Perceptions of Infidelity

A Comparison of Sexual, Emotional, Cyber-, and Parasocial Behaviors

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5295681
AutoresAimee Adam (0000-0001-8150-3432)
Ano2019
Volume13
Fascículo2
Páginas237-252
Data de publicação2019-12-20
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInterpersona An International Journal on Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1981-6472 • E-ISSN: 1981-6472
EditoraEditoriales Iberoamericanos (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5964/ijpr.v13i2.376
OpenAlexW2995468205
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas9
Referências citadas26

Previous research indicates that extradyadic sexual behaviors and other behaviors including emotional infidelity, pornography use, and online infidelity are considered to be acts of betrayal. However, perceptions of infidelity occurring through social media and of romantic parasocial relationships (one-sided romantic attachments formed with media figures) have not been well researched. In two exploratory studies, I examined a) the extent to which participants rated parasocial, sexual, emotional, and social media behaviors as infidelity, and b) how hurtful these behaviors would be if a partner were to enact them. I also examined how often participants reported having been negatively affected by their partnerâ€TMs parasocial romances. Results indicate that activities such as sexting and sexy Snapchatting are perceived similarly to both cybersex and physical sexual infidelity, and that parasocial infidelity is seen similarly to pornography use. These similarities apply to whether the acts are seen as infidelity, and in terms of the emotional pain the acts may cause. These results indicate that extradyadic social media and parasocial behaviors can be negatively perceived, and may be likely to negatively affect real-life romantic relationships

Betrayal · Developmental psychology · Perception · Pornography · Romance · Sexual behavior · Social media · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology