D Boon
Biographic Data
| ID | 3200 |
|---|---|
| NAME | D Boon |
| GIVEN NAMES | D |
| FAMILY NAME | Boon |
| SIGNATURE | BOON D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Calgary |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4366-1100 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 39 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 159 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Cross‐Cultural Validation of Commitment Measures
Commitment predicts key outcomes such as stay–leave decisions, willingness to sacrifice, and infidelity. Given its central role in relationship research, it is essential that commitment measures be valid and reliable across cultural contexts. We examined the construct and convergent validity and measurement invariance of two commitment measures—the Investment Model Scale (IMS) and Measurement of Components of Commitment Scale (MCCS)—across Irania…
Reconsidering Forgiveness and Unforgiveness: A Call for a More Nuanced Understanding of Unforgiveness
This essay explores the complex nature of forgiveness and unforgiveness as responses to wrongdoing. Traditionally, forgiveness has been framed as a process that promotes psychological and relational well‐being, whereas unforgiveness is often viewed as harmful. Perhaps because of these tendencies, forgiveness researchers have documented many benefits associated with forgiveness but paid less attention to the possibility that there may be situation…
The relative importance of contextual factors in judging mundane extradyadic behaviors as infidelity: A policy‐capturing study
Seemingly benign extradyadic behaviors (e.g., buying/receiving gifts or talking on the phone) may be perceived as infidelity under certain circumstances, therefore causing distress and conflict in romantic relationships. A policy‐capturing method was used to illuminate the relative role of contextual factors (secrecy, frequency of the behavior, and the victim's familiarity with the rival) in perceiving whether a mundane, everyday extradyadic act …
I did not expect that from you: Unforgiveness dimensions, attachment insecurities, and relationship under-commitment following a relational transgression
After experiencing a relational transgression, individuals may not forgive their partner. However, unforgiveness may prove detrimental to relationship functioning for both partners, and even more so when combined with individual and relational risk factors. This study examined the associations between unforgiveness dimensions (cognitive-evaluative, emotional-ruminative, and offender reconstrual) and relationship under-commitment in couples who ex…
Examining Associations Between Distress Tolerance, Perceived Covid-19 Threat, and Psychological Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Social Support
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant psychological distress worldwide. It is important to enhance our understanding of the interpersonal and intrapersonal processes that can be addressed to promote psychological well-being after experiencing an adverse event like a pandemic. Therefore, to understand the direct and indirect associations between distress tolerance and diverse psychological outcomes following the onset of the COVID-19 pandem…
Why we harm the organization for a perpetrator's actions: The roles of unforgiveness, group betrayal, and group embodiment in displaced revenge
The present article aims to elucidate whether offender unforgiveness predicts organizationally targeted displaced revenge and whether this effect occurs because offender‐directed feelings spill over to shape feelings towards the group. Two studies (Study 1a/1b) showed that unforgiveness predicts organizationally directed displaced revenge in the form of counterproductive workplace behaviours against an organization, mediated by perceived group be…
Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness
Are attitudes toward forgiveness ambivalent? To answer this question and explore whether such ambivalence predicts individuals' propensity to forgive and tendency to view forgiveness as desirable/virtuous, we asked undergraduates (N = 159) to complete measures of ambivalence toward forgiveness, attitudes toward forgiveness, and tendencies to be forgiving/vengeful. Using a number of metrics, our findings suggest that attitudes toward forgiveness a…
Between friends: Forgiveness, unforgiveness, and wrongdoing in same-sex friendships
Friendships fulfill needs for intimacy, belonging, and support and yet have rarely been the focus of forgiveness research. In this study, we explored forgiveness, unforgiveness, and young adults' experiences of transgressions in same-sex friendships ( N = 407). Our results suggest that, although forgiveness and unforgiveness share important antecedents (e.g., apology status, perceived remorse, and barriers to forgiveness), they are nevertheless e…
Coping with global uncertainty: Perceptions of Covid-19 psychological distress, relationship quality, and dyadic coping for romantic partners across 27 countries
Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, individuals report psychological distress associated with the "new normal"-social distancing, financial hardships, and increased responsibilities while working from home. Given the interpersonal nature of stress and coping responses between romantic partners, based on the systemic transactional model this study posits that perceived partner dyadic coping may be an important moderator betwee…
