Michael K. Coolsen

Trust and Biased Memory of Transgressions in Romantic Relationships

Relative to people with low trust in their romantic partner, people with high trust tend to expect that their partner will act in accordance with their interests. Consequently, we suggest, they have the luxury of remembering the past in a way that prioritizes relationship dependence over self-protection. In particular, they tend to exhibit relationship-promoting memory biases regarding transgressions the partner had enacted in the past. In contrast, at the other end of the spectrum, people with low trust in their partner tend to be uncertain about whether their partner will act in accordance with their interests. Consequently, we suggest, they feel compelled to remember the past in a way that prioritizes self-protection over relationship dependence. In particular, they tend to exhibit self-protective memory biases regarding transgressions the partner had enacted in the past. Four longitudinal studies of participants involved in established dating relationships or fledgling romantic relationships demonstrated that the greater a persons trust in their partner, the more positively they tend to remember the number, severity, and consequentiality of their partners past transgressions-controlling for their initial reports. Such trust-inspired memory bias was partner-specific; it was more reliably evident for recall of the partners transgressions and forgiveness than for recall of ones own transgressions and forgiveness. Furthermore, neither trust-inspired memory bias nor its partner-specific nature was attributable to potential confounds such as relationship commitment, relationship satisfaction, self-esteem, or attachment orientations.

Current Trends in Communication Graduate Degrees: Survey of Communications, Advertising, PR, and IMC Graduate Programs.

A survey of 61 master’s degree advertising programs reveals significant trends in program titles, curriculum design, course delivery, and students served. The results provide insight for current and planned master’s degree programs as research predicts a continued increase in demand for master’s education over the next decade. Survey results are compared against overall education trends such as the growth of non-traditional students, increase in online education delivery, and the increase of for-profit universities.