Are you tired of "us?" Accuracy and bias in couples' perceptions of relational boredom.

Relational boredom is an important cognitive-emotional experience that is understudied in the relationship maintenance literature. In three dyadic studies, we investigated accuracy and bias in partners' perceptions of each other's relational boredom, and how accurate and biased boredom perceptions were associated with relationship quality. Results revealed that, overall, partners tended to overestimate-but accurately track-each other's relational boredom across the features that comprise relational boredom and across time. Additionally, when people accurately perceived their partner experiencing high levels of boredom, they reported lower relationship quality; in all other cases, one's own relationship quality was preserved. Furthermore, when people accurately perceived their partner experiencing high levels of boredom, their partner also reported lower relationship quality, while the partner's relationship quality was consistently preserved when the perceiver was accurate at low levels of boredom or overestimated. These findings have important implications for how couples navigate boredom and maintain long-term relationships.

Comparing Relationship Quality Across Different Types of Romantic Partners in Polyamorous and Monogamous Relationships.

Polyamory is the practice of having multiple emotionally close relationships that may or may not be sexual. Research concerning polyamory has just begun to determine how relationships among partners in polyamorous arrangements may vary. Most of the research assessing perceptions of polyamorous partners has focused on primary-secondary configurations; however, non-hierarchical configurations exist and can involve having multiple primary partners or having only non-primary partners. The current research is the first to examine perceptions of partners and relationship quality in various polyamorous configurations and compares results for each configuration to monogamous partners. Results from online convenience samples suggest that co-primary and non-primary configurations are common among polyamorous participants, with approximately 38% identifying with one of these configurations in 2013 and 55% in 2017. Furthermore, our results suggest that while relationships with partners in co-primary and non-primary structures still differ in some ways (e.g., investment, acceptance, secrecy, time spent having sex), they are closer to their ideals on several psychologically meaningful indicators of relationship quality (e.g., commitment and satisfaction). In other words, despite rejecting hierarchical primary-secondary labels, many of the same relationship qualities differ systematically among partners in non-hierarchical relationships. Furthermore, pseudo-primary partners and primary partners in these relationships are more comparable to monogamous partners than they are to secondary partners. We discuss how these results inform our understanding of polyamorous and monogamous relationships and suggest future directions based on these findings.

Perceived Effects of Pornography on the Couple Relationship: Initial Findings of Open-Ended, Participant-Informed, "Bottom-Up" Research.

The current study adopted a participant-informed, "bottom-up," qualitative approach to identifying perceived effects of pornography on the couple relationship. A large sample (N = 430) of men and women in heterosexual relationships in which pornography was used by at least one partner was recruited through online (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and offline (e.g., newspapers, radio, etc.) sources. Participants responded to open-ended questions regarding perceived consequences of pornography use for each couple member and for their relationship in the context of an online survey. In the current sample of respondents, "no negative effects" was the most commonly reported impact of pornography use. Among remaining responses, positive perceived effects of pornography use on couple members and their relationship (e.g., improved sexual communication, more sexual experimentation, enhanced sexual comfort) were reported frequently; negative perceived effects of pornography (e.g., unrealistic expectations, decreased sexual interest in partner, increased insecurity) were also reported, albeit with considerably less frequency. The results of this work suggest new research directions that require more systematic attention.

Psychological and physiological predictors of health in romantic relationships: an attachment perspective.

This article reviews the burgeoning literature linking greater individual differences in attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance to poorer health. Extant research indicates that more anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals experience heightened psychological (e.g., distress) and physiological (e.g., HPA axis activation) responses to stressful situations, as well as have poorer mental (e.g., depression) and physical (e.g., immune system functioning) health. Research also suggests that perceived social support processes are sometimes beneficial for more anxiously and avoidantly attached persons' mental health, but are not helpful in alleviating physiological responses to stress. Future studies could fruitfully delve into the possible dyadic influences on health and interventions to improve the health experiences of more anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals. Lastly, future research could benefit from longitudinal explorations of health.

Anxious attachment and relationship processes: an interactionist perspective.

