Justin J Lehmiller
Biographic Data
| ID | 126782 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Justin J Lehmiller |
| GIVEN NAMES | Justin J |
| FAMILY NAME | Lehmiller |
| SIGNATURE | LEHMILLER J J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Indiana University Bloomington |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2198-6588 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 226 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
How Do People Maintain Consensual Non-Monogamy? An International Development and Validation of the Multiple Relationships Maintenance Scale
Maintaining multiple intimate relationships entails some risks and complications beyond exclusive pair bonding (i.e., monogamy). Consensual non-monogamy (CNM; e.g., polyamory, swinging, or open relationships) allegedly reduces these risks and complications, but no one has tried to comprehensively document typical CNM risk management practices, nor analyzed the relationship outcomes of those who use these practices. We developed the Multiple Relat…
Sexual Self-Esteem and Orgasm Consistency: Exploring the Unique Roles of Body Image and Genital Image
Sexual Desire in the Time of Covid-19: How Covid-Related Stressors Are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships
Exploring Variations in North American Adults’ Attitudes, Interest, Experience, and Outcomes Related to Mixed-Gender Threesomes: A Replication and Extension
Less Sex, but More Sexual Diversity: Changes in Sexual Behavior during the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Recreational sex is a popular form of leisure that has been redefined by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. "Social distancing" rules have imposed limits on sex for leisure while also creating new opportunities. We discuss results from an online survey of 1,559 adults who were asked about the pandemic's impact on their intimate lives. While nearly half of the sample reported a decline in their sex life, one in five participants reported expandi…
Covid-19 and Sexual Desire: Perceived Fear Is Associated with Enhanced Relationship Functioning
Lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had mostly negative consequences for individual, relationship, and sexual functioning. However, some individuals have reported increases in sexual desire and made new additions to their sex lives. Given that stress-provoking situations can sometimes make mortality more salient and heighten sexual desire, it is possible that lifestyle changes and fear of COVID-19 infection may have benefited some r…
Sugar Dating, Perceptions of Power, and Condom Use: Comparing the Sexual Health Risk Behaviours of Sugar Dating to Non-Sugar Dating Women
Sugar dating is a form of dating typically characterized by wealthier, older men providing financial support to younger, less financially secure women in exchange for companionship and sexual intimacy. The goals of the current study were to (1) quantitatively assess the sexual practices of sugar dating women in their arrangements with sugar daddies, including time spent on sexual activity, average number of current partners, and relative percepti…
Compersion: When Jealousy-Inducing Situations Don’t (Just) Induce Jealousy
A longitudinal study of friends with benefits relationships
Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) uniquely combine friendship with sexual activity but differ from romantic relationships in that they may be less likely to be exclusive or long lasting. A longitudinal analysis of the trajectory of FWBRs is presented, in which participants in FWBRs at Time 1 reported on their relationship outcomes at Time 2 ( N = 192). Results demonstrated that a plurality of FWBRs transitioned into having no relationsh…
Fantasies About Consensual Nonmonogamy Among Persons in Monogamous Romantic Relationships
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 backgroun…
Friends with Benefits
Social Networking Smartphone Applications and Sexual Health Outcomes among Men Who Have Sex with Men
Several smartphone applications (apps) designed to help men who have sex with men (MSM) find casual sexual partners have appeared on the market recently. Apps of this nature have the potential to impact sexual health and behavior by providing constant access to a large supply of available partners. In this study, the sexual health history, behavior, and personality of MSM who use these apps was compared to MSM who meet partners in other ways. A s…
Peer Influence and Attraction to Interracial Romantic Relationships
The present research examined the effect of social influence on White, heterosexual individuals’ attraction to targets of varying races (White vs. Black) in two college student samples from the United States (one that leaned politically liberal and one that leaned politically conservative). Using a within-subjects experimental design, participants were given artificial peer evaluation data (positive, negative, or none) before providing ratings of…
Commitment in friends with benefits relationships: Implications for relational and safe‐sex outcomes
The present research sought to explore the antecedents and consequences of commitment in the context of friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs). Data collected from an Internet sample of participants (all of whom currently had an FWBR) revealed that these relationships do indeed uniquely combine aspects of both sexual relationships and friendships. In addition, results indicated that satisfaction, investment, and alternatives were predictive …
Sexual Communication, Satisfaction, and Condom Use Behavior in Friends with Benefits and Romantic Partners
Although "friends with benefits" relationships (FWBRs) are common and have been the subject of significant media and research attention, relatively little is known about them, especially in terms of how they differ from other types of relationships. The present research sought to compare the sexual outcomes of FWBRs to those of traditional romantic relationships via an online survey. Results revealed that FWBR partners were less likely to be sexu…
