4. Study 1
• N = 65 (18 M, 45 F) self-reported as romantically involved
• Screening questionnaire where we collect baseline measures
of relationship satisfaction and closeness
• Come into the lab for an unrelated “memory and perception
task” for romantic couples
• Read a story meant to prime the idea of many or few members
of the opposite sex on campus
• Post-manipulation measures of satisfaction and closeness
7. Study 2
ISTAY AWAY
don’t want STAY AWAY
Eh, I’ll let it
FROM get
her to MY FROM MY
slide…
mad at me…
WOMAN! MAN!
• How do men and women change their behavior,
corresponding to the sex ratio?
• Given a sex ratio where members of the opposite sex are
few…
– Become especially aggressive
– Become especially permissive
8. Study 2
• N = 97 (34 M, 63 F)
• Pictorial task in which participants
are lead to believe that these
photos are a representative
sampling of the local population
• How likely would you be to intervene (i.e., say or do something) if you
were at a party and you saw your partner talking to another woman?
• How likely would you be to intervene (i.e., say or do something) if your
partner made plans to go to a singles bar with his single male friends?
• How likely would you be to intervene (i.e., say or do something) if your
partner made plans with an ex-girlfriend?
10. Follow-up predictions for Study 3
• Is this permissiveness accompanied by lack of vigilance?
– Men are more vigilant in response to unfavorable sex ratio.
– Women are less vigilant in response to unfavorable sex ratio.
• Do men and women perceive their partners’ potential fidelity in a
manner consistent with this intrusive/permissive distinction?
– Men are more likely to perceive potential infidelity.
– Women show no response to an unfavorable sex ratio.
• Do men and women engage in other patterns of behavior
consistent with this intrusive/permissive distinction?
– Men show no change in accommodative behaviors.
– Women are more likely to accommodate in response to an
unfavorable sex ratio.
11. Study 3
• We are once again using the story primes from Study 1, and
using a pre-post design.
• (I’ll introduce the dependent variables as we go along.)
• Many different baseline measures, although the main
potential covariates will be…
– The pre-manipulation version of the items
– Baseline satisfaction (as a marker of initial relationship quality)
• Technically, I have “dyadic” data, but I’m not doing anything
with it for the dissertation (at least for now).
12. Study 3
• After removing individual participants 1) who were
suspicious, 2) who said they were single, or 3) took more than
two weeks to come to the lab, I ended up with N = 112 (57 F,
55 M)
– 26 males/many women, 29 males/few women
– 28 females/many men, 29 females/few men
• Mean age: M = 22.7 years, F = 20.8 years
• Relationship length: 25.4 mos. (range: 3 – 225 mos.)
13. Research question 1: Vigilance
• If your partner was having a conversation with an attractive man, how much
would you care?
• If your partner was having a conversation with an attractive man, how much
would you pay attention?
• If your partner was having a conversation with an attractive man, how jealous
would you be?
• If your partner was spending a lot of time at a singles bar with her friends, how
much would you care?
• If your partner was spending a lot of time at a singles bar with her friends, how
much would you pay attention?
• If your partner was spending a lot of time at a singles bar with her friends, how
jealous would you be?
• If your partner was going to meet with an ex-boyfriend, how much would you
care?
• If your partner was going to meet with an ex-boyfriend, how much would you pay
attention?
• If your partner was going to meet with an ex-boyfriend, how jealous would you
be?
14.
15. • Simple effects: p = .182 for males, p = .216 for females
• The satisfaction covariate gets me only a little closer.
• Using the Time 2 measure as the DV makes the result nonsensical.
• Individual item analyses and various combinations of items did not
unearth anything promising.
16. Research question 2: Perceptions
of partner fidelity
• Imagine that your partner is away on a work-related trip, and she meets an
attractive man who is really interested in her. Would your partner be interested in
talking to this man?
• Imagine that your partner is away on a work-related trip, and she meets an
attractive man who is really interested in her. Would your partner flirt with this
woman?
• Imagine that your partner is away on a work-related trip, and she meets an
attractive man who is really interested in her. Would your partner consider having
sex with this woman?
• Imagine that your partner has a colleague at work who is an attractive woman.
Would your partner consider being friends with this woman?
• Imagine that your partner has a colleague at work who is an attractive woman.
Would your partner consider having lunch with this woman on a regular basis?
• Imagine that your partner has a colleague at work who is an attractive woman.
Would your partner consider talking to this woman on the phone on weekends,
even if the conversation would be about personal things and have nothing to do
with work?
17. • The satisfaction covariate makes it worse.
• Simple effects: p = .028 for males, p = .915 for females
18.
19. • Imagine that your partner is away on a work-related trip, and she meets an attractive man who is really
interested in her. Would your partner be interested in talking to this man?
• Imagine that your partner is away on a work-related trip, and she meets an attractive man who is really
interested in her. Would your partner flirt with this woman?
• Imagine that your partner has a colleague at work who is an attractive woman. Would your partner
consider being friends with this woman?
• Imagine that your partner has a colleague at work who is an attractive woman. Would your partner
consider having lunch with this woman on a regular basis?
• p = .121 for the
interaction
• p = .102 for
males
• p = .563 for
females
20. Research question 3:
Accommodation
• Imagine that your partner arrives very late for a date, after hanging out with
friends without telli...-Would you confront your partner about this situation
immediately OR let the issue slide?
• Imagine that your partner arrives very late for a date, after hanging out with
friends without telli...-How upset would you be if your partner arrives very late?