Revenge via social media and relationship contexts: Prevalence and measurement
Social media platforms' unique characteristics may make them particularly good outlets for getting even with relational partners. Establishing the prevalence of social media revenge and identifying the forms such revenge may take in different relationship contexts is an important first step in broadening our understanding of these behaviors. In a mixed-methods study, undergraduates ( N = 732) and community members ( N = 124) were randomly assigne…
Associations between perceived injustice, unforgiveness, and psychological well-being among ex-communicants
Through the experiences of individuals excommunicated from a small religious sect ( N = 95), we explored the association between perceptions of injustice resulting from chronic social exclusion and reduced psychological well-being. We also tested whether unforgiveness toward the church-particularly a tendency for participants to experience lingering negative affect and rumination about their treatment by the church-mediates this association. Anal…
Perceptions of the effects of celiac disease on romantic relationships among individuals with celiac disease
Individuals ( N = 109) with biopsy-proven celiac disease completed a survey exploring their perceptions of their illness's impact on their romantic relationships. Whether they met their partners before or after diagnosis, participants perceived the disease to bear modest impact on their relationships with more pronounced positive effects than negative effects. Moreover, controlling for attachment anxiety and avoidance and relationship quality, ne…
Redefining unforgiveness: Exploring victims' experiences in the wake of unforgiven interpersonal transgressions
This study explored victims' experiences in the aftermath of unforgiven offenses. Semi-structured interviews with 13 individuals discussing two unforgiven offenses revealed considerable variability in the experiences of unforgiveness, suggesting that unforgiveness may be more multifaceted than previously believed. In addition to the negative emotions and rumination previously posited to characterize unforgiveness, novel themes emerged describing …
The GFIT Scale: Measuring Goals Following Interpersonal Transgressions
In two studies, we created and validated a scale assessing 12 possible goals that individuals might wish to pursue when transgressed against by another person (e.g., relationship maintenance, power over the offender, retributive justice). Results demonstrated that the 12 subscales of the Goals Following Interpersonal Transgressions scale (GFIT) were reliable and exhibited convergent and discriminant validity with transgression-related interperson…
Resisting revenge: An investigation of reasons for foregoing revenge in romantic relationships
The reasons people offered to explain why they resisted the desire to retaliate when provoked by a romantic partner were investigated in two studies. Undergraduates recalled an instance when they wanted to get even with a romantic partner but chose not to and either explained their reasons for foregoing revenge (Study 1, N = 27) or selected reasons from a checklist (Study 2, N = 91). Results suggest people succumb to the temptation to take reveng…
Avengees' perspectives on revenge: Commitment as a predictor and relationship type differences
This study investigated how people respond emotionally to and make sense of the experience of being on the receiving end of an angry relationship partner's attempted revenge. Using an interdependence theory framework, we tested hypotheses concerning the role of commitment and investigated differences due to relationship type. We asked participants ( N = 439) if they had experienced revenge at the hands of either a romantic partner, family member,…
Special section preface
Expectations regarding partner fidelity in dating relationships
This study investigated the nature of people's expectations about their dating partners' fidelity and whether trust, commitment, and disapproval of infidelity predicted their expectations. Individuals ( N = 209) in ongoing dating relationships completed measures of trust, commitment, and disapproval of infidelity as well as items assessing their expectations concerning the likelihood their partners had cheated on them or would cheat on them in th…
Pluralistic ignorance in revenge attitudes and behavior in interpersonal relationships
We investigated whether people's perceptions of social norms concerning interpersonal revenge reflect a tendency for individuals to believe that others' revenge attitudes and behavior differ from their own (i.e., pluralistic ignorance). As part of a survey on revenge experiences in relationships with romantic partners, family members, and associates (e.g., friends), participants ( N = 534) judged the acceptability and frequency of revenge in sign…
Pluralistic ignorance and misperception of social norms concerning cheating in dating relationships