Perceived marginalization and its association with physical and psychological health
Perceiving one's romantic relationship as socially marginalized (i.e., as lacking social approval and acceptance) has been linked to an array of worse relational outcomes, including a greater likelihood of breakup. The present research extended this line of work by examining whether individuals who perceive disapproval specifically because of their current romantic relationship tend to experience worse personal health as well. Using an internet-b…
Differences in relationship investments between gay and heterosexual men
Previous Investment Model research found that investments are a weaker predictor of relationship commitment for gay men compared with heterosexual men. The present study examined whether this effect is characteristic of investments in general or whether it is specific to certain types of investments. Results indicated that tangible investments significantly predicted commitment among heterosexual men, but not among gay men. In contrast, intangibl…
Sex Differences in Approaching Friends with Benefits Relationships
This research explored differences in how men and women approach "friends with benefits" (FWB) relationships. Specifically, this study examined sex differences in reasons for beginning such involvements, commitment to the friendship versus sexual aspects of the relationship, and partners'; anticipated hopes for the future. To do so, an Internet sample of individuals currently involved in FWB relationships was recruited. Results indicated many ove…
Satisfaction, Alternatives, Investments, and the Microfoundations of Audience Cost Models
In this paper, we suggest that the Investment Model of Commitment, developed in social psychology, offers a solution to an important microfoundational issue in audience cost theory. Audience cost models are useful for thinking about the foreign policy behaviors of democratic and nondemocratic states. However, they often assume that citizens reliably penalize leaders who break their foreign policy promises even though the empirical record suggests…
The effect of self-affirmation on sexual prejudice
Intergroup attitudes and values in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq
This study analyzed a dataset in which approximately one-half of the sample (all U.S. college students) participated just prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the remainder participated in the weeks following the initial invasion. Results indicated that wartime participants increasingly valued power and superiority, scoring significantly higher on social dominance orientation and self-enhancement values relative to pre-war participants. W…
Commitment in Age-Gap Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: A Test of Evolutionary and Socio-Cultural Predictions
Little research has addressed age-gap romantic relationships (romantic involvements characterized by substantial age differences between partners). Drawing on evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives, the present study examined normative beliefs and commitment processes among heterosexual women involved in age-gap and age-concordant relationships. Results indicated that woman-older partners were the most satisfied with and committed to their …
The Role of Heterosexual Identity Threat in Differential Support for Same-Sex `Civil Unions' versus `Marriages
Although US citizens generally oppose the legal recognition of same-sex marriages more than civil unions, the reasons for this opposition remain unclear. In two experiments, we presented participants with one of two hypothetical state laws legally recognizing same-sex partnerships. The laws differed only in the label applied to those partnerships (i.e. civil union or marriage). Across both studies, participants expressed less support for same-sex…
Group domination and inequality in context: Evidence for the unstable meanings of social dominance and authoritarianism
Both social dominance orientation (SDO) and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) are assumed to be general and relatively stable psychological orientations that individuals ‘carry with them’ from context to context, influencing responses to salient forms of intergroup inequality and domination. In two experimental studies we tested the relative stability of SDO (Studies 1 and 2) and RWA (Study 1). That is, we examined whether people who score relati…
Less Sex, but More Sexual Diversity: Changes in Sexual Behavior during the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Recreational sex is a popular form of leisure that has been redefined by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. "Social distancing" rules have imposed limits on sex for leisure while also creating new opportunities. We discuss results from an online survey of 1,559 adults who were asked about the pandemic's impact on their intimate lives. While nearly half of the sample reported a decline in their sex life, one in five participants reported expandi…
Perceived marginalization and its association with physical and psychological health
Perceiving one's romantic relationship as socially marginalized (i.e., as lacking social approval and acceptance) has been linked to an array of worse relational outcomes, including a greater likelihood of breakup. The present research extended this line of work by examining whether individuals who perceive disapproval specifically because of their current romantic relationship tend to experience worse personal health as well. Using an internet-b…
Sexual Communication, Satisfaction, and Condom Use Behavior in Friends with Benefits and Romantic Partners