Relationship processes in adult romantic relationships have been vastly studied under the aegis of attachment theory. Attachment theory is interactionist in nature, proposing that individual differences in levels of both attachment avoidance and anxiety predict an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in contexts that activate attachment concerns. A growing body of research is beginning to systematically test the conditions in which individual differences in attachment orientations both predict and fail to predict relationship processes. In this article, we focus on anxious attachment and review a program of research showing that the potentially destructive relationship processes typically observed in highly anxious individuals do not always appear in neutral or benign contexts, or when security needs are met. We argue that research needs to more thoroughly investigate the conditions that should, or should not, activate attachment concerns and thus result in links between individual differences in attachment orientations and relationship processes.

The detriments of unmet sexual ideals and buffering effect of sexual communal strength.

Despite the importance of sex for the maintenance of satisfying romantic relationships, our understanding of a person's sexual ideals-the traits and attributes a person desires in a sexual partner or experience-and what might buffer against lower satisfaction associated with unmet sexual ideals is limited. Across four studies including cross-sectional, dyadic, longitudinal, and experimental methods (N = 1,532), we draw on the Ideal Standards Model and theories of communal motivation to examine whether unmet sexual ideals are associated with lower sexual satisfaction and relationship quality and test whether higher sexual communal strength-the motivation to meet a partner's sexual needs-buffered these effects. Across studies, when individuals perceived their partner to fall short in meeting their sexual ideals, they reported poorer sexual and relationship quality. People with partners low in sexual communal strength reported poorer sexual satisfaction and relationship quality when their sexual ideals were unmet, but these associations were attenuated among people with partners who were high in sexual communal strength. Perceived partner responsiveness-both in general (Study 2) and to a partner's sexual needs specifically (Study 3)-was one reason why people with partners high in sexual communal strength were buffered against the lower sexual and relational quality associated with unmet ideals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

But What's Your Partner Up to? Associations Between Relationship Quality and Pornography Use Depend on Contextual Patterns of Use Within the Couple.

It is commonly assumed that exposure to pornography harms relationships because pornography changes the way that individuals think, feel, and behave in problematic ways. In the current research, we contribute to a small but growing body of work that challenges this assumption by carefully scrutinizing the relational context of pornography use. In contrast to dominant theoretical explanations in this field, we argue that at least some of the apparent negative "impacts" of pornography use on relationship quality may reflect partner dissimilarity in pornography use behavior rather than the consequences of exposure to such materials. Moreover, we further examine a particular type of pornography use - shared use with a partner - which previous evidence suggests may be positively associated with relationship quality. To this end, we sought to test whether dyadic patterns of pornography use, and related attributes, were associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction in two cross-sectional (N 1 = 200; N 3 = 207) and two longitudinal (N 2 = 77; N 4 = 277) samples of heterosexual couples. Across these samples, we found consistent evidence that partners who watch pornography together report higher relationship and sexual satisfaction than partners who do not, and notably, this association was not moderated by gender. Independent of this association, we also found evidence of a similarity-dissimilarity effect, such that the solitary pornography use of one partner was negatively associated with their own relationship and sexual satisfaction, but only in cases where their romantic partners used little or no pornography alone. Further consideration of several correlates of pornography use established comparable patterns of results for dissimilarity in attitudes toward pornography, erotophobia-erotophilia, sexual preferences, and sex drive. Importantly, only dissimilarity in sex drive statistically accounted for dissimilarity in solitary pornography use, suggesting that differences in sex drive may be implicated in the associations between pornography use and relationship quality. These findings demonstrate that links between pornography use and relationship health are partially a function of different dyadic patterns of pornography use within couples and do not always suggest relational harm.

Reconsidering "Best Practices" for Testing the Ideal Standards Model: A Response to Eastwick, Finkel, and Simpson (2018).

Eastwick, Finkel, and Simpson (2018) advanced recommendations for "best practices" in testing the predictive validity of individual differences in the extent to which perceptions of partners match ideal standards (ideal-partner matching). We respond to their article evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different tests, presenting new analyses of existing data, and setting out conclusions that differ from Eastwick et al. We (a) argue that correlations between ideal standards for attributes in partners and corresponding partner perceptions are relevant to the ideal standards model (ISM), (b) show that important methodological and statistical issues qualify their interpretations of prior research, (c) illustrate a new analytic approach used in the accuracy literature that tests (and controls for) confounds highlighted by Eastwick et al., and (d) provide evidence that the direct-estimation measure of ideal-partner matching is a valid and useful method. We conclude with a cautionary note on the concept of best practices.