Two studies tested the hypothesis that beliefs about infidelity in dating relationships reflect pluralistic ignorance, a misperception in which people mistakenly believe that their own personal attitudes and behavior differ from others' when they do not. Consistent with pluralistic ignorance findings in other domains, undergraduates reported that the average university student (a) saw dating infidelity as more acceptable and (b) engaged in unfait…
Exploring Revenge as a Feature of Family Life
In this article, we argue that approaching the study of family conflict from a revenge perspective may offer novel and important theoretical insights. In building this argument, we discuss issues associated with defining and operationalizing revenge, review research on the parameters of revenge as studied in personal relationships to date, provide illustrative examples of several contexts in which family revenge might emerge, and highlight method…
Protect the individual or protect the relationship? A dual-focus model of indirect risk exposure, trust, and caution
The current study extends work by both Boon and Holmes (1999) and Murray, Holmes and Collins (2006) by providing a theoretical model and the first experimental examination of the connection between more subtle forms of risk exposure and the levels of trust third-party evaluators have in their own partners when giving advice to others about their relationship difficulties. One hundred and fifty-two participants initially completed trust and self-e…
Being Canadian' and `Being Indian': Subject Positions and Discourses Used in South Asian-Canadian Women's Talk about Ethnic Identity
Ethnic identity descriptions can be viewed as `subject positions' (Davies and Harré, 1990) that are dynamically adopted and discarded for pragmatic purposes through the medium of socialinteraction.Inthe present paper, we use positioning theory to explore the multiple ways our participants—South Asian-Canadian women—positioned themselves and others in conversations about their ethnic identity. A discourse analysis of participants' talk revealed a …
Internet Initiated Relationships: Associations Between Age and Involvement in Online Dating
We used data from an online survey (N = 175) about Internet romance to explore the possibility that age might be associated with variation in people's perceptions of and experiences with online personals ads and Internet dating sites. Results suggest that involvement in online dating may increase rather than decrease with age and that older adults may turn to online dating in part as a response to diminishing satisfaction with and use of more con…
Payback: The parameters of revenge in romantic relationships
This investigation explored the provocations that spark intimates' desires for revenge, the kinds of vengeful responses they enact, and the motives that underlie decisions to retaliate. Eighty-five undergraduates were interviewed about incidents in which they "got even" with a current or former romantic partner. Both provocations and revenge responses predominately involved relationship rules violations, and most revenge responses were mild to mo…
Coping with global uncertainty: Perceptions of Covid-19 psychological distress, relationship quality, and dyadic coping for romantic partners across 27 countries
Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, individuals report psychological distress associated with the "new normal"-social distancing, financial hardships, and increased responsibilities while working from home. Given the interpersonal nature of stress and coping responses between romantic partners, based on the systemic transactional model this study posits that perceived partner dyadic coping may be an important moderator betwee…
Admirer-celebrity relationships among young adults: Explaining perceptions of celebrity influence on identity
This study investigated young adults' judgments regarding the degree to which relationships with celebrity idols influenced their sense of identity and feelings of self-worth. Participants (N=75) were recruited from a larger sample (N=213) of young adults whose responses to a brief survey instrument indicated that they were moderately to strongly attached to media figures they identified as idols in their lives. The present paper discusses the ch…
Payback: The parameters of revenge in romantic relationships
This investigation explored the provocations that spark intimates' desires for revenge, the kinds of vengeful responses they enact, and the motives that underlie decisions to retaliate. Eighty-five undergraduates were interviewed about incidents in which they "got even" with a current or former romantic partner. Both provocations and revenge responses predominately involved relationship rules violations, and most revenge responses were mild to mo…
Expectations regarding partner fidelity in dating relationships
This study investigated the nature of people's expectations about their dating partners' fidelity and whether trust, commitment, and disapproval of infidelity predicted their expectations. Individuals ( N = 209) in ongoing dating relationships completed measures of trust, commitment, and disapproval of infidelity as well as items assessing their expectations concerning the likelihood their partners had cheated on them or would cheat on them in th…
Internet Initiated Relationships: Associations Between Age and Involvement in Online Dating