• Imagine your partner picks up a new habit that you find annoying.-Would you
confront your partner about this situation immediately OR let the issue slide?
• Imagine your partner picks up a new habit that you find annoying.-How upset
would you be if your partner picked up an annoying habit?
• Imagine that you accomplish something important to you, but your partner fails
to show interest in...-Would you confront your partner about this situation
immediately OR let the issue slide?
• Imagine that you accomplish something important to you, but your partner fails
to show interest in...-How upset would you be if your partner didn’t show enough
interest in something that is important to you?
21. Research question 3:
Accommodation
• Imagine that your partner confronts you because you arrive very late for a date,
after hanging out w...-Would you change your behavior to accommodate your
partner OR continue doing what you want?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you because you arrive very late for a date,
after hanging out w...-How upset would you be if your partner confronted you
about this kind of issue?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you about a new habit.-Would you change
your behavior to accommodate your partner OR continue doing what you want?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you about a new habit.-How upset would you
be if your partner confronted you about this kind of issue?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you because you didn’t show enough interest
in something that y...-Would you change your behavior to accommodate your
partner OR continue doing what you want?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you because you didn’t show enough interest
in something that y...-How upset would you be if your partner confronted you
about this kind of issue?
22. • Imagine that your partner arrives very late for a date, after hanging
out with friends without telli...-How upset would you be if your
partner arrives very late?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you about a new habit.-How
upset would you be if your partner confronted you about this kind of
issue?
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: Unstandardized Residual
Source Type III
Sum of Mean
Squares df Square F Sig.
Corrected 6.939 a
3 2.313 1.847 .143
Model
Intercept .000 1 .000 .000 .993
Sex 2.043 1 2.043 1.631 .204
Condition 1.750 1 1.750 1.397 .240
Interaction 3.163 1 3.163 2.526 .115
Error 135.235 108 1.252
Total 142.174 112
Corrected 142.174 111
Total
a. R Squared = .049 (Adjusted R Squared = .022) • p = .813 for males
• p = .052 for females
23. • Add: Imagine that your partner confronts you because you arrive
very late for a date, after hanging-Would you change your behavior
to accommodate your partner OR continue doing what you want?
• Note that it’s a different anchor…
• p = .905 for males
• p = .011 for females
24. • Imagine that your partner confronts you because you arrive very late for a date,
after hanging out w...-Would you change your behavior to accommodate your
partner OR continue doing what you want?
• Imagine that your partner confronts you about a new habit.-Would you change
your behavior to accommodate your partner OR continue doing what you want?
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: Unstandardized Residual
Source
Type III
Sum of Mean
Squares df Square F Sig.
Corrected 3.584a 3 1.195 .890 .449
Model
Intercept .002 1 .002 .001 .972
Sex .463 1 .463 .345 .558
Condition .007 1 .007 .005 .943
Interaction 3.189 1 3.189 2.374 .126
Error 145.048 108 1.343
Total 148.632 112
• p = .316 for males
Corrected 148.632 111
Total • p = .255 for females
a. R Squared = .024 (Adjusted R Squared = -.003)
25. Research question 4:
Partner mate value?
• How desirable do other women find your partner as a sexual hook-up?
• How attractive is your partner's body to other women?
• How desirable do other women find your partner as a boyfriend?
• How attractive is your partner's face to other women?
• How attractive/desirable is your partner's current financial status to other
women?
• How attractive/desirable are your partner's future financial prospects to other
women?
• How attractive/desirable is your partner's current social status to other women?
• How attractive/desirable are your partner's future social prospects to other
women?
• How sexy do other men find your partner?
• How intelligent do other men find your partner?
26. • Hook-up, body, face, sexy
• p = .454 for males
• p = .078 for females
27. • Future financial prospects, future social prospects
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: Unstandardized Residual
Source
Type III
Sum of Mean
Squares df Square F Sig.
Corrected 6.822 a
3 2.274 2.825 .042
Model
Intercept .001 1 .001 .002 .967
Sex 3.455 1 3.455 4.292 .041
Condition 2.082 1 2.082 2.587 .111
Interaction 1.092 1 1.092 1.357 .247
Error 86.930 108 .805
Total 93.752 112
• p = .045 for males
Corrected 93.752 111
Total • p = .772 for females
a. R Squared = .073 (Adjusted R Squared = .047)
Editor's Notes
Effect size = 0.06 (about .1) which is a small effect size I used difference scores because they made for intuitive plotting. However, the results are identical with proper residual scores, regressing Time 2 satisfaction on Time 1 satisfaction. I split men and women for plotting purposes. However, I found a main effect (p < 0.04), not an interaction. I was not hypothesizing a gender difference in the basic effect of satisfaction. I have no reason to believe there would be a gender difference. Note that if anyone asks, it does seem to be the lack of opposite-sex individuals driving the effect, based on previous studies we did including a control condition. (The control condition was similar to the many opposite-sex condition.) However, we need to do more research before we can say anything for certain.
The p-value is about 0.8. The effect size is a bit smaller. Again, we were interested in the main effect, not an interaction. And once again, we used difference scores for PLOTTING purposes, but the results are identical when we use proper residual scores.
Alpha is about 0.6. Effect size is about 0.12 (small effect size). Controlling for all sorts of potential covariates, baseline satisfaction in particular. The interaction is p < 0.01. Simple effect for females was significant. Simple effect for males was close to significance.