Sexual Attitudes, Erotophobia, and Sociosexual Orientation Differ Based on Relationship Orientation.

Consensual nonmonogamy (CNM) is an overarching term for relationship orientations that differ based on the degree to which consensual sexual and emotional needs are fulfilled outside of a dyad. Despite the diversity of CNM relationship orientations and growing research examining CNM, it is unclear whether the sexual attitudes, inclination to approach/avoid sexual stimuli (i.e., erotophobia-erotophilia), and sociosexuality differ among individuals who identify with distinct CNM relationships. Further, as the agreements made in CNM relationships permit extradyadic relationships, important differences might emerge for CNM and monogamous individuals. A convenience sample (N = 641) of individuals who self-identified as monogamous (n = 447), open (n = 80), polyamorous (n = 62), or swinger (n = 52) provided ratings of their sexual attitudes, erotophobia-erotophilia, and sociosexuality. Results indicated that swingers had the most permissive and instrumental attitudes, were the most erotophilic, and were the most unrestricted sexually. Conversely, monogamists scored the lowest on these traits. No differences emerged between relationship orientations for attitudes toward communion and birth control. These findings have important implications for sexuality research because they reinforce the view that some underlying differences and similarities exist between monogamous and CNM individuals.

The protective role of self-compassion for women's positive body image: an open replication and extension.

The development and maintenance of positive body image in women may be disrupted by sociocultural appearance-related pressures. Therefore, it is critical to explore factors that may safeguard women's positive body image. A recent study by Homan and Tylka (2015) found that in a large sample (N = 263) of female MTurk workers and university-aged women, both appearance-contingent self-worth and body-based social comparisons were linked to less positive body image, but these links were attenuated in the face of high self-compassion. This research, an independent direct replication of the original study, supported the original findings. In a new, larger sample (N = 363 female-identified MTurk workers), signals were detected that were similar in size and magnitude to the original study. Specifically, while appearance-contingent self-worth and body-based social comparisons were negatively linked to body appreciation, those who endorsed higher levels of self-compassion reported a more positive body image, even in the presence of these potential threats. Findings are extended to eating- and exercise-based social comparisons. All materials, including the replication protocol, data management plan, dataset, SPSS syntax, and output are publicly available on the Open Science Framework at: https://osf.io/r274y/. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Surveying Pornography Use: A Shaky Science Resting on Poor Measurement Foundations.

A great deal of pornography research relies on dubious measurements. Measurement of pornography use has been highly variable across studies and existing measurement approaches have not been developed using standard psychometric practices nor have they addressed construct validation or reliability. This state of affairs is problematic for the accumulation of knowledge about the nature of pornography use, its antecedents, correlates, and consequences, as it can contribute to inconsistent results across studies and undermine the generalizability of research findings. This article provides a summary of contemporary measurement practices in pornography research accompanied by an explication of the problems therein. It also offers suggestions on how best to move forward by adopting a more limited set of standardized and validated instruments. We recommend that the creation of such instruments be guided by the careful and thorough conceptualization of pornography use and systematic adherence to measurement development principles.

What's closeness got to do with it? Men's and women's cortisol responses when providing and receiving support.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of social support role (i.e., recipient versus provider) and experimentally manipulated closeness on men's and women's cortisol responses during an acute stress paradigm. METHODS: We manipulated psychological closeness (high versus low) between 50 same-sex stranger pairs and subsequently randomly assigned individuals to either prepare a speech (i.e., support recipient) or provide support to the speech presenter (i.e., support provider). RESULTS: When receiving support, cortisol responses of men in the high closeness condition increased over time relative to a) men in the low closeness condition and b) women in the high closeness condition. Cortisol responses of female support recipients did not differ as a function of condition. For support providers, whereas both men's and women's cortisol declined throughout the procedure, the decline for men was steeper than the decline for women. CONCLUSIONS: With few exceptions, psychological closeness, sex, and social support role interacted in theoretically consistent ways and each significantly contributed to the pattern of cortisol responses observed in men and women during a standardized acute stress paradigm. This work expands the growing literature on potential mechanisms underlying the social support-health link. Further, the employed methodology highlights the utility of borrowing established paradigms from the close relationships literature to help illuminate specific interpersonal characteristics that might affect social support dynamics in naturally existing relationships and at the same time control for extraneous variables.

