Sarah C E Stanton
Biographic Data
| ID | 761114 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sarah C E Stanton |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sarah C E |
| FAMILY NAME | Stanton |
| SIGNATURE | STANTON S C E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3562-4644 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 79 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Activities promoting self-expansion for dog guardians: An exploratory study
Background : Dogs are the most common companion animal in the United Kingdom, and also the most well-researched. Despite this prevalence and research focus, little is known about dog-related self-expansion (e.g., the process of incorporating new, positive content into one’s self-identity), including self-expansion behaviors (e.g., highly self-expanding activities) and self-expansion perceptions (e.g., the belief that a relationship is self-expand…
Development and Validation of the Perceived Pet Responsiveness and Insensitivity Scale
Companion animal guardianship is widespread; however, little is known about the inner dynamics of human-companion animal relationships. Perceived responsiveness and insensitivity are vital markers of relationship quality within human-human relationships, yet they remain neglected within the human-companion animal context. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a measure of perceived pet responsiveness and insensitivity, as well …
Turning Down, Tuning In: How Mindfulness Shapes Sexual Rejection, Relationship Satisfaction, and Sexual Satisfaction
Sexual rejection is a challenging interpersonal experience in intimate relationships. The present research examined how mindfulness relates to the use of different sexual rejection strategies across three studies with complementary methodologies: cross-sectional (Study 1), experimental (Study 2) and longitudinal (Study 3). In Study 1 ( N = 383; 49.87% women and 48.83% men; M age = 39.25, SD = 11.97), greater trait mindfulness was associated with …
A worldwide test of the predictive validity of ideal partner preference matching
10,358) across 43 countries and 22 languages to estimate preference-matching effect sizes. The most rigorous tests revealed significant preference-matching effects in the whole sample and for partnered and single participants separately. The "corrected pattern metric" that collapses across 35 traits revealed a zero-order effect of β = .19 and an effect of β = .11 when included alongside a normative preference-matching metric. Specific traits in t…
Development and validation of the Companion Animals Self-Expansion Scale
Although many people experience a close and complex relationship with their companion animals, our understanding and measurement of this relationship has lagged far behind that of human-human relationships. Important advances in human-human relationship concepts and measurement have yet to be applied in the context of human-companion animal relationships, including the critically relevant concept of self-expansion (i.e. the process through which …
The Association Between Companion Animal Attachment and Depression: A Systematic Review
The role of perceived negative partner behavior in daily snacking behavior: A dynamical systems approach
Past work suggested that psychological stress, especially in the context of relationship stress, is associated with increased consumption of energy-dense food and when maintained for long periods of time, leads to adverse health consequences. Furthermore, this association is moderated by a variety of factors, including emotional over-eating style. That being said, few work utilized a dynamical system approach to understand the intraindividual and…
Self-expansion within sexual minority relationships
According to the self-expansion model, people increase their positive self-concept content when they form and maintain romantic relationships, and self-expansion is an important predictor of relationship outcomes. Although thought to be universal, no prior research has examined self-expansion among sexual minority individuals. In the current study, sexual minority (N = 226) and heterosexual (N = 104) participants completed measures of self-expans…
Perceived partner phubbing predicts lower relationship quality but partners’ enacted phubbing does not
Perceptions of partner phubbing can be detrimental for romantic relationship functioning. However, research does not typically focus on couple members' reports of their own phubbing behavior and how this relates to relationship functioning. Our aim was to examine both perceptions of partner phubbing and reports of one's own enacted phubbing behavior in a dyadic diary dataset to better specify their effects on relationship functioning at the daily…
So where do you see this going? The effects of commitment asymmetry and asynchrony on relationship satisfaction and break‐up
Discrepancies in partners’ commitment have been emphasized as a key factor involved in relationship instability. We tested the contributions of multiple types of commitment asymmetry (discrepancies between partners at one time point) and asynchrony (discrepancies in the progression of commitment over time) to relationship satisfaction and break‐up. In three studies ( N = 6960 couples) spanning months (Study 1), days (Study 2) and years (Study 3),…
Romantic Relationships and Mental Health: Investigating the Role of Self-Expansion on Depression Symptoms
Close relationships have the potential to fundamentally alter relationship partners' self-concepts and, consequently, can impact individuals' mental health. One type of relationship-induced self-concept change is self-expansion, which describes the cognitive reorganization of the self that can occur when individuals include aspects of their partner into the self, or when they share novel and challenging activities together. In the current researc…
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…
Longitudinal associations between mindfulness and change in attachment orientations in couples: The role of relationship preoccupation and empathy
Attachment orientations predict relationship outcomes and health and well-being, making it important to illuminate factors which enhance attachment security. We investigated how general and relationship-specific mindfulness predict changes in attachment orientations in couples over time, testing relationship preoccupation and partner-focused empathy as mediators. We also explored whether the longitudinal links between general mindfulness and atta…
Good Theories in Need of Better Data: Combining Clinical and Social Psychological Approaches to Study the Mechanisms Linking Relationships and Health
The study of intimate relationships and health is a fast-growing discipline with numerous well-developed theories, many of which outline specific interpersonal behaviors and psychological pathways that may give rise to good or poor health. In this article, we argue that the study of relationships and health can move toward interrogating these mechanisms with greater precision and detail, but doing so will require a shift in the nature of commonly…
One foot out the door: Stay/leave ambivalence predicts day‐to‐day fluctuations in commitment and intentions to end the relationship
Why do some people maintain stable feelings of commitment toward their partners, whereas others’ feelings wax and wane from day to day? The current article draws insight from decision conflict research suggesting that individuals torn between decision options are particularly susceptible to attitude change. In three samples, we validated a stay/leave ambivalence scale to capture internal conflict about whether to remain in versus exit a relations…
Mindfulness, perceived partner responsiveness, and relationship quality: A dyadic longitudinal mediation model
General and domain-specific (e.g., relationship-specific) mindfulness frequently predict salutary relationship outcomes. The present preregistered study examined whether general and relationship mindfulness predicted longitudinal change in positive and negative relationship quality via greater perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). One hundred couples completed a baseline lab session (Phase 1), a 14-day diary period (Phase 2), and a 2-month foll…
Individual and dyadic associations among relational self‐expansion potential, affect, and perceived health
A growing body of literature suggests that specific markers of relationship quality are meaningfully linked to health outcomes. We tested whether relational self‐expansion potential might be one of these markers in cross‐sectional samples of individuals and romantic couples. Study 1 found that greater self‐expansion potential was linked to better perceived physical health via both higher positive affect (PA) and lower negative affect (NA). Study …
Exploring the links between psychological flexibility, individual well‐being, and relationship quality
The ability to engage flexibly with thoughts and behavior in line with the demands of a situation—termed psychological flexibility —has been linked to individual well‐being. This registered report presents two studies that investigate the links between psychological flexibility, individual well‐being, and relationship quality. Using structural equation modeling, Study 1 found that people who were more psychologically flexible reported higher leve…
Partners’ Relationship Mindfulness Promotes Better Daily Relationship Behaviours for Insecurely Attached Individuals
Attachment anxiety and avoidance are generally associated with detrimental relationship processes, including more negative and fewer positive relationship behaviours. However, recent theoretical and empirical evidence has shown that positive factors can buffer insecure attachment. We hypothesised that relationship mindfulness (RM)-open or receptive attention to and awareness of what is taking place internally and externally in a current relations…
Advancing understanding of the mechanistic pathways underlying close relationships and physical health: Conclusion to the special issue
The authors declare no conflicts of interest
Perceived Partner Responsiveness, Daily Negative Affect Reactivity, and All-Cause Mortality: A 20-Year Longitudinal Study
OBJECTIVE: This study tested longitudinal associations between absolute levels of perceived partner responsiveness (PPR; how much people perceive that their romantic partners understand, care for, and appreciate them), daily negative affect reactivity and positive affect reactivity, and all-cause mortality in a sample of 1,208 adults for three waves of data collection spanning 20 years. We also tested whether longitudinal changes in PPR predicted…
Self-esteem, relationship threat, and dependency regulation: Independent replication of Murray, Rose, Bellavia, Holmes, and Kusche (2002) Study 3
Are you coming on to me? Bias and accuracy in couples' perceptions of sexual advances
How accurately do romantic partners perceive each other's sexual advances? Two preregistered studies investigated whether perceivers over- or underestimate the specific behaviors their partner uses to indicate sexual interest (directional bias), as well as correctly detect the particular pattern of those behaviors (tracking accuracy). We also tested if biased and accurate perceptions were moderated by gender and explored how bias and accuracy pre…
Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Better Sleep Quality Through Lower Anxiety
The present study investigated whether perceived partner responsiveness—the extent to which individuals feel cared for, understood, and validated by their partner—predicted subjective sleep problems and objective (actigraph-based) sleep efficiency through lower anxiety and depression symptoms. A life span sample of 698 married or cohabiting adults (35–86 years old) completed measures of perceived partner responsiveness and subjective sleep proble…
Mothers’ Attachment is Linked to Their Children’s Anti-Inflammatory Gene Expression via Maternal Warmth
Research has demonstrated links between adult romantic attachment and one’s own physical health; little is known about links between adult attachment orientations and offspring health. Prior work has shown that parents’ greater attachment anxiety and avoidance predict less warmth toward their children. Extensive work has also shown that lower maternal warmth has negative downstream effects on offspring health. We tested the novel hypothesis that …
Benefits of positive relationship experiences for avoidantly attached individuals
Attachment avoidance is characterized by discomfort with closeness and a reluctance to develop intimacy with romantic partners, which contribute to heightened general negativity and lower satisfaction and self-disclosure in and out of their relationships. Recent research, however, has begun to uncover circumstances in which romantic partners and positive relationships buffer more avoidantly attached individuals against deleterious individual and …
Not in the mood? Men under- (not over-) perceive their partner’s sexual desire in established intimate relationships
Men's sexual overperception bias-where men tend to perceive greater sexual interest in women's behavior than actually exists-is a well-documented finding in previous research. All of the existing research, however, has tested this effect in the context of initial encounters or for fictitious or unknown targets. No research currently exists on how people perceive their romantic partner's sexual desire in the context of ongoing, intimate relationsh…
Mindfulness, perceived partner responsiveness, and relationship quality: A dyadic longitudinal mediation model
General and domain-specific (e.g., relationship-specific) mindfulness frequently predict salutary relationship outcomes. The present preregistered study examined whether general and relationship mindfulness predicted longitudinal change in positive and negative relationship quality via greater perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). One hundred couples completed a baseline lab session (Phase 1), a 14-day diary period (Phase 2), and a 2-month foll…
Romantic Relationships and Mental Health: Investigating the Role of Self-Expansion on Depression Symptoms
Close relationships have the potential to fundamentally alter relationship partners' self-concepts and, consequently, can impact individuals' mental health. One type of relationship-induced self-concept change is self-expansion, which describes the cognitive reorganization of the self that can occur when individuals include aspects of their partner into the self, or when they share novel and challenging activities together. In the current researc…
Are you coming on to me? Bias and accuracy in couples' perceptions of sexual advances
How accurately do romantic partners perceive each other's sexual advances? Two preregistered studies investigated whether perceivers over- or underestimate the specific behaviors their partner uses to indicate sexual interest (directional bias), as well as correctly detect the particular pattern of those behaviors (tracking accuracy). We also tested if biased and accurate perceptions were moderated by gender and explored how bias and accuracy pre…
Too tired to take offense: When depletion promotes forgiveness
A worldwide test of the predictive validity of ideal partner preference matching
10,358) across 43 countries and 22 languages to estimate preference-matching effect sizes. The most rigorous tests revealed significant preference-matching effects in the whole sample and for partnered and single participants separately. The "corrected pattern metric" that collapses across 35 traits revealed a zero-order effect of β = .19 and an effect of β = .11 when included alongside a normative preference-matching metric. Specific traits in t…
Longitudinal associations between mindfulness and change in attachment orientations in couples: The role of relationship preoccupation and empathy
Attachment orientations predict relationship outcomes and health and well-being, making it important to illuminate factors which enhance attachment security. We investigated how general and relationship-specific mindfulness predict changes in attachment orientations in couples over time, testing relationship preoccupation and partner-focused empathy as mediators. We also explored whether the longitudinal links between general mindfulness and atta…
One foot out the door: Stay/leave ambivalence predicts day‐to‐day fluctuations in commitment and intentions to end the relationship
Why do some people maintain stable feelings of commitment toward their partners, whereas others’ feelings wax and wane from day to day? The current article draws insight from decision conflict research suggesting that individuals torn between decision options are particularly susceptible to attitude change. In three samples, we validated a stay/leave ambivalence scale to capture internal conflict about whether to remain in versus exit a relations…
Self-expansion within sexual minority relationships
According to the self-expansion model, people increase their positive self-concept content when they form and maintain romantic relationships, and self-expansion is an important predictor of relationship outcomes. Although thought to be universal, no prior research has examined self-expansion among sexual minority individuals. In the current study, sexual minority (N = 226) and heterosexual (N = 104) participants completed measures of self-expans…
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…
Can't get you off my mind: Relationship reflection creates cognitive load for more anxiously attached individuals
Attachment anxiety is characterized by rumination about romantic relationships, particularly when the attachment system is activated. Two studies investigated the hypothesis that more anxiously attached individuals would experience cognitive load when attachment concerns were activated (vs. not activated). Study 1 found that more anxious persons encountering relationship threat (vs. no threat) demonstrated greater holistic processing on a shape c…
