Sarah C. E. Stanton

Not in the mood? Men under- (not over-) perceive their partner’s sexual desire in established intimate relationships.

Mens sexual overperception bias-where men tend to perceive greater sexual interest in womens behavior than actually exists-is a well-documented finding in previous research. All of the existing research, however, has tested this effect in the context of initial encounters or for fictitious or unknown targets. No research currently exists on how people perceive their romantic partners sexual desire in the context of ongoing, intimate relationships. In 3 dyadic studies, we provide evidence that men in established romantic relationships err in the direction of the opposite bias and underperceive their romantic partners sexual desire. We also demonstrate that this underperception bias is functional (particularly for men) in that it is associated with their partner feeling more satisfied and committed to the relationship. In addition, people are particularly likely to underperceive their partners desire on days when they are motivated to avoid sexual rejection, and mens underperception bias is, in part, accounted for by mens higher general levels of sexual desire than women. The current studies extend previous findings on sexual perceptual biases and demonstrate the important role of context in mens judgments of a partners sexual interest. (PsycINFO Database Record

Energized by love: Thinking about romantic relationships increases positive affect and blood glucose levels

We assessed the impact of thinking of a current romantic partner on acute blood glucose responses and positive affect over a short period of time. Participants in romantic relationships were randomly assigned to reflect on their partner, an opposite-sex friend, or their morning routine. Blood glucose levels were assessed prior to reflection, as well as at 10 and 25 min postreflection. Results revealed that individuals in the routine and friend conditions exhibited a decline in glucose over time, whereas individuals in the partner condition did not exhibit this decline (rather, a slight increase) in glucose over time. Reported positive affect following reflection was positively associated with increases in glucose, but only for individuals who reflected on their partner, suggesting this physiological response reflects eustress. These findings add to the literature on eustress in relationships and have implications for relationship processes.

Can’t get you off my mind

Attachment anxiety is characterized by rumination about romantic relationships, particularly when the attachment system is activated. Two studies investigated the hypothesis that more anxiously attached individuals would experience cognitive load when attachment concerns were activated (vs. not activated). Study 1 found that more anxious persons encountering relationship threat (vs. no threat) demonstrated greater holistic processing on a shape categorization task, a type of processing reflective of cognitive load. Study 2 found that more anxious persons encountering relationship threat (vs. no threat or academic threat) exhibited slower reaction times on a Stroop task, a pattern also reflective of cognitive load. This research lends novel insight into how attachment system activation and relationship reflection pose a cognitive vulnerability for more anxious individuals.