Although "friends with benefits" relationships (FWBRs) are common and have been the subject of significant media and research attention, relatively little is known about them, especially in terms of how they differ from other types of relationships. The present research sought to compare the sexual outcomes of FWBRs to those of traditional romantic relationships via an online survey. Results revealed that FWBR partners were less likely to be sexu…
Perceived Marginalization and the Prediction of Romantic Relationship Stability
The present research examined how perceived marginalization of one's romantic relationship is associated with level of future commitment to and stability of that involvement. Results from a 7-month longitudinal study of romantically involved individuals (N= 215) revealed that perceived social network marginalization at Time 1 predicted breakup status at Time 2, with commitment level at Time 1 fully mediating this association. Among those individu…
Sex Differences in Approaching Friends with Benefits Relationships
This research explored differences in how men and women approach "friends with benefits" (FWB) relationships. Specifically, this study examined sex differences in reasons for beginning such involvements, commitment to the friendship versus sexual aspects of the relationship, and partners'; anticipated hopes for the future. To do so, an Internet sample of individuals currently involved in FWB relationships was recruited. Results indicated many ove…
The Role of Heterosexual Identity Threat in Differential Support for Same-Sex `Civil Unions' versus `Marriages
Although US citizens generally oppose the legal recognition of same-sex marriages more than civil unions, the reasons for this opposition remain unclear. In two experiments, we presented participants with one of two hypothetical state laws legally recognizing same-sex partnerships. The laws differed only in the label applied to those partnerships (i.e. civil union or marriage). Across both studies, participants expressed less support for same-sex…
Group domination and inequality in context: Evidence for the unstable meanings of social dominance and authoritarianism
Both social dominance orientation (SDO) and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) are assumed to be general and relatively stable psychological orientations that individuals ‘carry with them’ from context to context, influencing responses to salient forms of intergroup inequality and domination. In two experimental studies we tested the relative stability of SDO (Studies 1 and 2) and RWA (Study 1). That is, we examined whether people who score relati…
The effect of self-affirmation on sexual prejudice
Satisfaction, Alternatives, Investments, and the Microfoundations of Audience Cost Models
In this paper, we suggest that the Investment Model of Commitment, developed in social psychology, offers a solution to an important microfoundational issue in audience cost theory. Audience cost models are useful for thinking about the foreign policy behaviors of democratic and nondemocratic states. However, they often assume that citizens reliably penalize leaders who break their foreign policy promises even though the empirical record suggests…
Compersion: When Jealousy-Inducing Situations Don’t (Just) Induce Jealousy
Sexual Desire in the Time of Covid-19: How Covid-Related Stressors Are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships
Fantasies About Consensual Nonmonogamy Among Persons in Monogamous Romantic Relationships
Commitment in Age-Gap Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: A Test of Evolutionary and Socio-Cultural Predictions
Little research has addressed age-gap romantic relationships (romantic involvements characterized by substantial age differences between partners). Drawing on evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives, the present study examined normative beliefs and commitment processes among heterosexual women involved in age-gap and age-concordant relationships. Results indicated that woman-older partners were the most satisfied with and committed to their …
Covid-19 and Sexual Desire: Perceived Fear Is Associated with Enhanced Relationship Functioning
Lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had mostly negative consequences for individual, relationship, and sexual functioning. However, some individuals have reported increases in sexual desire and made new additions to their sex lives. Given that stress-provoking situations can sometimes make mortality more salient and heighten sexual desire, it is possible that lifestyle changes and fear of COVID-19 infection may have benefited some r…
Sugar Dating, Perceptions of Power, and Condom Use: Comparing the Sexual Health Risk Behaviours of Sugar Dating to Non-Sugar Dating Women
Sugar dating is a form of dating typically characterized by wealthier, older men providing financial support to younger, less financially secure women in exchange for companionship and sexual intimacy. The goals of the current study were to (1) quantitatively assess the sexual practices of sugar dating women in their arrangements with sugar daddies, including time spent on sexual activity, average number of current partners, and relative percepti…
A longitudinal study of friends with benefits relationships
Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) uniquely combine friendship with sexual activity but differ from romantic relationships in that they may be less likely to be exclusive or long lasting. A longitudinal analysis of the trajectory of FWBRs is presented, in which participants in FWBRs at Time 1 reported on their relationship outcomes at Time 2 ( N = 192). Results demonstrated that a plurality of FWBRs transitioned into having no relationsh…
Sexual Self-Esteem and Orgasm Consistency: Exploring the Unique Roles of Body Image and Genital Image
Peer Influence and Attraction to Interracial Romantic Relationships