We used data from an online survey (N = 175) about Internet romance to explore the possibility that age might be associated with variation in people's perceptions of and experiences with online personals ads and Internet dating sites. Results suggest that involvement in online dating may increase rather than decrease with age and that older adults may turn to online dating in part as a response to diminishing satisfaction with and use of more con…
Exploring the Links Between Interpersonal Trust and the Reasons Underlying Gay and Bisexual Males' Disclosure of Their Sexual Orientation to Their Mothers
This paper examines the role that interpersonal trust plays in gay and bisexual males' accounts of the factors that led them to decide to reveal or to withhold their sexual identities from their mothers. Fifty men completed a questionnaire about their coming out experiences in the context of their relationships with their mothers. As part of this questionnaire, they indicated whether or not they had disclosed their sexual orientation to their mot…
Admirer-celebrity relationships among young adults. Explaining perceptions of celebrity influence on identity
Between friends: Forgiveness, unforgiveness, and wrongdoing in same-sex friendships
Friendships fulfill needs for intimacy, belonging, and support and yet have rarely been the focus of forgiveness research. In this study, we explored forgiveness, unforgiveness, and young adults' experiences of transgressions in same-sex friendships ( N = 407). Our results suggest that, although forgiveness and unforgiveness share important antecedents (e.g., apology status, perceived remorse, and barriers to forgiveness), they are nevertheless e…
Redefining unforgiveness: Exploring victims' experiences in the wake of unforgiven interpersonal transgressions
This study explored victims' experiences in the aftermath of unforgiven offenses. Semi-structured interviews with 13 individuals discussing two unforgiven offenses revealed considerable variability in the experiences of unforgiveness, suggesting that unforgiveness may be more multifaceted than previously believed. In addition to the negative emotions and rumination previously posited to characterize unforgiveness, novel themes emerged describing …
Trust and Disclosure of Sexual Orientation in Gay Males' Mother-Son Relationships
This study explored the possibility that changes in feelings of trust for mother are associated with gay males' decisions to disclose (or withhold) their sexual orientation in their mother-son relationships. Fifty gay and bisexual males completed a questionnaire about their coming out experiences in the context of their relationships with their mothers. As part of this questionnaire, they completed a retrospective graphical trust history task tha…
Deception in Romantic Relationships: Subjective Estimates of Success at Deceiving and Attitudes toward Deception
Participants (N = 97) completed a questionnaire about deceptive communication in romantic relationships. Responses indicated that people generally believe that they are fairly successful in their efforts to deceive their partners and, moreover, that they believe they are more successful in deceiving their partners than their partners are at deceiving them. Results also suggest that attitudes toward dishonesty in romantic relationships are neither…
Grandchildren's Perceptions of Grandparents' Health: Worries and Impact on Their Own Lives
Young adults (N= 153) completed a questionnaire about their relationships with grandparents they perceived to live with illness, disease, and/or disability. We investigated (1) the extent to which participants reported worrying about 12 causes of concern related to their grandparents' health and well-being (e.g., the grandparent dying in the near future) and (2) their perceptions concerning the extent to which their grandparents' health problems …
Discourses of "Democratic Racism" in the Talk of South Asian Canadian Women
Despite societal norms of tolerance and diversity, covert "democratic" racism (Henry and Tator 2006) flourishes in Canada on individual and systemic levels. Democratic racism, an ideology that allows the coexistence of both egalitarian values and racist attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours, is often expressed by the dominant group through powerful discourses that shape the social reality for many minority individuals. However, racist discourses, su…
I did not expect that from you: Unforgiveness dimensions, attachment insecurities, and relationship under-commitment following a relational transgression
After experiencing a relational transgression, individuals may not forgive their partner. However, unforgiveness may prove detrimental to relationship functioning for both partners, and even more so when combined with individual and relational risk factors. This study examined the associations between unforgiveness dimensions (cognitive-evaluative, emotional-ruminative, and offender reconstrual) and relationship under-commitment in couples who ex…
Revenge via social media and relationship contexts: Prevalence and measurement
