condition. We also tested a potential underlying mechanism—perception of self‐growth. We found that perception of self‐growth mediated the positive effects of reflecting on nostalgic memories about an ex‐partner on perceived current relationship quality (Studies 2 and 3) and approach motivation in the current relationship (Study 3). Implications for research and therapy are discussed.
... This conclusion stands in contrast, however, to some recent findings about the nature of nostalgia in daily life (Muise et al., 2020;Turner & Stanley, 2021). In several daily diary studies, participants reported feeling lower levels of well-being on days when they felt higher levels of nostalgia . ...
... Lagged analyses from one day to the next indicated that nostalgia increased negative affect and rumination and decreased positive deactivated (e.g., calm relaxed) affect . In a separate daily diary study about sexual nostalgia (defined as reflections of positive sexual experiences with former romantic partners), participants felt dissatisfied with their romantic relationship on days when they engaged in sexual nostalgic thoughts (Muise et al., 2020). Moreover, people who felt higher levels of sexual nostalgia on average reported lower satisfaction with their sex lives and relationships three months later than those who felt lower levels of sexual nostalgia. ...
... First, these studies are the first to measure not only the intensity of nostalgia but the valence of nostalgic feelings. Like all emotions, the intensity of nostalgia may vary considerably from one moment to the next (Muise et al., 2020;van Dijke et al., 2019;van Tilburg et al., 2018). Yet unlike other, more basic emotions, nostalgia is by definition a mixed emotion, and the degree of positive to negative, bitterness to sweetness, can vary considerably from one time to the next. ...
Experimental manipulations of nostalgia that privilege positive aspects of the bittersweet emotion have led to the conclusion that nostalgia is a predominantly positive emotion, yet nostalgia covaries negatively with well-being in daily life. To reconcile this discrepancy, we developed and tested the bittersweet variation model of nostalgia that posits that (a) nostalgic feelings vary not only in intensity but also in valence (i.e., how bitter or sweet a nostalgic feeling is); (b) daily events influence the valence of nostalgic feelings; and (c) nostalgia's valence influences well-being. Across two daily diary studies (N = 151; 1,356 daily reports), we found that the valence of nostalgic feelings varied considerably within-persons. Daily positive events predicted more positively rated nostalgic feelings, whereas daily negative events predicted more negatively rated nostalgic feelings. Controlling for the effects of daily events on well-being, positive nostalgic feelings predicted greater well-being, whereas negative nostalgic feelings predicted lower well-being. To provide more robust causal evidence of the effect of nostalgia valence on well-being, we conducted two experiments (N = 445) in which we manipulated nostalgia valence by asking participants to write about positive nostalgic feelings (involving people they remain close to) or negative nostalgia feelings (involving people they no longer remain close to), mimicking typical nostalgic feelings in daily life. Positive nostalgic feelings improved well-being compared with negative nostalgic feelings. Thus, nostalgia is not inherently positive or negative. Rather, the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on its valence, which is influenced by the eliciting event. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... In addition, relational entitlement sense (a term related to relational satisfaction) is associated with outcomes in romantic relationships (Candel and Turliuc, 2019), where relational frustration of need-relatedness, competence, and autonomy appears to be linked with demanding tendencies and contributes to feelings of anger, sadness, and fear (Vanhee, 2017). Moreover, individuals with unfulfilled relational needs in romantic relationships, who also have high attachment avoidance, report greater amounts of sexual nostalgia (Muise et al., 2020). Furthermore, according to the study by Tolmacz et al. (2022), lower relational needs satisfaction appears to be associated with disordered eating patterns. ...
Background
Relating to others and establishing relationships is necessary for optimal human functioning. Perceived relational satisfaction appears to be one of the most important aspects of individuals’ lives, reflecting the extent to which our relational needs are met. This study aimed to test the factor structure, item characteristics, and convergent validity of the Bosnian adaptation of the Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale (RNSS).
Method
A total of 420 participants (N = 420) completed the Relational Needs Satisfaction Scale (RNSS), the Relationships Questionnaire (RQ), and the Need for Drama Questionnaire (NFD). Descriptive statistics, reliability, and item analysis for the RNSS were conducted. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, along with a comparison of four models. The convergent validity of the RNSS was assessed by examining its association with two reference measures and their subscales: RQ and NFD.
Results
The study showed that the translation was adequate, and the Bosnian version of the RNSS proved to be a reliable measure with mostly adequate item parameters. It confirmed that the RNSS structure can be interpreted as a five-factor model, comprising five dimensions and one higher-order factor, as well as a bi-factor model, where the variance of the items is simultaneously explained by a general factor and the five dimensions to varying degrees. The comparison of models and theory indicated the superiority of the bi-factor model.
Conclusion
The adaptation of the RNSS Bosnian version demonstrated content validity, adequate measurement accuracy, and appropriate construct validity, as supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that the translated RNSS is a valid and reliable instrument.
... We chose a value in the middle to strike a balance between naïveté of participants and efficiency of data collection (see Meyers et al., 2020). Requesters may also restrict participation based on approval percentage; this prohibits poor-quality workers whose work has been repeatedly rejected by other requesters for not following instructions, etc. (see J. H. Cheung et al., 2017). 2 The requirement for participants to be in a committed monogamous relationship is consistent with previous work on commitment (e.g., Emery et al., 2021;Etcheverry et al., 2013) and nostalgia in romantic contexts (e.g., Mallory et al., 2018;Muise et al., 2020). ...
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past, increases well-being, especially in response to psychological imbalance (e.g., negative affect, loneliness). Recent work has examined how nostalgia for times shared with a romantic partner (i.e., relationship nostalgia) also has positive effects. The two present studies, both conducted with Amazon Mechanical Turk samples, explored whether relationship nostalgia buffers the negative effect of partner conflict on relationship commitment. In Study 1 (N = 137), results of a moderated regression analysis showed that the negative link between conflict and commitment was offset by participants’ higher relationship nostalgia proneness. Study 2 (N = 769) built on these correlational findings with an experimental design. Specifically, for participants randomly assigned to a relationship nostalgia writing condition, the negative link between conflict and commitment was weaker than it was for participants who wrote about a positive or ordinary past event. These studies demonstrate the potential for relationship nostalgia to maintain commitment in response to the threat of partner conflict.
... It also does something else. Muise et al. (2020) employ a notion of 'sexual nostalgia' to explain how people deal with sexual dissatisfaction. They argue that being positively nostalgic about a previous partner can provide a form of sexual esteem and confidence during 'dry spells' of a lack of a partner or sexual dissatisfaction. ...
This chapter explores how transgressions take place within the sex club. First, using a group sex encounter, it highlights the ways in which different forms of heteroeroticism can be understood as contesting the everyday routines of the club and broader notions of heteronormativity. Embedded within this section of the chapter is the notion of gaze and how this is a reversible process of looking and being looked at. The second part of this chapter focuses on sex between women. Whilst initially framing this as taking place within a heteropatriarchal gaze driven by forms of neo-liberal sexual entrepreneurialism, the chapter reflects on this approach by suggesting that it is within the limits of neo-liberalism where transgressive sexual practices might emerge. Finally, the chapter tentatively explores transgender experiences. In particular, it argues that transgression is not always a positive experience but can also result in sexual violence. The chapter concludes by arguing that where sexual practice exceeds economies of desire, it can be the source of intense sexual pleasure. At the same time, such transgressions can be physically and emotionally dangerous.