The present research examined the effect of social influence on White, heterosexual individuals’ attraction to targets of varying races (White vs. Black) in two college student samples from the United States (one that leaned politically liberal and one that leaned politically conservative). Using a within-subjects experimental design, participants were given artificial peer evaluation data (positive, negative, or none) before providing ratings of…
Intergroup attitudes and values in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq
This study analyzed a dataset in which approximately one-half of the sample (all U.S. college students) participated just prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the remainder participated in the weeks following the initial invasion. Results indicated that wartime participants increasingly valued power and superiority, scoring significantly higher on social dominance orientation and self-enhancement values relative to pre-war participants. W…
Marginalized Relationships: The Impact of Social Disapproval on Romantic Relationship Commitment
Little research has examined the effects of prejudice and discrimination on people's romantic relationships. The authors explored whether belonging to a socially devalued relationship affects consequential relational phenomena. Within the framework of the Investment Model, the authors (a) tested the association between perceived relationship marginalization and relationship commitment, (b) compared investment levels of individuals involved in mar…
The Role of Heterosexual Identity Threat in Differential Support for Same-Sex `Civil Unions' versus `Marriages
Although US citizens generally oppose the legal recognition of same-sex marriages more than civil unions, the reasons for this opposition remain unclear. In two experiments, we presented participants with one of two hypothetical state laws legally recognizing same-sex partnerships. The laws differed only in the label applied to those partnerships (i.e. civil union or marriage). Across both studies, participants expressed less support for same-sex…
Group domination and inequality in context: Evidence for the unstable meanings of social dominance and authoritarianism
Both social dominance orientation (SDO) and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) are assumed to be general and relatively stable psychological orientations that individuals ‘carry with them’ from context to context, influencing responses to salient forms of intergroup inequality and domination. In two experimental studies we tested the relative stability of SDO (Studies 1 and 2) and RWA (Study 1). That is, we examined whether people who score relati…
Perceived Marginalization and the Prediction of Romantic Relationship Stability
The present research examined how perceived marginalization of one's romantic relationship is associated with level of future commitment to and stability of that involvement. Results from a 7-month longitudinal study of romantically involved individuals (N= 215) revealed that perceived social network marginalization at Time 1 predicted breakup status at Time 2, with commitment level at Time 1 fully mediating this association. Among those individu…
Intergroup attitudes and values in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq
This study analyzed a dataset in which approximately one-half of the sample (all U.S. college students) participated just prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the remainder participated in the weeks following the initial invasion. Results indicated that wartime participants increasingly valued power and superiority, scoring significantly higher on social dominance orientation and self-enhancement values relative to pre-war participants. W…
Commitment in Age-Gap Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: A Test of Evolutionary and Socio-Cultural Predictions
Little research has addressed age-gap romantic relationships (romantic involvements characterized by substantial age differences between partners). Drawing on evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives, the present study examined normative beliefs and commitment processes among heterosexual women involved in age-gap and age-concordant relationships. Results indicated that woman-older partners were the most satisfied with and committed to their …
Satisfaction, Alternatives, Investments, and the Microfoundations of Audience Cost Models
In this paper, we suggest that the Investment Model of Commitment, developed in social psychology, offers a solution to an important microfoundational issue in audience cost theory. Audience cost models are useful for thinking about the foreign policy behaviors of democratic and nondemocratic states. However, they often assume that citizens reliably penalize leaders who break their foreign policy promises even though the empirical record suggests…
The effect of self-affirmation on sexual prejudice
Differences in relationship investments between gay and heterosexual men
Previous Investment Model research found that investments are a weaker predictor of relationship commitment for gay men compared with heterosexual men. The present study examined whether this effect is characteristic of investments in general or whether it is specific to certain types of investments. Results indicated that tangible investments significantly predicted commitment among heterosexual men, but not among gay men. In contrast, intangibl…
Sex Differences in Approaching Friends with Benefits Relationships
This research explored differences in how men and women approach "friends with benefits" (FWB) relationships. Specifically, this study examined sex differences in reasons for beginning such involvements, commitment to the friendship versus sexual aspects of the relationship, and partners'; anticipated hopes for the future. To do so, an Internet sample of individuals currently involved in FWB relationships was recruited. Results indicated many ove…