Social media platforms' unique characteristics may make them particularly good outlets for getting even with relational partners. Establishing the prevalence of social media revenge and identifying the forms such revenge may take in different relationship contexts is an important first step in broadening our understanding of these behaviors. In a mixed-methods study, undergraduates ( N = 732) and community members ( N = 124) were randomly assigne…
Associations between perceived injustice, unforgiveness, and psychological well-being among ex-communicants
Through the experiences of individuals excommunicated from a small religious sect ( N = 95), we explored the association between perceptions of injustice resulting from chronic social exclusion and reduced psychological well-being. We also tested whether unforgiveness toward the church-particularly a tendency for participants to experience lingering negative affect and rumination about their treatment by the church-mediates this association. Anal…
Exploring Revenge as a Feature of Family Life
In this article, we argue that approaching the study of family conflict from a revenge perspective may offer novel and important theoretical insights. In building this argument, we discuss issues associated with defining and operationalizing revenge, review research on the parameters of revenge as studied in personal relationships to date, provide illustrative examples of several contexts in which family revenge might emerge, and highlight method…
Protect the individual or protect the relationship? A dual-focus model of indirect risk exposure, trust, and caution
The current study extends work by both Boon and Holmes (1999) and Murray, Holmes and Collins (2006) by providing a theoretical model and the first experimental examination of the connection between more subtle forms of risk exposure and the levels of trust third-party evaluators have in their own partners when giving advice to others about their relationship difficulties. One hundred and fifty-two participants initially completed trust and self-e…
Grandparent Health and Young Adults' Judgments of Their Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships
Using the Common-Sense Model of illness representations (Leventhal, Myer, & Nerenz, 1980 Leventhal, H., Meyer, D. and Nerenz, D. 1980. “The common sense representation of illness danger”. In Contributions to medical psychology, Edited by: Rahcman, S. Vol. 2, 7–30. New York: Pergamon Press. [Google Scholar]) as a framework, we investigated impairment-related variables as predictors of young adults' experiences in relationships with ill/disabled gr…
Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness
Are attitudes toward forgiveness ambivalent? To answer this question and explore whether such ambivalence predicts individuals' propensity to forgive and tendency to view forgiveness as desirable/virtuous, we asked undergraduates (N = 159) to complete measures of ambivalence toward forgiveness, attitudes toward forgiveness, and tendencies to be forgiving/vengeful. Using a number of metrics, our findings suggest that attitudes toward forgiveness a…
Perceptions of the effects of celiac disease on romantic relationships among individuals with celiac disease
Individuals ( N = 109) with biopsy-proven celiac disease completed a survey exploring their perceptions of their illness's impact on their romantic relationships. Whether they met their partners before or after diagnosis, participants perceived the disease to bear modest impact on their relationships with more pronounced positive effects than negative effects. Moreover, controlling for attachment anxiety and avoidance and relationship quality, ne…
The construction of risk in relationships: The role of framing in decisions about intimate relationships
Two studies examined the applicability of Kahneman and Tversky's (1979) notion of “framing” to decision making in romantic relationships. Using scenarios about hypothetical relationships, the results of Study 1 demonstrated that framing objectively identical alternatives in terms of losses versus gains affected participants' preferences for risky versus cautious actions. Furthermore, adult attachment style was found to moderate the impact of this…
Popular images of grandparents: Examining young adults’views of their closest grandparents
Young adults ( N = 171) first judged the extent to which 13 stereotyped images of grandparents typified their perceptions of their own closest grandparent and then judged the extent to which they believed the average other viewed these same stereotypes as characteristic of his or her closest grandparent. Compared to those whose relationships with their closest grandparent were emotionally distant, participants who felt close to their closest gran…
Interpersonal risk and the evaluation of transgressions in close relationships
An experiment examined individuals’willingness to excuse a romantic partner of blame for a transgression when perceptions that a relationship is risky are salient. Participants evaluated an actual transgression on measures tapping three levels of appraisal: (a) initial impressions of the act (i.e., severity of the transgression), (b) considerations of the context in which it occurred (i.e., judgments about excuses and extenuating context), and (c…
Charting the topography of risky relationship experiences