... It also does something else. Muise et al. (2020) employ a notion of 'sexual nostalgia' to explain how people deal with sexual dissatisfaction. They argue that being positively nostalgic about a previous partner can provide a form of sexual esteem and confidence during 'dry spells' of a lack of a partner or sexual dissatisfaction. ...
This chapter explores how dark rooms within sex clubs shape and configure men and masculinities. Using interviews with men who have used and visited dark rooms, this chapter explores the erotic subjectivity of men. The starting point for this chapter is that the norms and values of the club that are embedded in the erotic hierarchies that circulate in the rest of the club help to define what happens in the dark room. The chapter by examining respectable masculinities then explores the same-sex practices between men and consent. The chapter then argues that by leaving behind a sexual performance based on masculinity, men in the dark room demonstrate an alternative way of configuring masculinity and sexuality. It is suggested as the chapter progresses that new forms of erotic configurations are assembled in the dark room that point to the possibilities of a post-masculinity. The chapter concludes by highlighting that sex clubs do have the possibility to produce a radical subjectivity that may signal an epistemological break with existing approaches to men and masculinity.
... It also does something else. Muise et al. (2020) employ a notion of 'sexual nostalgia' to explain how people deal with sexual dissatisfaction. They argue that being positively nostalgic about a previous partner can provide a form of sexual esteem and confidence during 'dry spells' of a lack of a partner or sexual dissatisfaction. ...
This introductory chapter welcomes readers to the sex club. This chapter explains what the book is about and what readers should expect. The book then highlights the ethnographical research method that is used predominantly throughout the book. In so doing, it critically reflects on the limits of using ethnography to describe sexual encounters. The chapter then provides a synopsis of the chapters that are furnished with ethnographic encounters. Overall, this chapter provides an introductory insight into the sex clubs in the UK. The chapter concludes by describing the experience of the end of the night at a sex club and highlighting what we are yet to know about sex clubs.
... It also does something else. Muise et al. (2020) employ a notion of 'sexual nostalgia' to explain how people deal with sexual dissatisfaction. They argue that being positively nostalgic about a previous partner can provide a form of sexual esteem and confidence during 'dry spells' of a lack of a partner or sexual dissatisfaction. ...
This chapter begins by framing sex clubs as a place of secrecy and discretion. It then begins to define what a sex club is, a potted history of sex clubs and their position within the law and planning permissions. The chapter then provides a short discussion of methodology, before moving on to provide information on who visits sex clubs, what their sexual preferences are and how we might think about sex clubs geographically. A number of key findings emerge from this chapter that include sex clubs are not simply places for swingers but are part of a more diverse range of erotic practices; it highlights how the majority of women visiting the club are likely to identify as bisexual or bi-curious; clubs are geographically located and clustered; it provides an understanding of the racial dynamics of those who attend clubs and begins to map out sexual practices with geographical locations. In summary, this chapter provides important background information behind sex clubs.
... It also does something else. Muise et al. (2020) employ a notion of 'sexual nostalgia' to explain how people deal with sexual dissatisfaction. They argue that being positively nostalgic about a previous partner can provide a form of sexual esteem and confidence during 'dry spells' of a lack of a partner or sexual dissatisfaction. ...
The chapter focuses on the racialization of black men within sex clubs. It begins by recognizing the ways that clubs promote thematized events. Such events create a way of promoting fantasies that may lead to the satiating of desires. The chapter moves from discussing the commodification and fetishization of the body to considering how it is practiced within clubs. It discusses the notion of the ‘Black Bull’ and how black bodies become naturalized as through an appeal to animality. It is argued that this animality is historically located in the notions of black slavery. The chapter then explores how white women utilize this racialized desirability as a form of erotic consumption. The chapter argues that the role of women in black men’s slavery provides the contours for how they consume and commodify black bodies within the club. The chapter then moves on to discuss cuckolding and hotwifing and the implications this has for white masculinity. The chapter concludes by highlighting the role of racialized sex nights in clubs as a source of pleasure and agency for the men involved.
... (See Kahneman 1999;Schwarz & Strack, 1999;Steptoe et al., 2015 for discussions.) How frequently and/or intensely people feel nostalgic may influence well-being (Muise et al., 2020;. Moreover, the influence of nostalgia proneness on well-being may vary depending on people's current life situation. ...
Nostalgia is a sentimental longing for the past that can influence people's well-being. How this mixed emotion influences well-being may depend on current life circumstances. Nostalgia elicited in negative contexts could be particularly harmful to people's well-being, whereas nostalgia elicited in positive contexts may not be as detrimental. This hypothesis was tested at the level of individual differences with a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 6,732) who completed measures of nostalgia proneness and several indicators of well-being. Income was measured as an objective indicator of current life circumstances. Results showed that nostalgia proneness was negatively related to well-being, and income was positively related to well-being. Importantly, these relationships were moderated such that the negative relationships between nostalgia and well-being were stronger among members of low income households than among members of high income households. Consistent with the hypothesis, nostalgia proneness was particularly detrimental to well-being under objectively less desirable circumstances. These findings support an emerging body of research that contends that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the context in which nostalgia is elicited.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11482-022-10066-8.
... Study 2). Muise et al. (2020) found that lowavoidance individuals recruited sexual nostalgia when they were single or unfulfilled in their current relationships, whereas high-avoidance individuals did not calibrate their sexual nostalgia based on their current fulfilment. Low-avoidance individuals, then, were more discerning in their use of sexual nostalgia, recruiting it as a compensatory strategy to restore feelings of connectedness and sexual confidence. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered and exacerbated psychological distress, and exposed psychological vulnerabilities, in large swathes of the population. Under challenging circumstances, nostalgia may convey tangible psychological and physical health benefits. We review recent evidence for nostalgia’s utility in vulnerable populations, including sojourners and immigrants, civil war refugees, people suffering bereavement, people facing a limited time horizon, and people living with dementia. Having raised the prospect of a positive role for nostalgia in responding to adversity, we next present findings from a series of randomised nostalgia interventions and their impact over time in the workplace, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and at university, respectively. We conclude by offering evidence-based recommendations for future interventions, highlighting the importance of optimal person-activity fit, diversity of content, and accessibility of delivery mechanisms.
... Finally, partners might turn to romantic nostalgia when feeling dissatisfied. Muise et al. (2020) reported that individuals nostalgize about sexual experiences in past relationships when their sexual needs in the current relationship are unmet. Although such sexual nostalgia does not seem to enhance (and may even hinder) sexual or relationship satisfaction, nostalgia for sex with one's current romantic partner may revitalize one's sexual life and enhance relational benefits. ...
Nostalgia is an emotion that confers psychological benefits. The literature has neglected romantic nostalgia—that is, nostalgia specifically for past experiences shared with one’s partner—and its potential advantages for relationships. We examined romantic nostalgia in one correlational study, two experiments, and one daily diary study (N = 638). Romantic nostalgia was positively associated with greater relationship commitment, satisfaction, and closeness (Study 1). Additionally, inducing romantic nostalgia via a writing task (Study 2) or music (Study 3) strengthened relational benefits. Finally, participants reported more positive relationship-specific experiences on days when they felt greater romantic nostalgia (Study 4). We discuss contributions to the nostalgia and relationships literatures.
... Typically, this will be a strong feeling of sexual arousal (Little & Byers, 2000). However, it can also include positive affect, such as nostalgia (Muise, Kim, Debrot, Impett, & MacDonald, 2020), or negative affect, such as guilt or disgust (Little & Byers, 2000). Attention may also be captured if a sexual thought reflects the current needs of a person (Rummel & Nied, 2017). ...
