Western Love Lab

09/26/2019

Check out recent research by Love Lab members and alum Nicolyn Charlot Rhonda Nicole Balzarini Lorne Campbell below:

"Research has shown that ideal romantic standards predict future partner characteristics and influence existing relationships, but how standards develop and change among single individuals has yet to be explored. Guided by the Ideal Standards Model (ISM), the present study sought to determine whether repeated experiences of romantic rejection and acceptance over time were associated with change in ideal standards, ideal flexibility, and self-perceived mate value (N = 208). Results suggest repeated experiences of rejection correspond to decreases in ideal standards and self-perceived mate value and increases in ideal flexibility, though no effects emerged for acceptance. Given the predictive nature of ideal standards and the link rejection has with such, findings from this study contribute to a greater understanding of relationship formation processes."

https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/1864-9335/a000392?journalCode=zsp&fbclid=IwAR2RVD4orW3rK7EtEJ6t3ZvBZ8DqRgQo9DNAg5PaHpxzY8ukQnj5E1iwfiI&

Abstract. Research has shown that ideal romantic standards predict future partner characteristics and influence existing relationships, but how standards develop and change among single individuals...

07/31/2019

Check out recent research from Love Lab alum, Rhonda Nicole Balzarini, and current lab members Taylor Kohut and Lorne Campbell:

"Across the board, we found that, compared to monogamists, polyamorists were more likely to select the “other” option whenever it was provided. This suggests that polyamorists tend to be more non-conformist in general; however, we can’t say whether that’s because some level of non-conformity predisposes people to polyamory, or whether being polyamorous predisposes people to be less conformist in other ways. While our results do not come from representative samples, they suggest that the stereotype of polyamorists as young, White, wealthy liberals doesn’t necessarily match up with reality. Indeed, compared to monogamists, polyamorists were not any younger, Whiter, wealthier, or more likely to identify with the Democratic party."

Polyamory is a concept that different people define in different ways, but common to most definitions is the capacity to develop more than one emotionally close relationship at the same time with the consent of everyone involved. Public interest in polyamory is  on the rise and there’s&a

07/25/2019

Goldstein recruited 22 long-term heteros*xual couples, age 23 to 32, and put them through a series of tests aimed at mimicking that delivery-room scenario.

Men were assigned the role of observer; women the pain target. As instruments measured their heart and breathing rates, they: sat together, not touching; sat together holding hands; or sat in separate rooms. Then they repeated all three scenarios as the woman was subjected to a mild heat pain on her forearm for 2 minutes.

As in previous trials, the study showed couples synced physiologically to some degree just sitting together. But when she was subjected to pain and he couldn’t touch her, that synchronization was severed. When he was allowed to hold her hand, their rates fell into sync again and her pain decreased.

Study explores how interpersonal synchronization could help to decrease pain.

07/24/2019

Check out recent research exploring nurturance and eroticism among polyamorous and monogamous couples authored by Love Lab alum Rhonda Nicole Balzarini, current lab member Taylor Kohut, and others:

"As the researchers had predicted, the polyamorists enjoyed more nurturance from their primary than from their secondary, partners, on average, and gave higher eroticism ratings to their secondary relationships. Overall, their eroticism ratings were higher than for the monogamists. More surprisingly, their nurturance ratings for their primary relationship were higher than those reported by the monogamists. These differences held even when the researchers controlled for the differences in relationship length between the two groups. There were also some differences in s*xual satisfaction and closeness. Among the monogamous participants, eroticism and nurturance were both positively associated with s*xual satisfaction and closeness. For the polyamorists, nurturance was similarly linked to feelings of closeness in both their relationships, but eroticism was only associated with s*xual satisfaction and closeness in their secondary relationships,"

By Emma Young. The research highlights some possible benefits of being polyamorous, at least for some people.

06/01/2019

Current members and alumni of the Love Lab were well represented at the recent Tech & Relationships Conference in Annecy:

Dr. Rhonda Balzarini presented on how to keep the spark alive in long-term relationships. Hint: one way is to use s*xual tech, like shared partner vi*****rs

Dr. Tara Marshall showed that people often use social media to follow their ex’s and social media exposure to an ex-partner causes poorer breakup adjustment

Dr. Asuman Buyukcan-Tetik shared work highlighting the mediating role of trust between self-control and intrusive behaviors

Nazanin Kafaeefp presented research examining online s*xual experiences and relationship functioning in LDRs

Christian Hahn presented work on online and offline infidelity, suggesting that more time online is associated with higher likelihood of infidelity