Adult attachment and trust in romantic relationships.

Two theoretical perspectives guide much of the research on adult romantic relationships: attachment theory and interdependence theory. Each of these theoretical perspectives acknowledges the importance of trust, or perceptions of partners' dependability and faith in the future of the relationship. Whereas attachment theory conceptualizes trust as a component of individual differences in attachment representations, interdependence theoretical approaches conceptualize trust as a unique construct that develops within new relationships. In this article we discuss the importance of considering this difference in conceptualizations of trust for future research, highlighting the need for longitudinal research to properly assess the development of trust as an individual difference as well as uniquely within the dyadic context.

Demographic Comparison of American Individuals in Polyamorous and Monogamous Relationships.

Research on polyamorous relationships has increased substantially over the past decade. This work has documented how polyamory is practiced and why individuals might pursue such arrangements. However, there is a lack of a systematic investigation of who is in polyamorous relationships and how they might differ from individuals in monogamous relationships. The present study is one of the first to address this by comparing the demographic backgrounds of individuals in polyamorous (N = 2,428) and monogamous (N = 539) relationships in the United States. Compared to participants in monogamous relationships, those in polyamorous relationships were more likely to report minority sexual identities. Despite similar age distributions, individuals in polyamorous relationships were more likely to report being in a civil union, being divorced, and earning less than $40,000 per year compared to individuals in monogamous relationships. People in polyamorous relationships were also more likely to select "other" options for most demographic characteristics, suggesting that they tend to choose less traditional response options in general. The current research highlights several demographic differences that need to be considered and potentially controlled for in future comparisons of polyamorous and monogamous relationships.

Preregistration Is Hard, And Worthwhile.

Preregistration clarifies the distinction between planned and unplanned research by reducing unnoticed flexibility. This improves credibility of findings and calibration of uncertainty. However, making decisions before conducting analyses requires practice. During report writing, respecting both what was planned and what actually happened requires good judgment and humility in making claims.

The importance of the organization of partner knowledge in understanding perceptions of relationship quality and conflict resolution behavior in married couples.

This research investigated how the organization of partner knowledge was related to global relationship evaluations and specific interpersonal behaviors in a sample of 107 married couples. Spouses first completed several questionnaires and later participated in a 12-min videotaped conflict resolution task. As expected, wives in older relationships exhibited greater marital quality (self-reported and observed) when they had (a) an integrative knowledge structure and used many negative traits to describe their spouse or (b) a compartmentalized knowledge structure and used few negative traits to describe their spouse. Greater marital quality, however, was found for husbands when they were (a) in older relationships and possessed an integrative structure or (b) in newer relationships and possessed a compartmentalized structure. Exploratory analyses suggested that in some circumstances people may have greater marital quality when they share an organizational style with their spouse.

Dimming the "Halo" Around Monogamy: Re-assessing Stigma Surrounding Consensually Non-monogamous Romantic Relationships as a Function of Personal Relationship Orientation.

Previous research suggests that both monogamous and consensually non-monogamous (CNM) participants rate monogamous targets more positively. However, this pattern of stigma toward CNM relationships and the "halo effect" surrounding monogamy is at odds with the view that people typically favor members from their own groups over members of other groups. In the current research, we sought to re-examine the halo effect, using a more direct measure of stigma (i.e., desired social distance), in a methodological context that differentiates between the three most common types of CNM relationships. A convenience sample (N = 641) of individuals who self-identified as monogamous (n = 447), open (n = 80), polyamorous (n = 62), or swinger (n = 52) provided social distance ratings in response to these same relationship orientations in a counterbalanced order. Congruent with prior findings, CNM participants favored monogamous targets over CNM targets as a broad category (replicating the halo effect). However, results indicated this effect dissipated when participants were asked to differentiate between relationships they identify with, and other CNM relationships. Furthermore, supplementary findings suggest that monogamous targets were perceived to be the least promiscuous and were associated with the lowest perceived sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates, while swinger targets were perceived as the most promiscuous and were associated with the highest perceived STI rates. Consequently, our results imply social distance is partly attributable to the perception of STI risk, but not perceptions of promiscuity.