The present study examined people's accounts of risky relationship experiences, with the aim of documenting (a) the types of issues and events that people view as “danger zones” in their dating relationships as well as (b) the feelings and emotions that they experience in response to situations in which such risks arise. A detailed content analysis of participants’( N = 51) risk accounts revealed a considerable diversity in both the range of risk…
Exploring the Links Between Interpersonal Trust and the Reasons Underlying Gay and Bisexual Males' Disclosure of Their Sexual Orientation to Their Mothers
This paper examines the role that interpersonal trust plays in gay and bisexual males' accounts of the factors that led them to decide to reveal or to withhold their sexual identities from their mothers. Fifty men completed a questionnaire about their coming out experiences in the context of their relationships with their mothers. As part of this questionnaire, they indicated whether or not they had disclosed their sexual orientation to their mot…
Trust and Disclosure of Sexual Orientation in Gay Males' Mother-Son Relationships
This study explored the possibility that changes in feelings of trust for mother are associated with gay males' decisions to disclose (or withhold) their sexual orientation in their mother-son relationships. Fifty gay and bisexual males completed a questionnaire about their coming out experiences in the context of their relationships with their mothers. As part of this questionnaire, they completed a retrospective graphical trust history task tha…
When the glass is half‐empty: Framing effects and evaluations of a romantic partner's attributes
Two studies examined how the framing of information influences evaluations of hypothetical relationships. Studies 1 ( n = 183) and 2 ( n = 247) examined how the framing of a hypothetical partner's attributes in gains or loss terms influences (a) impressions of the future success of the relationship and (b) the perceived importance of the partner's attributes. Generally, participants were less pessimistic about a relationship's future success when…
Admirer-celebrity relationships among young adults. Explaining perceptions of celebrity influence on identity
Deception in Romantic Relationships: Subjective Estimates of Success at Deceiving and Attitudes toward Deception
Participants (N = 97) completed a questionnaire about deceptive communication in romantic relationships. Responses indicated that people generally believe that they are fairly successful in their efforts to deceive their partners and, moreover, that they believe they are more successful in deceiving their partners than their partners are at deceiving them. Results also suggest that attitudes toward dishonesty in romantic relationships are neither…
Admirer-celebrity relationships among young adults: Explaining perceptions of celebrity influence on identity
This study investigated young adults' judgments regarding the degree to which relationships with celebrity idols influenced their sense of identity and feelings of self-worth. Participants (N=75) were recruited from a larger sample (N=213) of young adults whose responses to a brief survey instrument indicated that they were moderately to strongly attached to media figures they identified as idols in their lives. The present paper discusses the ch…
Grandchildren's Perceptions of Grandparents' Health: Worries and Impact on Their Own Lives
Young adults (N= 153) completed a questionnaire about their relationships with grandparents they perceived to live with illness, disease, and/or disability. We investigated (1) the extent to which participants reported worrying about 12 causes of concern related to their grandparents' health and well-being (e.g., the grandparent dying in the near future) and (2) their perceptions concerning the extent to which their grandparents' health problems …
Discourses of "Democratic Racism" in the Talk of South Asian Canadian Women
Despite societal norms of tolerance and diversity, covert "democratic" racism (Henry and Tator 2006) flourishes in Canada on individual and systemic levels. Democratic racism, an ideology that allows the coexistence of both egalitarian values and racist attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours, is often expressed by the dominant group through powerful discourses that shape the social reality for many minority individuals. However, racist discourses, su…
Communicating Personal Relationships Research Findings
Grandparent Health and Young Adults' Judgments of Their Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships
Using the Common-Sense Model of illness representations (Leventhal, Myer, & Nerenz, 1980 Leventhal, H., Meyer, D. and Nerenz, D. 1980. “The common sense representation of illness danger”. In Contributions to medical psychology, Edited by: Rahcman, S. Vol. 2, 7–30. New York: Pergamon Press. [Google Scholar]) as a framework, we investigated impairment-related variables as predictors of young adults' experiences in relationships with ill/disabled gr…
Being Canadian' and `Being Indian': Subject Positions and Discourses Used in South Asian-Canadian Women's Talk about Ethnic Identity
Ethnic identity descriptions can be viewed as `subject positions' (Davies and Harré, 1990) that are dynamically adopted and discarded for pragmatic purposes through the medium of socialinteraction.Inthe present paper, we use positioning theory to explore the multiple ways our participants—South Asian-Canadian women—positioned themselves and others in conversations about their ethnic identity. A discourse analysis of participants' talk revealed a …