Self-esteem, relationship threat, and dependency regulation: Independent replication of Murray, Rose, Bellavia, Holmes, and Kusche (2002) Study 3
Too tired to take offense: When depletion promotes forgiveness
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 …
Can't get you off my mind: Relationship reflection creates cognitive load for more anxiously attached individuals
Attachment anxiety is characterized by rumination about romantic relationships, particularly when the attachment system is activated. Two studies investigated the hypothesis that more anxiously attached individuals would experience cognitive load when attachment concerns were activated (vs. not activated). Study 1 found that more anxious persons encountering relationship threat (vs. no threat) demonstrated greater holistic processing on a shape c…
Initial Evidence that Individuals Form New Relationships with Partners that More Closely Match their Ideal Preferences
An important assumption in interpersonal attraction research asking participants about their ideal partner preferences is that these preferences play a role in actual mate choice and relationship formation. Existing research investigating the possible predictive validity of ideal partner preference, however, is limited by the fact that none of it has focused on the actual process of relationship formation. The current research recruited participa…
Attachment avoidance and amends-making: A case advocating the need for attempting to replicate one's own work
Not in the mood? Men under- (not over-) perceive their partner’s sexual desire in established intimate relationships
Men's sexual overperception bias-where men tend to perceive greater sexual interest in women's behavior than actually exists-is a well-documented finding in previous research. All of the existing research, however, has tested this effect in the context of initial encounters or for fictitious or unknown targets. No research currently exists on how people perceive their romantic partner's sexual desire in the context of ongoing, intimate relationsh…
Perceived Partner Responsiveness Predicts Better Sleep Quality Through Lower Anxiety
The present study investigated whether perceived partner responsiveness—the extent to which individuals feel cared for, understood, and validated by their partner—predicted subjective sleep problems and objective (actigraph-based) sleep efficiency through lower anxiety and depression symptoms. A life span sample of 698 married or cohabiting adults (35–86 years old) completed measures of perceived partner responsiveness and subjective sleep proble…
Mothers’ Attachment is Linked to Their Children’s Anti-Inflammatory Gene Expression via Maternal Warmth
Research has demonstrated links between adult romantic attachment and one’s own physical health; little is known about links between adult attachment orientations and offspring health. Prior work has shown that parents’ greater attachment anxiety and avoidance predict less warmth toward their children. Extensive work has also shown that lower maternal warmth has negative downstream effects on offspring health. We tested the novel hypothesis that …
Benefits of positive relationship experiences for avoidantly attached individuals
Attachment avoidance is characterized by discomfort with closeness and a reluctance to develop intimacy with romantic partners, which contribute to heightened general negativity and lower satisfaction and self-disclosure in and out of their relationships. Recent research, however, has begun to uncover circumstances in which romantic partners and positive relationships buffer more avoidantly attached individuals against deleterious individual and …
Self-esteem, relationship threat, and dependency regulation: Independent replication of Murray, Rose, Bellavia, Holmes, and Kusche (2002) Study 3
Are you coming on to me? Bias and accuracy in couples' perceptions of sexual advances
How accurately do romantic partners perceive each other's sexual advances? Two preregistered studies investigated whether perceivers over- or underestimate the specific behaviors their partner uses to indicate sexual interest (directional bias), as well as correctly detect the particular pattern of those behaviors (tracking accuracy). We also tested if biased and accurate perceptions were moderated by gender and explored how bias and accuracy pre…
Perceived Partner Responsiveness, Daily Negative Affect Reactivity, and All-Cause Mortality: A 20-Year Longitudinal Study
OBJECTIVE: This study tested longitudinal associations between absolute levels of perceived partner responsiveness (PPR; how much people perceive that their romantic partners understand, care for, and appreciate them), daily negative affect reactivity and positive affect reactivity, and all-cause mortality in a sample of 1,208 adults for three waves of data collection spanning 20 years. We also tested whether longitudinal changes in PPR predicted…
Individual and dyadic associations among relational self‐expansion potential, affect, and perceived health
A growing body of literature suggests that specific markers of relationship quality are meaningfully linked to health outcomes. We tested whether relational self‐expansion potential might be one of these markers in cross‐sectional samples of individuals and romantic couples. Study 1 found that greater self‐expansion potential was linked to better perceived physical health via both higher positive affect (PA) and lower negative affect (NA). Study …
Exploring the links between psychological flexibility, individual well‐being, and relationship quality