Sexual interest and sexual fantasy are intricately linked. The target of someone’s sexual interest (whether a person, object, or behaviour) is typically represented within the content of their sexual fantasies (Noorishad, Levaque, Byers, & Shaughnessy, 2019). As such, sexual fantasies provide a source of sexual arousal (Gee, Ward, & Eccleston, 2003). In addition, conditioning-based theories propose that the repeated pairing of sexual arousal (via masturbation) with a sexual fantasy can produce a sexual interest (Laws & Marshall, 1990; McGuire, Carlisle, & Young, 1964; Storms, 1981). While this is unlikely to be the case for broad categories of sexual orientation, it is conceivable that specific targets/behaviours can acquire erotic value via conditioning processes, especially considering the range of sexual interests, fetishes, and kinks that people report (Imhoff, Banse, & Schmidt, 2017; Smid & Wever, 2019).
It is crucial, therefore, to have a clear understanding of sexual fantasy. However, there is little to no theoretical work on the topic. Fortunately, a plethora of research exists, covering the content (Arndt, Foehl, & Good, 1985; Rokach, 1990), frequency (Harvey & Jeglic, 2020; Joyal, Cossette, & Lapierre, 2015), function (Davidson & Hoffman, 1986; Gee et al., 2003), and appraisal of sexual fantasies (Renaud & Byers, 2001), along with its link to other factors, such as personality (Baughman, Jonason, Veselka, & Vernon, 2014), attachment (Birnbaum, 2007), attitudes/beliefs (Zurbriggen & Yost, 2004), and corresponding behaviour (Bouchard, Dawson, & Lalumière, 2017; Noorishad et al., 2019). In addition, there is a vast literature base on mental imagery and episodic simulation that provides valuable insight into human thought. Synthesising key aspects of this literature, we recently developed a theoretical account of sexual thoughts and fantasising termed the Dual-Process Model of Sexual Thinking (DPM-ST). This theory was first presented at professional conferences (Bartels, Beech, & Harkins, 2014), before being outlined in a book chapter on theories of deviant sexual fantasy (Bartels & Beech, 2016). In the present chapter, we provide a more focused and updated account of the DPM-ST.
... For example, in a recent experience sampling study of employees, momentary states of nostalgia were not significantly related to momentary states of positive affect (van Dijke et al., 2019). Our findings also dovetail nicely with those reported by Muise et al. (2020) who measured daily states of sexual nostalgia, defined as reflections of positive sexual experiences with former romantic partners. They found that people were more likely to engage in sexual nostalgic thoughts on days when they were less satisfied with their current romantic relationship and that individual differences in sexual ...
Research has suggested that nostalgia is a mixed, albeit predominantly positive emotion. One proposed function of nostalgia is to attenuate the negative consequences of loneliness. This restorative effect of nostalgia, however, has been demonstrated with cross sectional and experimental methods that lack ecological validity. In studies that have measured nostalgia in daily life, however, nostalgia has been negatively related to well-being. We propose an alternative theory that posits that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the event or experience that elicits nostalgia. We tested this theory by measuring daily states of nostalgia, loneliness, and affect across five daily diary studies (N = 504; 6,004 daily reports) that lasted for 14 days. Using multilevel modeling, we found that nostalgia and loneliness were negatively related to positive affect and positively related to negative affect. The negative effects of nostalgia on affective well-being were significantly stronger on days when people felt more lonely as opposed to less lonely. Viewed alternatively, the negative effects of loneliness on affective well-being were stronger on days when people felt more vs. less nostalgic. Thus, in contrast to experimental findings, nostalgia did not attenuate, but rather exaggerated the negative effects of loneliness on affective well-being. These findings support a theoretical account that proposes that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the natural context in which nostalgia is elicited.
Although romantic chemistry is often referred to in popular culture in Western societies, usually to describe an intense connection between two people, it has received limited attention in academic research. One limitation in previous research and a barrier to future research is the lack of a comprehensive definition of romantic chemistry. In the current study (N = 200 single and partnered people [88 women, 110 men, 2 non-binary participants], age range = 21–76), we examined the common categories in laypeople’s definitions of romantic chemistry and assessed if people differed in how they described romantic chemistry based on demographic factors (i.e., gender, relationship status, relationship length, age, parental status). Two coders conducted a content analysis of participants’ open-ended definitions of romantic chemistry using an inductive coding strategy. We found that people described romantic chemistry using nine distinct categories (from most to least common): positive interaction, mutuality, comfort, compatibility, similarity, unexplainable spark, sexual attraction, intense fixation, and physiological response. Largely, participants did not differ in how they defined romantic chemistry based on demographic factors. Our findings provide a comprehensive description of romantic chemistry that can assist the development of a measure of romantic chemistry and ultimately test the role of perceived chemistry in relationship initiation and maintenance.
The aim of the current research was to meta-analyze the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral patterns of couple therapy on the components of performance and sexual satisfaction of couples in Iranian society. The sample of studies used included 20 studies conducted from 2005 to 2021 across Iran, which included 547 participants. took The resulting data were meta-analyzed with the standardized mean difference effect size method (Cohen's d) for the fixed effects model. The findings showed that the average effect size of the studied studies is 1.8, which were significant at the p<0.05 level. Also, the results showed that the largest effect size is related to the research of Saraei et al. (2018), which is equal to 5.3
In this final chapter, the key themes of the book are drawn together. It begins by summarizing how sex clubs are part of a broader process of capitalism and its pursuit of capitalist realization. It also highlights ways that class representations may differ from the lived experience of the club. The chapter takes up its final theme of exploring the space between heteronormativity and heteroerotics. Finally, the chapter concludes by suggesting that although sex clubs may promote particular fantasies, such fantasies are rooted in the everyday banal. Just as the lights coming on at the end of the night shows up the reality of the artificial reality of the club, it suggests that the everyday shines a light on the limits of conventional sexual intimacies.
Aim and Background: Affective-sexual needs are as important motivational forces that have a vital role in the stability and enhancing of quality of marital life. Then the main goal of the current research was the comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) approaches on enhancing affective-sexual needs among Nonclinical Couples in Bandar Abbas city, Iran.
Methods and Materials: The research design was semi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and follow up. The statistical population of this study includes of nonclinical couples that participated in the training course about life skills and cyberspace. 48 subjects were selected through a convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of interventions, CBCT and ACT, and one control group. Each couple in intervention groups received 12 sessions and 90 minutes of therapy. Affective-Sexual Needs of Iranian Couples scale (2020) used for gathering data and analysis of variance with repeated measures tests used for analyzing data by using SPSS 19 software.
Findings: The result showed that both CBCT and ACT interventions were effective to enhance affective-sexual couple's needs. Moreover, comparing the effectiveness of CBCT and ACT approaches showed that the ACT approach was more effective in enhancing of three dimensions of affective-sexual couple's needs include avoiding discouraging behaviors, affection-sexual needs, physical-sexual needs.
Conclusions: It seems the implementation of CBCT and ACT interventions are useful for enhancing affective-sexual couple's needs. This could influence other dimensions of marital life such as marital satisfaction and marital quality.