Internet Initiated Relationships: Associations Between Age and Involvement in Online Dating
We used data from an online survey (N = 175) about Internet romance to explore the possibility that age might be associated with variation in people's perceptions of and experiences with online personals ads and Internet dating sites. Results suggest that involvement in online dating may increase rather than decrease with age and that older adults may turn to online dating in part as a response to diminishing satisfaction with and use of more con…
Payback: The parameters of revenge in romantic relationships
This investigation explored the provocations that spark intimates' desires for revenge, the kinds of vengeful responses they enact, and the motives that underlie decisions to retaliate. Eighty-five undergraduates were interviewed about incidents in which they "got even" with a current or former romantic partner. Both provocations and revenge responses predominately involved relationship rules violations, and most revenge responses were mild to mo…
Protect the individual or protect the relationship? A dual-focus model of indirect risk exposure, trust, and caution
The current study extends work by both Boon and Holmes (1999) and Murray, Holmes and Collins (2006) by providing a theoretical model and the first experimental examination of the connection between more subtle forms of risk exposure and the levels of trust third-party evaluators have in their own partners when giving advice to others about their relationship difficulties. One hundred and fifty-two participants initially completed trust and self-e…
Pluralistic ignorance in revenge attitudes and behavior in interpersonal relationships
We investigated whether people's perceptions of social norms concerning interpersonal revenge reflect a tendency for individuals to believe that others' revenge attitudes and behavior differ from their own (i.e., pluralistic ignorance). As part of a survey on revenge experiences in relationships with romantic partners, family members, and associates (e.g., friends), participants ( N = 534) judged the acceptability and frequency of revenge in sign…
Pluralistic ignorance and misperception of social norms concerning cheating in dating relationships
Two studies tested the hypothesis that beliefs about infidelity in dating relationships reflect pluralistic ignorance, a misperception in which people mistakenly believe that their own personal attitudes and behavior differ from others' when they do not. Consistent with pluralistic ignorance findings in other domains, undergraduates reported that the average university student (a) saw dating infidelity as more acceptable and (b) engaged in unfait…
Exploring Revenge as a Feature of Family Life
In this article, we argue that approaching the study of family conflict from a revenge perspective may offer novel and important theoretical insights. In building this argument, we discuss issues associated with defining and operationalizing revenge, review research on the parameters of revenge as studied in personal relationships to date, provide illustrative examples of several contexts in which family revenge might emerge, and highlight method…
Avengees' perspectives on revenge: Commitment as a predictor and relationship type differences
This study investigated how people respond emotionally to and make sense of the experience of being on the receiving end of an angry relationship partner's attempted revenge. Using an interdependence theory framework, we tested hypotheses concerning the role of commitment and investigated differences due to relationship type. We asked participants ( N = 439) if they had experienced revenge at the hands of either a romantic partner, family member,…
Special section preface
Expectations regarding partner fidelity in dating relationships
This study investigated the nature of people's expectations about their dating partners' fidelity and whether trust, commitment, and disapproval of infidelity predicted their expectations. Individuals ( N = 209) in ongoing dating relationships completed measures of trust, commitment, and disapproval of infidelity as well as items assessing their expectations concerning the likelihood their partners had cheated on them or would cheat on them in th…
Resisting revenge: An investigation of reasons for foregoing revenge in romantic relationships
The reasons people offered to explain why they resisted the desire to retaliate when provoked by a romantic partner were investigated in two studies. Undergraduates recalled an instance when they wanted to get even with a romantic partner but chose not to and either explained their reasons for foregoing revenge (Study 1, N = 27) or selected reasons from a checklist (Study 2, N = 91). Results suggest people succumb to the temptation to take reveng…
Psychology (37 works) · Social Psychology (32 works) · Social Psychology (20 works) · Developmental psychology (17 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (14 works) · Forgiveness and Related Behaviors (14 works) · Romance (12 works) · Perception (9 works) · Psychoanalysis (8 works) · Clinical Psychology (7 works)