We’re Not That Choosy: Emerging Evidence of a Progression Bias in Romantic Relationships

Joel, Samantha; MacDonald, Geoff

doi:10.1177/10888683211025860

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 234 publications

(455 reference statements)

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“…Humans appear to be biased towards the maintenance of romantic relationships (Joel et al., 2021). Given that PPDC is a ʻnegative' construct, one might be concerned with the distribution of PPDC scores such as its skew (positive) and variability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When one's partner wants out: Awareness, attachment anxiety and accuracy

Tan

Machia

Agnew

2023

Euro J Social Psych

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Can a person tell whether their romantic partner wants to break up and, if so, how is such accuracy associated with their own attachment anxiety? We examined these questions by proposing and assessing the construct of perceived partner dissolution consideration (PPDC), including its validity. We then assessed the extent to which partners were accurate in their perceptions of each other's dissolution consideration, focusing on the perceiver's attachment anxiety as a potential moderator. Specifically, in two studies involving couples, dyadic analyses of couple data showed that couple members significantly underestimated (negative mean‐level bias) partner dissolution consideration and also projected their own dissolution consideration onto their partners. Couple members higher in anxiety were particularly accurate (tracking accuracy) in their assessments of dissolution consideration. Implications for partner perceptions and judgements of dissolution consideration on relationship functioning are considered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When one's partner wants out: Awareness, attachment anxiety and accuracy

Tan

Machia

Agnew

2023

Euro J Social Psych

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“…These low percentages would likely drop even further if we had managed to track relationships from the moment two people met: The likelihood that a person will ultimately form a relationship with any of the 10–12 strangers they meet at a speed-dating event is approximately 5%, which amounts to <1% per stranger (Asendorpf et al, 2011; Eastwick, 2019). It will take considerably more intensive tracking efforts to understand what these survival curves look like over the full time course of early-relationship development (Joel & MacDonald, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting romantic interest during early relationship development: A preregistered investigation using machine learning

et al. 2022

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There are massive literatures on initial attraction and established relationships. But few studies capture early relationship development: the interstitial period in which people experience rising and falling romantic interest for partners who could—but often do not—become sexual or dating partners. In this study, 208 single participants reported on 1,065 potential romantic partners across 7,179 data points over 7 months. In stage 1, we used random forests (a type of machine learning) to estimate how well different classes of variables (e.g., individual differences vs. target-specific constructs) predicted participants’ romantic interest in these potential partners. We also tested (and found only modest support for) the perceiver × target moderation account of compatibility: the meta-theoretical perspective that some types of perceivers experience greater romantic interest for some types of targets. In stage 2, we used multilevel modeling to depict predictors retained by the random-forests models; robust (positive) main effects emerged for many variables, including sociosexuality, sex drive, perceptions of the partner’s positive attributes (e.g., attractive and exciting), attachment features (e.g., proximity seeking), and perceived interest. Finally, we found no support for ideal partner preference-matching effects on romantic interest. The discussion highlights the need for new models to explain the origin of romantic compatibility.

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“…For example, some writers of rejected proposals appeared to visualize their future and think that it "didn't feel right," (see Monk et al, 2020 for similar findings with broken engagements). Visualization of this sort might be a way to slow the "slide" into deeper levels of commitment (Stanley et al, 2006; see also Joel & MacDonald, 2021). Thus, enacting the proposal ritual may have acted as a catalyst for the proposee to clearly communicate their desires to the proposer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rules of engagement: A content analysis of accepted and rejected marriage proposals.

Hoplock¹,

Stinson²

2022

Journal of Family Psychology

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Little research exists concerning the Western marriage proposal ritual, and rejected proposals are particularly understudied. The current research used the lens of life script theory to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze 374 first-person written accounts of accepted and rejected marriage proposals between men and women that were sampled from online forums. Rejected proposals were more likely than accepted proposals to violate the proposal script. Compared to accepted proposals, rejected proposals included fewer ritual elements and they often happened “off-time.” Specifically, rejected proposals came earlier in the relationship, typically prior to the discussion of the topic of marriage by the couple, and rejected men sometimes proposed to “save” an unstable or abusive relationship that was headed toward dissolution. As with other important life transition events, audiences played an important role in many proposals. Rejected proposals were more likely to occur in public than accepted proposals, and when present, audience members often participated in the proposal by encouraging couples to follow the proposal script and by expressing dissatisfaction when the script was violated. Some audiences became hostile when the woman said “no.” Also consistent with life script theory, couples evinced strong emotions during proposals, and confusion and anger were common emotional responses among rejected suitors. Indeed, 15% of rejected proposal accounts described intimate partner violence. Yet, about 30% of relationships continued after the rejection, sometimes for years. These and other novel results contribute to the science of close relationships, family psychology, life script theory, commitment, rejection, and social rituals.

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We’re Not That Choosy: Emerging Evidence of a Progression Bias in Romantic Relationships

Cited by 16 publications

References 234 publications

When one's partner wants out: Awareness, attachment anxiety and accuracy

When one's partner wants out: Awareness, attachment anxiety and accuracy

Predicting romantic interest during early relationship development: A preregistered investigation using machine learning

Rules of engagement: A content analysis of accepted and rejected marriage proposals.

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