Recent research on relationship nostalgia, a sentimental longing for the past of one's romantic relationship, has shown to improve commitment, which should protect against infidelity intentions. However, previous research has shown that more insecurely attached persons do not reap the same benefits from the emotion of nostalgia. The current work introduced the concept of relationship nostalgia preference (i.e., the extent to which people would like displays of nostalgia from their romantic partners [e.g., feeling safe and secure like in earlier parts of the relationship]). In Study 1, nostalgia preference's associations with attachment style and relationship quality (satisfaction, etc.) were tested, revealing negative correlations with attachment avoidance and positive correlations with relationship quality. In Study 2, a conditional process model exhibited how avoidant attachment predicted lower nostalgia preference (replicating Study 1), which was related to reduced commitment. Commitment reduction, in turn, predicted higher attitudes toward infidelity and intentions to commit infidelity. Overall, when people are more avoidantly attached, they like relationship nostalgia less, which has downstream negative consequences for their partnerships.
People often reflect nostalgically on the momentous occasions of their relationships. Experiencing romantic nostalgia—nostalgia for shared experiences with one's current romantic partner—likely confers relationship-specific benefits. Indeed, prior research indirectly hints at this assumed outcome by looking at relationship narratives. More recent work provides direct evidence that romantic nostalgia is both positively correlated with and causally enhances relationship-specific benefits. We describe such research and discuss avenues for future investigations that address mechanisms and potential downsides of romantic nostalgia while exploring translational possibilities.
Loneliness is a broad concept which is closely related to relationship satisfaction, as it refers to distress about and motivation to rectify dissatisfaction with one’s relationships (Heinrich & Gullone, 2006). This can include both dissatisfaction with an ongoing relationship and dissatisfaction with not having a relationship/enough relationships (DiTommaso et al., 2004; Lehmann et al., 2015). Attachment theory has been influential to the study of loneliness since Weiss (1973) first used the theory to differentiate loneliness into personal intimacy issues (analogous to separation distress) and group integration issues (identifying, fitting in, and being involved with a group). Later, Shaver and Hazan (1987) advocated for the study of adult romantic love and loneliness from the perspective of attachment, caregiving, and sexual behavioral systems. Cassidy and Berlin (1999) also advocated for the study of children’s social loneliness from the perspective of attachment. As such, both loneliness and attachment have been studied across types of relationships and stages of the lifespan, and loneliness research would benefit from greater integration of attachment theory.
Aim and Background: Affective-sexual needs are as important motivational forces that have a vital role in the stability and enhancing of quality of marital life. Then the main goal of the current research was the comparison of the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) approaches on enhancing affective-sexual needs among Nonclinical Couples in Bandar Abbas city, Iran. Methods and Materials: The research design was semi-experimental design with pretest, posttest, and follow up. The statistical population of this study includes of nonclinical couples that participated in the training course about life skills and cyberspace. 48 subjects were selected through a convenient sampling method and randomly assigned to two groups of interventions, CBCT and ACT, and one control group. Each couple in intervention groups received 12 sessions and 90 minutes of therapy. Affective-Sexual Needs of Iranian Couples scale (2020) used for gathering data and analysis of variance with repeated measures tests used for analyzing data by using SPSS 19 software. Findings: The result showed that both CBCT and ACT interventions were effective to enhance affective-sexual couple's needs. Moreover, comparing the effectiveness of CBCT and ACT approaches showed that the ACT approach was more effective in enhancing of three dimensions of affective-sexual couple's needs include avoiding discouraging behaviors, affection-sexual needs, physical-sexual needs. Conclusions: It seems the implementation of CBCT and ACT interventions are useful for enhancing affective-sexual couple's needs. This could influence other dimensions of marital life such as marital satisfaction and marital quality.
Nostalgia is a mixed emotion. Recent empirical research, however, has highlighted positive effects of nostalgia, suggesting it is a predominantly positive emotion. When measured as an individual difference, nostalgia-prone individuals report greater meaning in life and approach temperament. When manipulated in an experimental paradigm, nostalgia increases meaning in life, self-esteem, optimism, and positive affect. These positive effects may result from the specific experimental procedures used and little is known about daily experiences that covary with nostalgia. To address this gap, we aimed to measure nostalgia in ecologically valid contexts. We created and validated the Personal Inventory of Nostalgic Experiences (PINE) scale (Studies 1a–1d) to assess both trait and state-based nostalgic experiences. When measured as an individual difference, the nomological net was generally negative (Study 2). When measured in daily life (Studies 3 and 4), nostalgia as a state variable was negatively related to well-being. Lagged analyses showed that state nostalgia had mixed effects on well-being at a later moment that day and negative effects on well-being on the following day. To reconcile the discrepancies between these studies and the positive effects of nostalgia from previous research, we showed that experimentally induced nostalgic recollections were rated more positively and less negatively than daily experiences of nostalgia (Study 5). These studies show that nostalgia is a mixed emotion; although it may be predominantly positive when nostalgic memories are generated on request, it seems predominantly negative when nostalgia is experienced in the course of everyday life.
In the early stages of romantic relationships, sexual desire is often intense, but over time, as partners get to know each other, desire tends to decline. Low sexual desire has negative implications for relationship satisfaction and maintenance. Self-expansion theory suggests that engaging in novel activities with a long-term romantic partner can reignite feelings of passion from the early stages of a relationship. Across 3 studies using dyadic, daily experience, longitudinal, and experimental methods, we find evidence for our central prediction that engaging in self-expanding activities with a partner is associated with higher sexual desire. In turn, we found that higher desire fueled by self-expansion is associated with greater relationship satisfaction. Self-expansion, through sexual desire, is also associated with an increased likelihood that couples will engage in sex, and when they do engage in sex, they feel more satisfied with their sexual experiences. We also demonstrate that the benefits of self-expansion for relationship satisfaction are sustained over time, and that the effects cannot be attributed solely to increases in positive affect, time spent interacting with the partner or closeness during the activity. Implications for self-expansion theory and sexual desire maintenance in relationships are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Sexual desire between romantic partners tends to decrease over time. A decrease in frequency of dyadic fantasies and an increase in frequency of extradyadic fantasies are typical manifestations of this process. The present diary study adopted an attachment-theoretical perspective to better understand why some people are less likely to fantasize about their partners. Both members of 100 romantic couples completed measures of relationship-specific insecurities, partner responsiveness, and frequency of sexual fantasies every evening for 42 days. Results showed that attachment insecurities were associated with lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Partner responsiveness mediated these associations, such that attachment insecurities were associated with perceiving partners as less responsive, which, in turn, predicted lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Men’s avoidance predicted higher frequency of extradyadic fantasies. These findings demonstrated the role of responsiveness in sustaining desire, suggesting that attachment insecurities bias people to perceive their partner as less responsive, thereby hampering sexual desire.
Romantic pursuit decisions often require a person to risk one of the two errors: pursuing a romantic target when interest is not reciprocated (resulting in rejection) or failing to pursue a romantic target when interest is reciprocated (resulting in a missed romantic opportunity). In the present research, we examined how strongly people wish to avoid these two competing negative outcomes. When asked to recall a regrettable dating experience, participants were more than three times as likely to recall a missed opportunity rather than a rejection (Study 1). When presented with romantic pursuit dilemmas, participants perceived missed opportunities to be more regrettable than rejection (Studies 2–4), partially because they perceived missed opportunities to be more consequential to their lives (Studies 3 and 4). Participants were also more willing to risk rejection rather than missed romantic opportunities in the context of imagined (Study 4) and actual (Study 5) pursuit decisions. These effects generally extended even to less secure individuals (low self-esteem, high attachment anxiety). Overall, these studies suggest that motivation to avoid missed romantic opportunities may help to explain how people overcome fears of rejection in the pursuit of potential romantic partners.
