TY - JOUR
T1 - The mating sociometer and attractive others
T2 - A double-edged sword in romantic relationships
AU - Kavanagh, Phillip Sean
AU - Fletcher, Garth J.O.
AU - Ellis, Bruce J.
PY - 2014/3/4
Y1 - 2014/3/4
N2 - Eighty-one participants were recruited to test the sensitivity of the mating sociometer to mate-value feedback in the context of ongoing intimate relationships. Experiences of social rejection/acceptance by attractive opposite-sex confederates were manipulated. The effects of this manipulation on self-esteem, relationship satisfaction and commitment, perceptions of dating alternatives, and friendship-dedication were assessed. Social rejection/acceptance by members of the opposite sex altered relationship satisfaction and commitment; this causal link was amplified by changes in state self-esteem; and these effects were specific to intimate relationships and did not generalize to friendship-dedication. This research supports a domain-specific conceptualization of sociometer theory, extending the theory in important directions.
AB - Eighty-one participants were recruited to test the sensitivity of the mating sociometer to mate-value feedback in the context of ongoing intimate relationships. Experiences of social rejection/acceptance by attractive opposite-sex confederates were manipulated. The effects of this manipulation on self-esteem, relationship satisfaction and commitment, perceptions of dating alternatives, and friendship-dedication were assessed. Social rejection/acceptance by members of the opposite sex altered relationship satisfaction and commitment; this causal link was amplified by changes in state self-esteem; and these effects were specific to intimate relationships and did not generalize to friendship-dedication. This research supports a domain-specific conceptualization of sociometer theory, extending the theory in important directions.
KW - friendship dedication
KW - relationship commitment
KW - relationship satisfaction
KW - romantic rejection
KW - self-esteem
KW - sociometer theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84894521628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84894521628&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00224545.2013.872594
DO - 10.1080/00224545.2013.872594
M3 - Article
C2 - 24765818
AN - SCOPUS:84894521628
SN - 0022-4545
VL - 154
SP - 126
EP - 141
JO - Journal of Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Social Psychology
IS - 2
ER -