How implicit theories of sexuality shape sexual and relationship well-being.

Abstract

How do people believe they can best maintain sexual satisfaction in their romantic relationships? In the current research, we draw upon the literature on implicit theories of relationships to develop and validate a scale examining 2 types of lay beliefs about how sexual satisfaction can be maintained over time. Individuals high in sexual growth beliefs think that sexual satisfaction is attained from hard work and effort, whereas individuals high in sexual destiny beliefs think that sexual satisfaction is attained through finding a compatible sexual partner. Across 6 studies (2 cross-sectional online studies, a 21-day daily experience study, 2 dyadic studies, and an experimental manipulation; N = 1,896), we find evidence that those higher in sexual growth beliefs experience higher relationship and sexual satisfaction, and have partners who are more satisfied. Conversely, the effects of sexual destiny beliefs on satisfaction are contingent upon signs of partner compatibility: When individuals high in sexual destiny beliefs experience greater sexual disagreements in their relationship, they experience lower relationship quality. These results are independent of general relationship implicit beliefs, providing evidence for the uniqueness of these 2 constructs and the importance of examining implicit beliefs in the domain of sexuality. Overall, these results provide novel evidence that individuals' lay beliefs about maintaining sexual satisfaction are important for understanding the quality of their sex lives and relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record

Creativity and romantic passion.

“…First, previous empirical work on long-term romantic passion has found that declines in romantic passion are the norm rather than the exception, suggesting a relatively grim prognosis for the notion of enduring passion (Acker & Davis, 1992;Hatfield et al, 2008;Hatfield et al, 1984;Traupmann & Hatfield, 1981;Tucker & Aron, 1993). However, a newer and growing body of research has begun to identify the circumstances under which people are more versus less likely to sustain passion over time (Aron et al, 2000;Birnbaum et al, 2016;Impett et al, 2008;Maxwell et al, 2017;Muise et al, 2013;Welker et al, 2014). The present work builds on this research by offering a systematic investigation of creativity-a novel and potentially important predictor of the maintenance of long-term passion.…”

No Longer in a Dry Spell: The Developing Understanding of How Sex Influences Romantic Relationships

“…Specifically, neuroticism (Russell & McNulty, 2011) and attachment insecurity (Little, McNulty, & Russell, 2010) were not associated with poorer relationship satisfaction among married individuals who reported relatively more frequent or satisfying sex. Other sexual processes can have similar effects (Burke & Young, 2012; Maxwell et al, 2017). For example, Maxwell et al (2017) recently demonstrated that people who feel more (vs. less) sexually compatible with their partners are less likely to incur relational costs from believing sexual outcomes are fixed and immutable.…”

Dyadic Measurement Invariance and Its Importance for Replicability in Romantic Relationship Research

“…Interdependence matters. Some readers might view our call to increase dyadic invariance modeling as overburdensome and unnecessary in light of the extent to which close relationship researchers already evaluate invariance using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis approaches (e.g., Karantzas, Feeney & Wilkinson, 2010;Maxwell et al, 2017;Schrodt et al, 2009;Whisman & Li, 2015). Although we agree it is a good thing that relationship researchers have made efforts to establish the invariance of the measurement structures upon which they rely, we have already described how this process fails to take the interdependent nature of dyadic data into account during the invariance testing process.…”