Traditionally, nostalgia has been conceptualized as a medical disease and a psychiatric disorder. Instead, we argue that nostalgia is a predominantly positive, self-relevant, and social emotion serving key psychological functions. Nostalgic narratives reflect more positive than negative affect, feature the self as the protagonist, and are embedded in a social context. Nostalgia is triggered by dysphoric states such as negative mood and loneliness. Finally, nostalgia generates positive affect, increases self-esteem, fosters social connectedness, and alleviates existential threat.
Our model outlines the cognitive operations, response strategies, and dynamics of the attachment system in adulthood. It also describes the goals of each attachment strategy and their psychological manifestations and consequences. Whereas the goals of security-based strategies are to form intimate relationships, to build a person's psychological resources, and to broaden his or her perspectives and capacities, the goal of secondary attachment strategies is to manage attachment-system activation and reduce or eliminate the pain caused by frustrated proximity-seeking attempts. Hyperactivating strategies keep the person focused on the search for love and security, and constantly on the alert for threats, separations, and betrayals. Deactivating strategies keep the attachment system in check, with serious consequences for cognitive and emotional openness. This framework serves as our "working model" for understanding the activation and functioning of the attachment system in adulthood. It also provides a framework for reviewing our research findings, which is the mission of the next section.
Is it true that engaging in more frequent sex is associated with greater well-being? The media emphasizes—and research supports—the claim that the more sex you have, the happier you will feel. Across three studies (N = 30,645), we demonstrate that the association between sexual frequency and well-being is best described by a curvilinear (as opposed to a linear) association where sex is no longer associated with well-being at a frequency of more than once a week. In Study 1, the association between sexual frequency and well-being is only significant for people in relationships. In Studies 2 and 3, which included only people in relationships, sexual frequency had a curvilinear association with relationship satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction mediated the association between sexual frequency and well-being. For people in relationships, sexual frequency is no longer significantly associated with well-being at a frequency greater than once a week.
Previous research has shown that nostalgia is a highly social emotion that provides a sense of social connectedness. In the present research, we tested a social motivational function of nostalgia. Specifically, across 7 studies we found converging evidence that nostalgia mobilizes social goals. In Study 1, nostalgia increased the importance people assigned to relationship goals and how optimistic they felt about achieving these goals. In Study 2, nostalgia increased intentions to pursue goals of connecting with friends. In Study 3, experimentally-induced pessimism about achieving relationship goals instigated nostalgia. In Study 4, we found evidence that it is the interpersonal nature of nostalgia that is associated with striving to connect with others. Specifically, nostalgia about aspects of the past that were high in sociality was associated with intentions to interact with others, whereas nostalgia for aspects of the past that were low in sociality was not. In Study 5, nostalgic reflection increased friendship-approach goal striving relative to reflecting on ordinary social memories, but did not increase friendship-avoidant goal striving. Finally, in Studies 6 and 7, we found evidence that social-efficacy mediated the effect of nostalgia on striving to connect with others and striving to overcome interpersonal challenges. Together, these findings establish nostalgia as catalyst for social goal pursuit and growth.
Sex is a fundamental aspect of many adult attachment relationships. Sexual urges and emotional attachments, however, are not necessarily connected. For example, sexual acts often occur outside the context of romantic relationships (e.g., one-night stands, short-term extradyadic copulations), and as such, they may be devoid of affectional bonding and be used for relationship-irrelevant reasons (e.g., physical gratification, self-enhancement, stress relief). Moreover, affectional bonding between adults does not always entail sexual desire or sexual acts, as in the case of long-term partners who have lost sexual desire for each other and ceased having sex but are still deeply attached to each other. These examples align with the view that sexual mating and attachment are governed by separate motivational systems; that is, the processes underlying sexual desire and affectional bonding are functionally distinct (motivating reproductive acts, maintaining proximity to a caregiver, respectively; Bowlby, 1982; Diamond, 2013; Fisher, 1998; Fisher, Aron, Mashek, Li, & Brown, 2002).
Nevertheless, joint involvement of the sexual and attachment systems is typical of ongoing romantic relationships in which intimates function as both attachment figures and sexual partners (Birnbaum, 2010; Hazan & Zeifman, 1994). Thus, within the context of romantic relationships, these two behavioral systems mutually influence each other and operate together to affect relationship quality and longevity (Birnbaum, 2010, 2014). In this chapter, I review published evidence that points to a reciprocal relationship between these two systems. I first provide an overview of the contribution of attachment orientations to the appraisal of sexual interactions in adolescence and adulthood, and to our understanding the sex-relationship linkage. In doing so, I discuss the subordination of the sexual system to attachment processes under relationship-threatening circumstances. I then consider the reverse causal direction, focusing on the role of sex as a promoter of emotional bonds. I conclude by presenting the relationship stage model of sexual desire and suggesting directions for future research on the dual potential of sexual desire for both relationship promotion and deterioration.
The current research used two 8-wave longitudinal studies spanning the first 4–5 years of 207 marriages to examine the potential bidirectional associations among marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and frequency of sex. All three variables declined over time, though the rate of decline in each variable became increasingly less steep. Controlling for these changes, own marital and sexual satisfaction were bidirectionally positively associated with one another; higher levels of marital satisfaction at one wave of assessment predicted more positive changes in sexual satisfaction from that assessment to the next and higher levels of sexual satisfaction at one wave of assessment predicted more positive changes in marital satisfaction from that assessment to the next. Likewise, own sexual satisfaction and frequency of sex were bidirectionally positively associated with one another. Additionally, partner sexual satisfaction positively predicted changes in frequency of sex and own sexual satisfaction among husbands, yet partner marital satisfaction negatively predicted changes in both frequency of sex and own sexual satisfaction. Controlling these associations, marital satisfaction did not directly predict changes in frequency of sex or vice versa. Only the association between partner sexual satisfaction and changes in own sexual satisfaction varied across men and women and none of the key effects varied across the studies. These findings suggest that sexual and relationship satisfaction are intricately intertwined and thus that interventions to treat and prevent marital distress may benefit by targeting the sexual relationship and interventions to treat and prevent sexual distress in marriage may benefit by targeting the marital relationship.
Seven studies reveal that nostalgia, a sentimental affection for the past, offers a window to the intrinsic self-concept-who people think they truly are. In Study 1, state nostalgia was associated with higher authenticity and lower extrinsic self-focus (concern with meeting extrinsic value standards). In Study 2, experimentally primed nostalgia increased perceived authenticity of the past self, which in turn predicted reduced current extrinsic self-focus. Study 3 showed that nostalgia increased the accessibility of the intrinsic self-concept but not the everyday self-concept. Study 4 provided evidence for a moderator suggested by our theoretical analysis: Recalling a nostalgic event increased felt nostalgia and positive affect, but this effect was attenuated if participants were prompted to recognize external factors controlling their behavior during that event. Next we treated nostalgia as an outcome variable and a moderator to test whether nostalgia is triggered by, and buffers against, threats to the intrinsic self. Using a mediation approach, Study 5 showed that participants primed to feel blocked in intrinsic self-expression responded with increased nostalgia. In Study 6, intrinsic self-threat reduced intrinsic self-expression and subjective well-being for participants who were not given an opportunity to respond with nostalgia but not for participants who were allowed to reflect on a nostalgic memory. In line with the experimental findings, correlational data from Study 7 indicated that dispositional nostalgia positively predicted intrinsic self-expression and well-being. Understanding nostalgia as a window to the intrinsic self points to new directions for research on nostalgia's antecedents, moderators, and consequences for well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
The current research tested whether attachment-related avoidance interacts with nostalgia to predict individuals’ orientation towards romantic relationships. In Study 1, participants were in a relationship, and in Study 2, participants were single. In both studies, attachment-related avoidance and anxiety were measured and participants were assigned to a nostalgia or control induction. Subsequently, participants indicated their relationship satisfaction (Study 1) or desire to pursue a romantic relationship (Study 2). Results revealed that there was a negative relationship between attachment-related avoidance and high levels of relationship satisfaction (Study 1) and relationship desire (Study 2) in the nostalgia condition, but not in the control condition. These findings build upon previous research on attachment and nostalgia to suggest that attachment-related avoidance greatly influences how nostalgia affects romantic relationship-oriented outcomes. Nostalgia appears to orient low avoidant individuals towards relationships and high avoidant individuals away from relationships.
