Alesia Hanzal

The Connection Between the Physiological and Psychological Reactions to Sexually Explicit Materials: A Literature Summary Using Meta-Analysis

The results of the investigations providing data on the connection between measures of sexual arousal and positive psychological affect indicate a positive relationship whether measured directly (r=.212) or by a comparison of manipulation check data (r=.223). Female research participants demonstrate more negative emotional responses than men exposed to the same content (r=−.248), but the level of physiological arousal favors men by a much smaller magnitude (r=.134). The response to pornography on the basis of gender reflects not only a physiological difference in reaction but a psychological interpretation of that reaction as well.

Social skills, psychological well-being, and the mediating role of perceived stress

Abstract Social skills were predicted to be associated with two indicators of psychological well-being: reduced symptoms of depression and life-satisfaction. Social skills were also predicted to be associated with a reduction in the experience of stress. This reduced stress experience was hypothesized to explain the social skills–well-being association. These predictions were tested in a sample of 500 university students who provided self-reports of social skills, well-being (depression and life satisfaction), and stress. Results supported the hypothesized relationship between social skills and greater well-being, as well as social skills and lower levels of perceived stress. The lower perceptions of stress that accompany higher levels of social skills mediated the association between social skills and depression as well as life satisfaction.

Accuracy and Bias in Newlywed Couples' Perceptions of Conflict Styles and the Association with Marital Satisfaction

Styles of handling conflict are highly consequential to marital success. The behavioral model predicts that spouses’ accuracy in perceptions of each other will be associated with marital quality, whereas the benevolent perception model predicts that benevolent perceptions, even when objectively inaccurate, will be associated with marital quality. To investigate the role of perceptions of marital conflict styles, 194 couples married for less than five years completed self- and partner-reports of conflict styles and marital satisfaction. Results indicated that spouses were both accurate (i.e., seeing the self the same as ones partner sees the self) and biased (i.e., seeing the partner the same as one sees the self) in their perceptions of each others’ conflict styles. Little support existed for the accuracy model of perception and marital satisfaction, but more consistent support was obtained for the benevolent perception model in which more positively toned perceptions, regardless of their consistency with partners’ self-perceptions, were associated with higher marital satisfaction. Results of actor–partner interdependence analyses revealed numerous actor effects for conflict styles and satisfaction, and partner effects for the styles of conflict engagement and withdrawal and partners’ marital satisfaction.

The Association Between Satisfaction and Commitment Differs Across Marital Couple Types

Research and theory indicate that satisfaction is a key determinant of commitment. Because some marriages are defined by a traditional ideology that anchors commitment in a value system rather than inherent rewards of the relationship, the association between satisfaction and commitment was expected to vary by couple type. Participants completed self-report measures of relational ideology, autonomy, communication, satisfaction, and several types of commitment. Results indicated that separate couples reported the lowest marital satisfaction and personal commitment of all the couple types. Separate couples also reported the lowest dedication commitment of all the couple types, whereas traditional couples reported the highest. The opposite pattern emerged for constraint commitment; separate couples reported the highest and traditional couples reported the lowest. Finally, actor—partner interdependence models revealed strong and positive associations between satisfaction and commitment for separate couples, as well as for wives in independent couples, but no such association among traditional couples.