The ability to engage flexibly with thoughts and behavior in line with the demands of a situation—termed psychological flexibility —has been linked to individual well‐being. This registered report presents two studies that investigate the links between psychological flexibility, individual well‐being, and relationship quality. Using structural equation modeling, Study 1 found that people who were more psychologically flexible reported higher leve…
Partners’ Relationship Mindfulness Promotes Better Daily Relationship Behaviours for Insecurely Attached Individuals
Attachment anxiety and avoidance are generally associated with detrimental relationship processes, including more negative and fewer positive relationship behaviours. However, recent theoretical and empirical evidence has shown that positive factors can buffer insecure attachment. We hypothesised that relationship mindfulness (RM)-open or receptive attention to and awareness of what is taking place internally and externally in a current relations…
Advancing understanding of the mechanistic pathways underlying close relationships and physical health: Conclusion to the special issue
The authors declare no conflicts of interest
One foot out the door: Stay/leave ambivalence predicts day‐to‐day fluctuations in commitment and intentions to end the relationship
Why do some people maintain stable feelings of commitment toward their partners, whereas others’ feelings wax and wane from day to day? The current article draws insight from decision conflict research suggesting that individuals torn between decision options are particularly susceptible to attitude change. In three samples, we validated a stay/leave ambivalence scale to capture internal conflict about whether to remain in versus exit a relations…
Mindfulness, perceived partner responsiveness, and relationship quality: A dyadic longitudinal mediation model
General and domain-specific (e.g., relationship-specific) mindfulness frequently predict salutary relationship outcomes. The present preregistered study examined whether general and relationship mindfulness predicted longitudinal change in positive and negative relationship quality via greater perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). One hundred couples completed a baseline lab session (Phase 1), a 14-day diary period (Phase 2), and a 2-month foll…
Good Theories in Need of Better Data: Combining Clinical and Social Psychological Approaches to Study the Mechanisms Linking Relationships and Health
The study of intimate relationships and health is a fast-growing discipline with numerous well-developed theories, many of which outline specific interpersonal behaviors and psychological pathways that may give rise to good or poor health. In this article, we argue that the study of relationships and health can move toward interrogating these mechanisms with greater precision and detail, but doing so will require a shift in the nature of commonly…
Perceived partner phubbing predicts lower relationship quality but partners’ enacted phubbing does not
Perceptions of partner phubbing can be detrimental for romantic relationship functioning. However, research does not typically focus on couple members' reports of their own phubbing behavior and how this relates to relationship functioning. Our aim was to examine both perceptions of partner phubbing and reports of one's own enacted phubbing behavior in a dyadic diary dataset to better specify their effects on relationship functioning at the daily…
So where do you see this going? The effects of commitment asymmetry and asynchrony on relationship satisfaction and break‐up
Discrepancies in partners’ commitment have been emphasized as a key factor involved in relationship instability. We tested the contributions of multiple types of commitment asymmetry (discrepancies between partners at one time point) and asynchrony (discrepancies in the progression of commitment over time) to relationship satisfaction and break‐up. In three studies ( N = 6960 couples) spanning months (Study 1), days (Study 2) and years (Study 3),…
Romantic Relationships and Mental Health: Investigating the Role of Self-Expansion on Depression Symptoms
Close relationships have the potential to fundamentally alter relationship partners' self-concepts and, consequently, can impact individuals' mental health. One type of relationship-induced self-concept change is self-expansion, which describes the cognitive reorganization of the self that can occur when individuals include aspects of their partner into the self, or when they share novel and challenging activities together. In the current researc…
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…
Longitudinal associations between mindfulness and change in attachment orientations in couples: The role of relationship preoccupation and empathy
Attachment orientations predict relationship outcomes and health and well-being, making it important to illuminate factors which enhance attachment security. We investigated how general and relationship-specific mindfulness predict changes in attachment orientations in couples over time, testing relationship preoccupation and partner-focused empathy as mediators. We also explored whether the longitudinal links between general mindfulness and atta…
Development and validation of the Companion Animals Self-Expansion Scale
Although many people experience a close and complex relationship with their companion animals, our understanding and measurement of this relationship has lagged far behind that of human-human relationships. Important advances in human-human relationship concepts and measurement have yet to be applied in the context of human-companion animal relationships, including the critically relevant concept of self-expansion (i.e. the process through which …
Psychology (29 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (27 works) · Developmental psychology (21 works) · Social Psychology (19 works) · Clinical Psychology (9 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (8 works) · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior (7 works) · Mediation (6 works) · Perception (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works)