05/30/2019

Click below for an article covering a recent preprint authored by Love Lab's Kiersten Dobson Jenney Zhu Rhonda Nicole Balzarini and Lorne Campbell:

"Perhaps unsurprisingly, the researchers found that accepting a s*xual advance, or having an advance accepted by the partner, resulted in an increase in both s*xual and relationship satisfaction that day compared to other days. On the other hand, being rejected decreased s*xual satisfaction. But intriguingly, if the participant themselves was the rejecter – that is, if they shunned an advance from their partner – their s*xual satisfaction still increased. (Neither being rejected nor being the rejecter had any effect on general relationship satisfaction.) Changes in s*xual satisfaction could still be detected days after advances were made. The team found that the boost in satisfaction from having an advance accepted persisted for 24 hours, with the slump of being rejected lasting twice as long. And the gratification that came from being either an acceptor or a rejecter lasted a remarkable 72 hours. It might seem especially surprising that rejecting a partner’s advances gives a boost in s*xual satisfaction, particularly one that appears to last for three days. But rather than reflecting some pleasure derived from rejecting someone, the researchers suggest that being approached for s*x leaves a person feeling desired, so enhances s*xual satisfaction even when no actual s*x ends up happening"

By Matthew Warren. If the participants themselves were a rejector, their s*xual satisfaction increased – perhaps due to feeling desired.

05/22/2019

Check out a recent article written by Love Lab alum Rhonda Nicole Balzarini!

"Our results suggest that people who are polyamorous and have multiple relationships experience greater nurturance with primary partners (compared to secondary and monogamous partners) and greater eroticism with secondary partners (compared to primary and monogamous partners). Furthermore, we found that eroticism and nurturance were in most instances associated with reports of closeness and s*xual satisfaction — so experiencing those s*xual steamy feelings for a partner, as well as experiencing emotional support, security, and care, seem to benefit our relationships."

New research provides insight into why some people choose to have multiple romantic relationships at the same time. The findings suggest that this ...

05/09/2019

Check out recently published research by Rhonda Nicole Balzarini, Taylor Kohut, Lorne Campbell, and others below:

"Polyamory is the practice of having multiple emotionally close relationships that may or may not be s*xual. Research concerning polyamory has just begun to determine how relationships among partners in polyamorous arrangements may vary. Most of the research assessing perceptions of polyamorous partners has focused on primary–secondary configurations; however, non-hierarchical configurations exist and can involve having multiple primary partners or having only non-primary partners. The current research is the first to examine perceptions of partners and relationship quality in various polyamorous configurations and compares results for each configuration to monogamous partners. Results from online convenience samples suggest that co-primary and non-primary configurations are common among polyamorous participants, with approximately 38% identifying with one of these configurations in 2013 and 55% in 2017. Furthermore, our results suggest that while relationships with partners in co-primary and non-primary structures still differ in some ways (e.g., investment, acceptance, secrecy, time spent having s*x), they are closer to their ideals on several psychologically meaningful indicators of relationship quality (e.g., commitment and satisfaction). In other words, despite rejecting hierarchical primary–secondary labels, many of the same relationship qualities differ systematically among partners in non-hierarchical relationships. Furthermore, pseudo-primary partners and primary partners in these relationships are more comparable to monogamous partners than they are to secondary partners. We discuss how these results inform our understanding of polyamorous and monogamous relationships and suggest future directions based on these findings."

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332957961_Comparing_Relationship_Quality_Across_Different_Types_of_Romantic_Partners_in_Polyamorous_and_Monogamous_Relationships?fbclid=IwAR05l6JMadeAlJorP7ysSkFqshUop7SJgIJkGrW2A07rvQNjxs6X2gSM2PI

Or found at: https://rdcu.be/bA055

04/24/2019

Check out this CBC interview discussing polyamory with Love Lab alumni Rhonda Nicole Balzarini:

It’s technically called “consensual non-monogamy”, or “ethical non-monomagmy” or “polyamory, meaning carrying on two or more relationships at the same time, and with the consent of all involved. Most would consider this a marginal lifestyle, but research shows roughly four to five per ce...

04/17/2019

Check out a press release covering recent research from Rhonda Nicole Balzarini and Taylor Kohut assessing why people may choose to have multiple relationships at the same time:

“We know from previous research that over time, eroticism tends to wane while nurturance increases. We also know that eroticism and nurturance serve fundamental roles in relationships,” says Balzarini. “The findings suggest that although multiple relationships may help individuals meet eroticism and nurturance needs, experiences with one partner do not always enhance a concurrent relationship.”

Findings suggest there may be unique benefits to diversifying needs across partners when in a polyamorous relationship.