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 alternatives. Longitudinal declines in relationship quality predicted increased longing for ex-partners, above and beyond attention to relationship 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.
Traditionally, nostalgia has been conceptualized as a medical disease and a psychiatric disorder. Instead, we argue that nostalgia is a predominantly positive, self-relevant, and social emotion serving key psychological functions. Nostalgic narratives reflect more positive than negative affect, feature the self as the protagonist, and are embedded in a social context. Nostalgia is triggered by dysphoric states such as negative mood and loneliness. Finally, nostalgia generates positive affect, increases self-esteem, fosters social connectedness, and alleviates existential threat.
Attachment and sexual mating are distinct behavioral systems that serve different evolutionary functions. Although their behavioral manifestations may occur in isolation, romantic partners typically function simultaneously as sexual partners and as attachment figures. In recent years, researchers have focused their attention on the complex interplay between attachment processes and the sexual aspects of romantic love. In this manuscript, I review research that demonstrates the reciprocal relationship between these two systems. I also present new findings concerning whether and how reactions characteristic of the sexual system serve attachment-related goals, primarily in situations that call for distress regulation, and how these reactions are moderated by attachment insecurities. The research conducted to date points to the need for us to understand how the attachment and sexual systems mutually influence each other at different stages of relationship development.
We examine whether lower expectations for social reward selectively applied to high intimacy contexts may help avoidantly attached individuals minimize distress from reward loss. Studies 1, 2, and 4 demonstrated that avoidant attachment was negatively associated with perceived intimacy potential in relationships involving approach of closeness (current/future partners), but not for relationships less associated with approach of closeness (ex-partners). Studies 3 and 5 manipulated the potential for intimacy among dating prospects. Avoidant attachment was negatively associated with romantic interest in high intimacy targets but not low intimacy targets. This effect was mediated by perceived responsiveness. Studies 4 and 5 rule out perceived dissimilarity to responsive targets as a mechanism. Study 6 demonstrated that avoidants' lower expectations for connection are associated with less anticipated distress from reward loss. These results suggest that avoidant individuals may circumvent attachment system activation by perceiving lower opportunity for connection when there is potential for intimacy.
This study investigated 3 broad classes of individual-differences variables (job-search motives, competencies, and constraints) as predictors of job-search intensity among 292 unemployed job seekers. Also assessed was the relationship between job-search intensity and reemployment success in a longitudinal context. Results show significant relationships between the predictors employment commitment, financial hardship, job-search self-efficacy, and motivation control and the outcome job-search intensity. Support was not found for a relationship between perceived job-search constraints and job-search intensity. Motivation control was highlighted as the only lagged predictor of job-search intensity over time for those who were continuously unemployed. Job-search intensity predicted Time 2 reemployment status for the sample as a whole, but not reemployment quality for those who found jobs over the study's duration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined how adult attachment styles moderate spontaneous behavior between dating couples when 1 member of the dyad is confronted with an anxiety-provoking situation. 83 dating couples were unobtrusively videotaped for 5 min in a waiting room while the woman waited to participate in an "activity" known to provoke anxiety in most people. Independent observers then evaluated each partner's behavior on several dimensions. Results revealed that persons with more secure attachment styles behaved differently than persons with more avoidant styles in terms of physical contact, supportive comments, and efforts to seek and give emotional support. Findings are discussed in the context of theory and research on attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two studies examined the associations between attachment orientations and sexual fantasies. In Study 1, 176 participants completed a sexual fantasy checklist. The findings indicated that attachment anxiety was associated with frequent sexual fantasizing (e.g., submission themes). More anxiously attached women were particularly likely to report extrapair fantasies, whereas more anxiously attached men were especially likely to report romantic fantasies. Attachment avoidance was negatively associated with romantic themes, primarily among men. In Study 2, 115 participants described a sexual fantasy in narrative form. Findings paralleled those of Study 1, with the exception that the avoidant effects were more pronounced in women’s sexual fantasies than in men’s. Implications for understanding the interplay of the attachment and sexual behavior systems are discussed.
According to terror management theory, people turn to meaning-providing structures to cope with the knowledge of inevitable mortality. Recent theory and research suggest that nostalgia is a meaning-providing resource and thus may serve such an existential function. The current research tests and supports this idea. In Experiments 1 and 2, nostalgia proneness was measured and mortality salience manipulated. In Experiment 1, when mortality was salient, the more prone to nostalgia participants were, the more they perceived life to be meaningful. In Experiment 2, when mortality was salient, the more prone to nostalgia participants were, the less death thoughts were accessible. In Experiment 3, nostalgia and mortality salience were manipulated. It was found that nostalgia buffered the effects of mortality salience on death-thought accessibility.
In this study, the authors examined the contribution of attachment orientations to the content of daily sexual fantasies. The two partners of 48 couples independently reported on their attachment orientations and provided daily reports on relationship interactions and sexual fantasies for a period of 21 days. Results showed that attachment anxiety was associated with wishes for intimacy and representations of others as more affectionate in sexual fantasies. Conversely, avoidant attachment was associated with avoidance-related wishes and representations of the self and others as more aggressive and alienated. Negative couple interactions increased habitual attachment-related wishes and self-representations. Specifically, during days characterized by negative couple interactions (relationship-damaging behaviors), attachment anxiety was associated with portrayal of the self as more helpless and avoidant attachment was associated with the expression of more avoidant wishes and portrayal of the self as less helpless. The discussion focuses on the manifestations of attachment-related interpersonal goals in sexual fantasies.
Individuals who are low (compared with high) in attachment-related avoidance rely on social bonds to regulate distress, and the authors hypothesized that nostalgia can be a repository of such social connectedness. Studies 1-3 showed a positive association between loneliness and nostalgia when attachment-related avoidance was low, but not when it was high. Study 4 revealed that low-avoidance individuals derived more social connectedness from nostalgia than did high-avoidance individuals. Study 5 extended these findings and demonstrated that, in addition to being a source of social connectedness, nostalgia increased participants' perceived capacity to provide emotional support to others. As in the case of social connectedness, this beneficial effect of nostalgia was significantly stronger when attachment-related avoidance was low (compared with high).
The present research demonstrates that focusing on someone new may help anxiously attached individuals overcome attachment to an ex-romantic partner, suggesting one possible motive behind so-called rebound relationships. A correlational study revealed that the previously demonstrated link between anxious attachment and longing for an ex-partner was disrupted when anxiously attached individuals had new romantic partners. Two experiments demonstrated that this detachment from an ex can be induced by randomly assigning anxiously attached individuals to believe they will easily find a new partner (through bogus feedback in Study 2 and an ease of retrieval task in Study 3). This research suggests that for anxiously attached individuals, focusing on someone new can be an adaptive part of the breakup recovery process.
