Does perceived mismatch in attractiveness between members of a romantic couple activate mating-motivated perception?

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dc.contributor.authorJoordens, Chantele
dc.contributor.supervisorStinson, Danu
dc.date.accessioned2013-04-30T22:19:59Z
dc.date.available2013-04-30T22:19:59Z
dc.date.copyright2012en_US
dc.date.issued2013-04-30
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Psychology
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science M.Sc.en_US
dc.description.abstractEquitable romantic relationships are relationships in which partners perceive that they are giving benefits to their partner that equal the benefits they receive from their partner (e.g., Walster, Traupmann, & Walster, 1978), and such relationships promote commitment (Rusbult, 1980). But do equity considerations influence observers’ impressions of a romantic couple? In the present study, I tested this possibility by examining observers’ impressions of romantic partners who were mismatched in physical attractiveness (i.e., one partner will be more physically attractive than the other). In this situation, heterosexual observers instinctually categorize the opposite-sex member of the couple as a potential mate and the same-sex member of the couple as a competitor for the potential mate’s affection (e.g., Buss & Dedden, 1990; Fisher & Cox, 2009). Furthermore, observers also conclude that a potential mate who is more attractive than his or her current partner (i.e., the competitor) is not committed to his or her current relationship (Stinson & Reddoch, unpublished data). Thus, when evaluating a romantic couple, I hypothesize that observers’ will demonstrate mating-motivated biased perceptions of potential mates and competitors when the mate is more attractive than the competitor, because such more-attractive potential mates will be perceived as romantically “available.” Participants viewed photos of dating couples who matched in attractiveness, or viewed photos of dating couples where the mate was more attractive or less attractive than the competitor. Participants then rated the potential mates’ and competitors’ status-resources (SR; Fletcher et al., 1999). Results supported my theory of mating-motivated person-perception: Observers derogated the SRs of competitors who were paired with a more attractive (and romantically available) potential mate.en_US
dc.description.proquestcode0623en_US
dc.description.proquestcode0451en_US
dc.description.proquestemailc.joordens@gmail.comen_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.bibliographicCitationLister, H. A., Piercey, C. D., & Joordens, C. (2010). The effectiveness of 3-D video virtual reality for the treatment of fear of public speaking. Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation, Vol 3(4), pp. 375-381.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/4579
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectmatchingen_US
dc.subjectattractivenessen_US
dc.subjectpoachingen_US
dc.subjectmismatchen_US
dc.subjectmating-motivationen_US
dc.subjectperceptionen_US
dc.titleDoes perceived mismatch in attractiveness between members of a romantic couple activate mating-motivated perception?en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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