Emotional and behavioral responses to romantic jealousy expressions

Abstract

This study focused on the emotional and behavioral responses experienced and expressed by targets of jealousy expressions. Participants (N=226) reported their perceived emotion intensity and likelihood that they would respond with specific messages in response to romantic jealousy expressions. The results showed that targets of romantic jealousy expressions responded with both positive and negative emotions and messages, experienced positive emotions most intensely in response to positive communication, negative affect expression, and suspicious behavior, experienced negative emotions most intensely to violence, negative communication, suspicious behavior, and manipulation attempts, responded with integrative behavior in a variety of conditions, acted most aggressively when faced with violent expressions, and that the valence of targets' emotions predicted the direction of their responses.

Romantic Jealousy and Relationship Satisfaction: The Costs of Rumination

“…Cognitive jealousy generally refers to negative thoughts that focus on partner behaviors, emotional jealousy reflects related emotions such as anger and fear (e.g., Yoshimura, 2004), while behavioral jealousy may be expressed in many ways, such as surveillance behaviors designed to monitor a relationship partner and=or aggressiveness towards a partner.…”

Negative Jealousy-Related Emotion Rumination as Consequences of Romantic Partner, Cross-Sex Friend, and Sibling Jealousy Expression

“…Recently, Yoshimura (2004) found a number of responses to romantic partner jealousy expression, including positive and negative emotions, cynicism, and various communicative responses. Finally, Sheets, Fredendall, and Claypool (1997) found responses to partner jealousy expression that included reassurances, ignoring or making light of partner jealousy, accenting attraction to the rival, and explaining to the partner.…”

Testing and Refining a Consequence Model of Jealousy Across Relational Contexts and Jealousy Expression Messages

“…Indeed, Yoshimura (2004) recently investigated emotional and behavioral consequences to partner jealousy expression, which can be linked with the consequences examined here. Further, other cognitive and emotional consequences should also be investigated, including self uncertainty and specific positive and negative emotions.…”

“…Although numerous scholars (Guerrero & Andersen, 1998a;Staske, 1999;Yoshimura, 2004) have observed consequences of jealousy expression within close relationships, only recently has research begun to identify the specific cognitive and emotional consequences that occur for the jealous target after partner jealousy expression. For example, Bevan (2004) determined that general partner and relational uncertainty each occurred at a moderate intensity after participants (as jealous targets) read hypothetical jealousy expressions from a sibling, cross-sex friend, or dating partner.…”