Four studies tested whether nostalgia can counteract reductions in perceived social support caused by loneliness. Loneliness reduced perceptions of social support but increased nostalgia. Nostalgia, in turn, increased perceptions of social support. Thus, loneliness affected perceived social support in two distinct ways. Whereas the direct effect of loneliness was to reduce perceived social support, the indirect effect of loneliness was to increase perceived social support via nostalgia. This restorative function of nostalgia was particularly apparent among resilient persons. Nostalgia is a psychological resource that protects and fosters mental health.
An historical sketch of the manner in which evidence has accumulated showing the ill effects of separation, loss, and maternal deprivation during the early years, and of how, in the light of this evidence, a new conceptual framework, often referred to as attachment theory, has been formulated for understanding personality development and psychopathology.
A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.
This article reviews the research literature on sexual fantasy, a central aspect of human sexual behavior. Topics include (a) gender similarities and differences in the incidence, frequency, and content of sexual fantasies and how they relate to sociocultural and sociobiological theories of sexual behavior; (b) the association between frequency or content of sexual fantasies and variables such as age, sexual adjustment and satisfaction, guilt, sexual orientation, personality, and sexual experience; and (c) "deviant" sexual fantasies (i.e., what they are, whether they play a role in the commission of sexual crimes, and whether they can be modified). The article ends with a summary of major findings and suggestions for future research.
Self-report measures of adult attachment are typically scored in ways (e.g., averaging or summing items) that can lead to erroneous inferences about important theoretical issues, such as the degree of continuity in attachment security and the differential stability of insecure attachment patterns. To determine whether existing attachment scales suffer from scaling problems, the authors conducted an item response theory (IRT) analysis of 4 commonly used self-report inventories: Experiences in Close Relationships scales (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998), Adult Attachment Scales (N. L. Collins & S. J. Read, 1990), Relationship Styles Questionnaire (D. W. Griffin & K. Bartholomew, 1994) and J. Simpson's (1990) attachment scales. Data from 1,085 individuals were analyzed using F. Samejima's (1969) graded response model. The authors' findings indicate that commonly used attachment scales can be improved in a number of important ways. Accordingly, the authors show how IRT techniques can be used to develop new attachment scales with desirable psychometric properties.
This study used an attachment theoretical framework to investigate support-seeking and caregiving processes in intimate relationships. Dating couples (N = 93) were videotaped while one member of the couple (support seeker) disclosed a personal problem to his or her partner (caregiver). Results indicated that when support seekers rated their problem as more stressful, they engaged in more direct support-seeking behavior, which led their partners to respond with more helpful forms of caregiving. Responsive caregiving then led seekers to feel cared for and to experience improved mood. Evidence for individual differences was also obtained: Avoidant attachment predicted ineffective support seeking, and anxious attachment predicted poor caregiving. Finally, couples in better functioning relationships engaged in more supportive interactions, and participants' perceptions of their interaction were biased by relationship quality and attachment style.
This article presents the results of a telephone survey regarding the conjugal and sex life of men and women from the Montreal region. Surprising as it may seem, the relationship between sexual and marital functioning within the couple has been the focus of little study to date. In fact, relatively little is known about the relationship among sexual behavior, sexual attitudes, sexual fantasies, and marital functioning. In this survey, a questionnaire covering these four variables was administered to 996 subjects chosen at random. The results indicate that women seem to have a more positive perception of their sexual behavior, whereas men seem to have a more positive perception of their marital life. Multiple regression analyses were run to examine the relationship between marital functioning and items related to sexual functioning. The links between sexual satisfaction and other items of the questionnaire concerning sexual behavior, sexual attitudes, and sexual fantasies were also analyzed. For this purpose, we subdivided the subjects into two age groups (under 60 and 60 and over) based on the loss of interest in sexual activity that the questionnaire allowed to discern in the 60+ group. The relationship between marital functioning and items related to sexual behavior proved statistically significant. Various items pertaining to sexual functioning also proved to be related to a global assessment of sexual satisfaction. Cognitive variables (sexual attitudes and sexual fantasies) were found to influence sexual satisfaction but had a lesser impact on marital functioning. Gender and age (under 60 or 60 and over) also had an effect on these relationships.
The variation of sexual motivation with duration of partnership is analyzed in data from a survey of German students. The sample of 1865 includes only students aged 19-32 who reported to be heterosexual and to live in a steady partnership. Main results are (1) sexual activity and sexual satisfaction decline in women and men as the duration of partnership increases; (2) sexual desire only declines in women; and (3) desire for tenderness declines in men and rises in women. Because these results are based on cross-sectional data, a longitudinal explanation is precarious. Individual differences in mating strategy associated with the probability of having a partnership of shorter or longer duration at the time of the survey may account for some part of the findings. This possibility set aside, post hoc explanations for the results as reflecting a modal time course of partnership are evaluated with regard to habituation, routine, gender role prescriptions, and polarization of roles. In addition, an explanation from evolutionary psychology is offered, entailing the following ideas: the psychological mechanisms of attachment in an adult pair bond have evolved from the parent-child bond. Due to this nonsexual origin, a stable pair-bond does not require high levels of sexual desire, after an initial phase of infatuation has passed. Nevertheless, male sexual desire should stay at a high level because it was selected for in evolutionary history as a precaution against the risk of sperm competition. The course of female sexual desire is assumed to reflect an adaptive function: to boost attachment in order to establish the bond.
In diary studies, people provide frequent reports on the events and experiences of their daily lives. These reports capture the particulars of experience in a way that is not possible using traditional designs. We review the types of research questions that diary methods are best equipped to answer, the main designs that can be used, current technology for obtaining diary reports, and appropriate data analysis strategies. Major recent developments include the use of electronic forms of data collection and multilevel models in data analysis. We identify several areas of research opportunities: 1. in technology, combining electronic diary reports with collateral measures such as ambulatory heart rate; 2. in measurement, switching from measures based on between-person differences to those based on within-person changes; and 3. in research questions, using diaries to (a) explain why people differ in variability rather than mean level, (b) study change processes during major events and transitions, and (c) study interpersonal processes using dyadic and group diary methods.
Seven methodologically diverse studies addressed 3 fundamental questions about nostalgia. Studies 1 and 2 examined the content of nostalgic experiences. Descriptions of nostalgic experiences typically featured the self as a protagonist in interactions with close others (e.g., friends) or in momentous events (e.g., weddings). Also, the descriptions contained more expressions of positive than negative affect and often depicted the redemption of negative life scenes by subsequent triumphs. Studies 3 and 4 examined triggers of nostalgia and revealed that nostalgia occurs in response to negative mood and the discrete affective state of loneliness. Studies 5, 6, and 7 investigated the functional utility of nostalgia and established that nostalgia bolsters social bonds, increases positive self-regard, and generates positive affect. These findings demarcate key landmarks in the hitherto uncharted research domain of nostalgia.
How can we get the most out of our close relationships? Research in the area of personal relationships continues to grow, but most prior work has emphasized how to overcome negative aspects. This volume demonstrates that a good relationship is more than simply the absence of a bad relationship, and that establishing and maintaining optimal relationships entails enacting a set of processes that are distinct from merely avoiding negative or harmful behaviors. Drawing on recent relationship science to explore issues such as intimacy, attachment, passion, sacrifice, and compassionate goals, the essays in this volume emphasize the positive features that allow relationships to flourish. In doing so, they integrate several theoretical perspectives, concepts, and mechanisms that produce optimal relationships. The volume also includes a section on intensive and abbreviated interventions that have been empirically validated to be effective in promoting the positive features of close relationships.