Commitment in friends with benefits relationships: Implications for relational and safe‐sex outcomes
The present research sought to explore the antecedents and consequences of commitment in the context of friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs). Data collected from an Internet sample of participants (all of whom currently had an FWBR) revealed that these relationships do indeed uniquely combine aspects of both sexual relationships and friendships. In addition, results indicated that satisfaction, investment, and alternatives were predictive …
Sexual Communication, Satisfaction, and Condom Use Behavior in Friends with Benefits and Romantic Partners
Although "friends with benefits" relationships (FWBRs) are common and have been the subject of significant media and research attention, relatively little is known about them, especially in terms of how they differ from other types of relationships. The present research sought to compare the sexual outcomes of FWBRs to those of traditional romantic relationships via an online survey. Results revealed that FWBR partners were less likely to be sexu…
Perceived marginalization and its association with physical and psychological health
Perceiving one's romantic relationship as socially marginalized (i.e., as lacking social approval and acceptance) has been linked to an array of worse relational outcomes, including a greater likelihood of breakup. The present research extended this line of work by examining whether individuals who perceive disapproval specifically because of their current romantic relationship tend to experience worse personal health as well. Using an internet-b…
Social Networking Smartphone Applications and Sexual Health Outcomes among Men Who Have Sex with Men
Several smartphone applications (apps) designed to help men who have sex with men (MSM) find casual sexual partners have appeared on the market recently. Apps of this nature have the potential to impact sexual health and behavior by providing constant access to a large supply of available partners. In this study, the sexual health history, behavior, and personality of MSM who use these apps was compared to MSM who meet partners in other ways. A s…
Peer Influence and Attraction to Interracial Romantic Relationships
The present research examined the effect of social influence on White, heterosexual individuals’ attraction to targets of varying races (White vs. Black) in two college student samples from the United States (one that leaned politically liberal and one that leaned politically conservative). Using a within-subjects experimental design, participants were given artificial peer evaluation data (positive, negative, or none) before providing ratings of…
Friends with Benefits
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 backgroun…
A longitudinal study of friends with benefits relationships
Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) uniquely combine friendship with sexual activity but differ from romantic relationships in that they may be less likely to be exclusive or long lasting. A longitudinal analysis of the trajectory of FWBRs is presented, in which participants in FWBRs at Time 1 reported on their relationship outcomes at Time 2 ( N = 192). Results demonstrated that a plurality of FWBRs transitioned into having no relationsh…
Fantasies About Consensual Nonmonogamy Among Persons in Monogamous Romantic Relationships
Exploring Variations in North American Adults’ Attitudes, Interest, Experience, and Outcomes Related to Mixed-Gender Threesomes: A Replication and Extension
Less Sex, but More Sexual Diversity: Changes in Sexual Behavior during the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Recreational sex is a popular form of leisure that has been redefined by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. "Social distancing" rules have imposed limits on sex for leisure while also creating new opportunities. We discuss results from an online survey of 1,559 adults who were asked about the pandemic's impact on their intimate lives. While nearly half of the sample reported a decline in their sex life, one in five participants reported expandi…
Covid-19 and Sexual Desire: Perceived Fear Is Associated with Enhanced Relationship Functioning
Lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had mostly negative consequences for individual, relationship, and sexual functioning. However, some individuals have reported increases in sexual desire and made new additions to their sex lives. Given that stress-provoking situations can sometimes make mortality more salient and heighten sexual desire, it is possible that lifestyle changes and fear of COVID-19 infection may have benefited some r…
Sugar Dating, Perceptions of Power, and Condom Use: Comparing the Sexual Health Risk Behaviours of Sugar Dating to Non-Sugar Dating Women
Sugar dating is a form of dating typically characterized by wealthier, older men providing financial support to younger, less financially secure women in exchange for companionship and sexual intimacy. The goals of the current study were to (1) quantitatively assess the sexual practices of sugar dating women in their arrangements with sugar daddies, including time spent on sexual activity, average number of current partners, and relative percepti…
Compersion: When Jealousy-Inducing Situations Don’t (Just) Induce Jealousy
Sexual Desire in the Time of Covid-19: How Covid-Related Stressors Are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships
Psychology (25 works) · Social Psychology (22 works) · Developmental psychology (18 works) · Romance (13 works) · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology (13 works) · Social Psychology (13 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (12 works) · Marriage and Sexual Relationships (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Medicine (8 works)