Although academic and popular interest in consensual non-monogamy (CNM) is increasing, little is known about the prevalence of CNM. Using two separate nationally representative samples of single adults in the U.S. (Study 1: n = 3905; Study 2: n = 4813), the present studies find that more than one in five (21.9% in Study 1; 21.2% in Study 2) participants report engaging in CNM at some point in their lifetime. This proportion remained constant across age, education level, income, religion, region, political affiliation, and race, but varied with gender and sexual orientation. Specifically, men (compared to women) and people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (compared to those who identify as heterosexual) were more likely to report previous engagement in CNM. These findings suggest that a sizable and diverse proportion of U.S. adults have experienced CNM, highlighting the need to incorporate CNM into theoretical and empirical therapy and family science work.
Despite a large body of empirical literature on sexual satisfaction, its development over the course of a relationship is still unclear. Only a small number of studies, most of which have relied on cross-sectional data of convenience samples, have explicitly focused on relationship duration, and empirical evidence is mixed. We analyzed how sexual satisfaction changes over the course of a relationship using three waves of the German Family Panel study (pairfam). We concentrated our analyses on young and middle-aged heterosexual individuals in committed relationships (N = 2,814) and applied fixed effects regression models, which have the advantage of estimations based on changes within individuals over time. We found a positive development of sexual satisfaction in the first year of a relationship, followed by a steady decline. This pattern persisted even when controlling for the frequency of intercourse, although the effects were, in part, mediated by intercourse frequency. We explained the non-linear effect of relationship duration on sexual satisfaction with an initial learning effect regarding partner-specific sexual skills, which is then outweighed by a decline in passion at later stages of a relationship. Moreover, we found significant effects for the control variables of health status, intimacy in couple communication, and conflict style, as expected. In contrast to past research, however, cohabitation and marriage were not found to play a role for sexual satisfaction in our data. Further research is required to deepen the understanding of the reasons why sexual satisfaction changes with relationship duration.
A scale to assess continuing affectional bonds, or attachment, in divorce is described. In a sample of suburban Cleveland men and women going through divorce, 86% indicate some signs of attachment to their ex-spouses. Greater feelings of attachment are likely when the decision to divorce was recently decided upon and when the spouse asked for the divorce. Feelings of attachment are less affected by resources and social supports than is subjective distress. While attachment and subjective distress are both associated with some of the changes produced by divorce, partial correlations indicate that attachment is the primary cause of the subjective distress experienced by the divorced.
Research on divorce during the past decade has focused on a range of topics, including the predictors of divorce, associations between divorce and the well-being of children and former spouses, and interventions for divorcing couples. Methodological advances during the past decade include a greater reliance on nationally representative longitudinal samples, genetically informed designs, and statistical models that control for time-invariant sources of unobserved heterogeneity. Emerging perspectives, such as a focus on the number of family transitions rather than on divorce as a single event, are promising. Nevertheless, gaps remain in the research literature, and the review concludes with suggestions for new studies.
Gender differences in the proportion of sexual fantasies involving someone other than a current partner (extradyadic fantasies) were explored using an anonymous questionnaire administered to 349 university students and employees (ages 18 to 70) who reported that they were currently in heterosexual relationships. Eighty‐seven percent of the sample (98% of men and 80% of women) reported having extradyadic fantasies in the past 2 months. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, compared to women, a larger percentage of men's sexual fantasies were extradyadic even after controlling for the effects of relationship length, number of prior sex partners, any prior incidents of actual extradyadic sexual behavior or “cheating” on the current partner, and socioeconomic status. In addition, it was found that the proportion of extradyadic fantasies increased as a function of relationship length for both genders, while prior incidents of extradyadic sexual behavior and a larger number of prior partners were associated with a higher proportion of extradyadic fantasies for women only.
We examined associations between two kinds of attachment insecurity (anxiety and avoidance) and intrusiveness in couple relationships. One hundred fifty-six adults completed measures of attachment insecurities and variables related to intrusiveness (engaging in intrusive behavior, perceiving a partner as intrusive, subjective experiences of being intrusive, and reacting to intrusive behavior). Attachment anxiety was associated with more intrusive behavior, more ambivalent reactions to partner intrusiveness, and greater emotionality when being intrusive. Avoidance was associated with perceiving a partner as intrusive, reacting critically and establishing distance in response to partner intrusiveness, and feeling concerned and caring when being intrusive. Results and their implications are discussed from an attachment theory perspective.
Couple members separating and not separating from each other in a public airport completed a questionnaire designed to assess relationship length, attachment style, and degree of subjective distress. After they completed these measures, their attachment behavior was observed unobtrusively. Analyses suggested that adult attachment behavior is organized in a manner similar to that observed in children. Relationship length and separation status were associated with the expression of attachment behavior in adults. Analyses also indicated that women with Anxious working models were more likely to experience distress prior to a separation. But the behavioral strategies exhibited by women varied as a function of Avoidant, not Anxious, working models. Results for men were less clear. Implications for adult attachment theory and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This research tested three models of how the relationship evaluation components of satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, trust, passion, and love a structured and cognitively represented. Participants in Study 1 rated their intimate relationships on six previously developed scales that measured each construct and on a new inventory-the Perceived Relationship Quality Components (PRQC) Inventory. As predicted, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that, for both sets of scales, the best-fitting model was one in which the appropriate items loaded reliably on the six first-order factors, which in turn loaded reliably on one second-order factor reflecting overall perceived relationship quality. These results were replicated on a different sample in Study 2 and across sex. Implications and advantages of the PRQC Inventory are discussed.
This paper examines the coping mechanism of aging survivors of the Holocaust with the extreme traumatic stressors they experienced in the past. Differences in the role of memories, reminiscences and nostalgic longings are presented. The potential role of sensory stimuli in the development of reminiscences and nostalgic feelings is emphasized. The comparison of the genesis of reminiscences and nostalgic phenomena may offer additional parameters for the understanding of the symptom formation in the elderly.
A sample of 222 undergraduates was screened for high happiness using multiple confirming assessment filters. We compared the upper 10% of consistently very happy people with average and very unhappy people. The very happy people were highly social, and had stronger romantic and other social relationships than less happy groups. They were more extraverted, more agreeable, and less neurotic, and scored lower on several psychopathology scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Compared with the less happy groups, the happiest respondents did not exercise significantly more, participate in religious activities significantly more, or experience more objectively defined good events. No variable was sufficient for happiness, but good social relations were necessary. Members of the happiest group experienced positive, but not ecstatic, feelings most of the time, and they reported occasional negative moods. This suggests that very happy people do have a functioning emotion system that can react appropriately to life events.
This study examined the association between relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction over time to provide evidence about possible causal explanations for the association between two variables. Eighty-seven individuals in long-term relationships completed measures of sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction at 2 times 18 months apart. There was only limited evidence, based on exploratory analysis, to support either the hypothesis that changes in a relationship satisfaction lead to changes in sexual satisfaction or the hypothesis that changes in sexual satisfaction lead to changes in relationship satisfaction. However, sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction wer found to change concurrently. The quality of intimate communication accounted for part of the concurrent changes in relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction. I discuss the results in terms of the need to develop more complex models depicting the longitudinal associations between relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction.