Actual Partners Research Articles

Self-discrepancies in mind perception for actual, ideal, and ought selves and partners

Defining and measuring self-discrepancies in mind perception between how an individual sees their actual self in comparison to their ideal or ought self has a long but challenging history in psychology. Here we present a new approach for measuring and operationalizing discrepancies of mind by employing the mind perception framework that has been applied successfully to a variety of other psychological constructs. Across two studies (N = 265, N = 205), participants were recruited online to fill in a modified version of the mind perception survey with questions pertaining to three domains (actual, ideal, ought) and two agents (self versus partner). The results revealed that participants idealized and thought they ought to have greater agency (the ability to do) and diminished experience (the ability to feel) for both themselves and their partner. Sex differences were also examined across both studies, and while minor differences emerged, the effects were not robust across the collective evidence from both studies. The overall findings suggest that the mind perception approach can be used to distill a large number of qualities of mind into meaningful facets for interpretation in relation to self-discrepancy theory. This method can breathe new life into the field with future investigations directed at understanding self-discrepancies in relation to prosocial behaviour and psychological well-being.

Probing the predictive validity of ideal partner preferences for future partner traits and relationship outcomes across 13 years

The current study addresses the open question whether ideal partner preferences are linked to relationship decisions and relationship outcomes. Using a longitudinal design across 13 years, we investigated whether partner preferences are associated with perceived characteristics of actual partners (i.e. ideal-trait correlation) and whether a closer match between ideals and perceptions of a partner’s traits is associated with better relationship outcomes (i.e. ideal partner preference-matching effects). A community sample of 178 participants (90 women) reported their ideal partner preferences in 2006 (mean age at T2 M = 45.7 years, SD = 7.2). In 2019, they reported their relationship histories since then, providing ratings of 322 relationships. We found a positive association between participants’ initial ideals and partner trait perceptions. This ideal-trait correlation was stronger with current ideals, consistent with the possibility of preference adjustment towards the partner. The match between ideals and perceived partner traits was operationalised using different metrics. A closer match was associated with higher relationship commitment across all metrics, while for relationship quality, the link was not apparent for the corrected pattern metric. Evidence of matching effects for relationship length was mixed and largely absent for break-up initiation. Implications for the ideal partner preference literature are discussed.

(023) Disinformation on pornography effects on erectile function led to iatrogenic Reboot/NoFap "treatment"

Abstract Introduction Dozens of studies concluded that pornography does not cause erectile dysfunction. A laboratory study (2022) studying actual partners reported that partners who reported viewing more pornography in their daily life also reported higher sexual arousal to the real partner. Similarly, the partner being manually stimulated in that study exhibited higher galvanic skin response/arousal associated with increased sexual arousal when more pornography had been viewed in their daily life. Yet, most sex addiction therapists and Reboot/NoFap coaches claim that their clients’ sexual dysfunctions are caused by pornography viewing. Qualitative interviews with followers of Reboot/NoFap found that the framing of pornography as an “addiction” by these groups was actually maintaining clients’ distress. This raised the possibility that disinformation from these “treatments” regarding sexual functioning actually was the cause of ED. Objective Examine whether engagement with Reboot/NoFap “treatments” might actually be causing or perpetuating sexual arousal problems attributed to pornography viewing. Methods Data were collected via (1) a pre-registered, online survey and (2) scrape of the Reboot/NoFap “support” group /r/NoFap. Men (n = 693) who had heard of Reboot. The Reddit scrape included 1,219 unique users and 10,971 unique r/NoFap posts. 2.3% of users had to be excluded for spontaneously posting that they were under age 18 due to not documenting parental knowledge, consent, or assent to post. Posts were subjected to a sentiment analysis, a form of natural language processing. Results Survey: Those who personally participated in Reboot/NoFap treatments were significantly younger, more sex negative, and sexually less experienced than those who chose not to participate. Those who participated the most in /r/NoFap forum, paradoxically, reported significantly more symptoms of erectile dysfunction, depression, and anxiety. They also were more likely to report being told to “kill or harm” themselves in the support subreddit /r/NoFap and reported more suicidal ideation at their last relapse. Erectile difficulties were predicted by respondents’ anxiety symptoms, and that relationship was not mediated or moderated by their pornography viewing. The strongest predictor of identifying as a pornography addict in this sample was higher narcissism. Reddit scrape: The users who posted over time in r/NoFap, on average, included the same or more posts containing sad, angry, disgusted, or fear words. Emotions in the post were not predicted by the support (upvotes, comment count) received. Conclusions Treatments that conceptualize pornography as causing erectile dysfunction appears to paradoxically cause distress and erectile problems to worsen. Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: Mind Measures LLC

How do my earnings compare? Pay referents and just earnings

Abstract Comparisons are crucial in shaping evaluations of one’s own position. Following this notion, we investigated the role of historical, financial, partner, occupational, and regional pay referents in predicting the just gross hourly earnings in a representative sample of German workers. Looking at this broad range of pay referents, we find that higher reference earnings were generally associated with higher just earnings. In particular, controlling for actual gross hourly earnings, higher occupational, regional, and partners’ hourly earnings were associated with higher just gross hourly earnings. One’s own pay history, in form of average hourly earnings over the past 10 years, did not shape just earnings. Financial needs on the household level, however, mapped on to higher just earnings and this association was particularly pronounced among men. Overall, occupational and financial referents showed the strongest association with just earnings followed by partner earnings. These findings underscore that, while referents closely related to one’s job (e.g., occupational referents) are important, referents that extend beyond the sphere of work (e.g., regional, financial, and partner referents) are also relevant in shaping ideas of the just reward.

Using Linear Motif Database Resources to Identify SH2 Domain Binders.

The SH2-binding phosphotyrosine class of short linear motifs (SLiMs) are key conditional regulatory elements, particularly in signaling protein complexes beneath the cell's plasma membrane. In addition to transmitting cellular signaling information, they can also play roles in cellular hijack by invasive pathogens. Researchers can take advantage of bioinformatics tools and resources to predict the motifs at conserved phosphotyrosine residues in regions of intrinsically disordered protein. A candidate SH2-binding motif can be established and assigned to one or more of the SH2 domain subgroups. It is, however, not so straightforward to predict which SH2 domains are capable of binding the given candidate. This is largely due to the cooperative nature of the binding amino acids which enables poorer binding residues to be tolerated when the other residues are optimal. High-throughput peptide arrays are powerful tools used to derive SH2 domain-binding specificity, but they are unable to capture these cooperative effects and also suffer from other shortcomings. Tissue and cell type expression can help to restrict the list of available interactors: for example, some well-studied SH2 domain proteins are only present in the immune cell lineages. In this article, we provide a table of motif patterns and four bioinformatics strategies that introduce a range of tools that can be used in motif hunting in cellular and pathogen proteins. Experimental followup is essential to determine which SH2 domain/motif-containing proteins are the actual functional partners.

The PhD and missing skills: capacity and capability building for social science engagement with industry

Responding to a call for a national level change around the quality of research teaching to identify and meet industry needs, and to this being interdisciplinary, this paper reports on Business Booster Training. Produced with 3 UK universities, intersecting with knowledge exchange and impact teams and with a national Graduate School of Social Sciences, the training took place over 4 days, at 3 sites, and delivered, incrementally, the skills PhD researchers need to engage with industry: event 1 - to build confidence in use of industry-related terminology; event 2 – to practice translating research ideas for industry; event 3 – to pitch research ideas to actual industry partners. Thirty places were available nationwide, and over 100 applicants from across Scotland. Low attrition (from one event to the next) indicates the quality of the training. The paper will reflect on this incremental strategy as a pedagogic innovation, building relationships between the next generation of social scientists and our business communities. Feedback revealed that interacting with other students, engaging directly with colleagues from industry and finding relevance to their own research and research strategies, were highlights of the training. The training succeeded in improving confidence and skills around working with businesses.

Design Is an Essential Medicine.

<h3>Key Messages</h3> Design as a practice is well placed to address the need to innovate faster, improve collaboration, and scale solutions while considering the way people live their daily lives across the world. Design for Health views design as a craft and a discipline that applies a specific mindset and skillset to a creative problem-solving process. The unique value of design in global health can be understood through 3 advantages: framing—identifying the right problems to solve; intention—creating space to solve problems the right way; and collaboration—continually engaging communities and organizations as actual partners. A comparison of design to other common problem-solving approaches in global health illustrates key differences but also offers opportunities to integrate design with approaches such as participatory research, quality improvement, and sociobehavioral research. To tackle complex challenges like the ones global health faces, there is a need for public health products, programs, and interventions to better meet the needs of communities. In the toolbox of approaches to global health innovation, design is essential.

CHILD LABOUR IN WESTERN ODISHA & CASE STUDIES

The traditional concept of factors of production namely land, labour, capital and organisation are no more accepted phenomenon. Apart from land, the manpower, machine and management are the actual partners of production in modern economic system. Inclusion of various labour laws, schemes by the Government have enriched the labour scenario of Odisha since its inception. National Child Labour Project plays a vital role for the identification, rehabilitation and mainstreaming of the child labour during last three decades. Based upon research in the state of Odisha in India, this article describes the child labour scenario in the state of Odisha. Odisha became separate state on 1st April 1936.Eighty-two years since the momentous day, much has changed in the Labour relation, Juveniles, Child Labour problem & Migrant Workers of Odisha. This article also explains the magnitude of child labour and steps taken by the Government to eliminate child labour Problem of child labour is very sensitive.

CHILD LABOUR IN WESTERN ODISHA &amp; CASE STUDIES

The traditional concept of factors of production namely land, labour, capital and organisation are no more accepted phenomenon. Apart from land, the manpower, machine and management are the actual partners of production in modern economic system. Inclusion of various labour laws, schemes by the Government have enriched the labour scenario of Odisha since its inception. National Child Labour Project plays a vital role for the identification, rehabilitation and mainstreaming of the child labour during last three decades. Based upon research in the state of Odisha in India, this article describes the child labour scenario in the state of Odisha. Odisha became separate state on 1st April 1936.Eighty-two years since the momentous day, much has changed in the Labour relation, Juveniles, Child Labour problem &amp; Migrant Workers of Odisha. This article also explains the magnitude of child labour and steps taken by the Government to eliminate child labour Problem of child labour is very sensitive.

The Triumph of Hope over Experience: Ten Lessons to Create Better Partner Relationships

This article presents ten lessons to help guide partner choice and relationships. A mismatch between ideal and actual partners can be very costly and stressful for both individuals and society. The famous injunction to “know thyself” is highly relevant in this context, as self-knowledge will affect partner choice. The ten lessons cover perennial themes: making the right choice; the pressure to marry; fear of loneliness; the dangers of neurotic co-dependency; trust; respect; forgiveness; constructive communication; shared and personal space; and the existential challenges of growing up (and old) together. Rather than looking for Mr. or Ms. Perfect we should look for Mr. or Ms. Good Enough. The couple system should be seen as an emotional container, within which each partner engages in mutual mirroring, holding and dialogue. Furthermore, when children come into the relationship, the partners need to be very careful not to focus on their demands at the cost of their own relationship. It is pointed out that the best way to raise healthy and happy kids is to maintain a healthy and happy partnership.

Labor Coordination and Division: Human Capital Investment in Supply Chains

We document a human capital coordination framework between supply chain partners. We show that the coordination between supply chain partners is much more intensive than firms who are potential but not actual supply chain partners, supporting the human capital as a relationship-specific investment in supply chains. The coordination is further enhanced for suppliers with higher R&D intensity, higher bargaining power, and lower human capital adjustment costs. We establish a causality claim using the H-1B lottery as an exogenous instrument variable to firms' human capital acquisition. By examining the detailed job occupations and demanded skills, we find that supply chain partners coordinate by hiring common and labor-intensive occupations and general skills while pursuing labor division for positions of specialized, technology-intensive occupations and specialized skills.

Relationship quality is influenced by actor and partner effects but not by similarity and discrepancy effects: A study of Brazilian and Czech populations

Evidence suggests that personality may influence romantic relationship quality in several ways. Quality of relationship can be affected by an individual's personality (actor effect), partner's personality (partner effect), by discrepancy between ideal and actual partners' personalities (discrepancy effect), or by similarity between partners' personalities (similarity effect). Most studies, however, focus on just one of these effects, their results are often ambiguous, and based on western populations. We tested all these effects at once in individuals from two distinct populations: Brazil and the Czech Republic. In total, 626 individuals in a long-term committed relationship completed the Ten-Item Personality Inventory for their own, actual, and ideal partner, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Hierarchical categorical regression analyses showed that the actor and partner effect contributed significantly, although weakly, to dyadic adjustment, while the impact of discrepancy and similarity was negligible. Explained variance was around 10% for the actor effect, around 30% jointly for actor and partner effects, and around 40% jointly for actor, partner, discrepancy, and similarity effects. The overall results were similar for both studied populations. Importantly, all reported effect sizes are small, which suggests that other factors contribute to dyadic adjustment more substantially.

Enhancing the "Broaden and Build" Cycle of Attachment Security in Adulthood: From the Laboratory to Relational Contexts and Societal Systems.

Attachment theory emphasizes both the importance of the availability of caring, supportive relationship partners, beginning in infancy, for developing a sense of safety and security, and the beneficial effects of this sense of security on psychosocial functioning and physical and mental health. In this article, we briefly review basic concepts of attachment theory, focusing on the core construct of attachment security and present evidence concerning the ways in which this sense can be enhanced in adulthood. Specifically, we review findings from laboratory experiments that have momentarily enhanced the sense of attachment security and examined its effects on emotion regulation, psychological functioning, and prosocial behavior. We then review empirical findings and ideas concerning security enhancement by actual relationship partners, non-human symbolic figures, and societal systems in a wide variety of life domains, such as marital relationships, psychotherapy, education, health and medicine, leadership and management, group interactions, religion, law, and government.

The association between attachment orientations and partner evaluations: An ideal standards perspective

AbstractThis research examined links between attachment orientations and evaluations of potential and existing relationship partners with respect to ideal standards. In Study 1, attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted the tradeoffs individuals made when choosing between potential mates. In Studies 2 and 3, attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with ideal partner discrepancies within existing relationships. The findings across the three studies suggest that highly anxious individuals are more likely to use the ideal partner warmth/trustworthiness and status/resources dimensions when evaluating hypothetical and actual romantic partners, whereas highly avoidant individuals are more inclined to use the ideal partner vitality/attractiveness and status/resources dimensions when making partner evaluations. These novel findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary models of mating strategies and evaluations.

Contrasting Computational Models of Mate Preference Integration Across 45 Countries

Humans express a wide array of ideal mate preferences. Around the world, people desire romantic partners who are intelligent, healthy, kind, physically attractive, wealthy, and more. In order for these ideal preferences to guide the choice of actual romantic partners, human mating psychology must possess a means to integrate information across these many preference dimensions into summaries of the overall mate value of their potential mates. Here we explore the computational design of this mate preference integration process using a large sample of n = 14,487 people from 45 countries around the world. We combine this large cross-cultural sample with agent-based models to compare eight hypothesized models of human mating markets. Across cultures, people higher in mate value appear to experience greater power of choice on the mating market in that they set higher ideal standards, better fulfill their preferences in choice, and pair with higher mate value partners. Furthermore, we find that this cross-culturally universal pattern of mate choice is most consistent with a Euclidean model of mate preference integration.

A Rejection Mind-Set: Choice Overload in Online Dating

The paradox of modern dating is that online platforms provide more opportunities to find a romantic partner than ever before, but people are nevertheless more likely to be single. We hypothesized the existence of a rejection mind-set: The continued access to virtually unlimited potential partners makes people more pessimistic and rejecting. Across three studies, participants immediately started to reject more hypothetical and actual partners when dating online, cumulating on average in a decrease of 27% in chance on acceptance from the first to the last partner option. This was explained by an overall decline in satisfaction with pictures and perceived dating success. For women, the rejection mind-set also resulted in a decreasing likelihood of having romantic matches. Our findings suggest that people gradually “close off” from mating opportunities when online dating.

Ideal and actual partner assessments in male batterers with different attachment styles.

Research analyzing male batterers’ views of what constitutes an ideal partner is scarce, and rejected features have not been tested. Analyzing the association of attraction and rejection patterns with attachment could help us understand how these men choose their female partners and the biases that make violence against these women more likely. The objective of this study was to analyze these patterns in male batterers with different attachment styles, considering both their ideal and actual partner assessments and the discrepancies between the two. Participants were 108 male offenders who were serving sentences in Colombian prisons for violence against women. In addition to identifying their attachment styles (secure, dismissive, preoccupied, and fearful), the study had participants assess their ideal and actual partners. The results showed significant differences in their actual partner assessments and in ideal-actual partner discrepancies, but not in their ideals. Secure attachment was related to the best partner assessments (higher scores in positive features and lower scores in negative ones), whereas the fearfully attached participants stood out for showing the worst assessments (higher scores in negative features and lower scores in positive ones). The findings provide evidence of the association of attachment styles with attraction and rejection patterns and offer suggestions for tailoring interventions.

Men with more masculine digit ratios are partnered with more attractive women

The low 2nd to 4th digit ratio (2D:4D) is thought to reflect higher prenatal exposure to testosterone and may be associated with higher testosterone levels in adulthood and higher reproductive success in males. However, there is little evidence that higher testosterone levels are directly responsible for higher male fertility. Here, we investigate if this phenomenon may be related to mate choice, and, in particular, if males with lower 2D:4D are partnered with more attractive and potentially more fertile women. We compared waist-to-hip ratio and breast size of 50 women from two groups, depending on the 2D:4D (more masculine, more feminine) of their actual partner. Moreover, we examined the relationship between men's digit ratio and their mate's body type. Men with more masculine 2D:4D were coupled with women with significantly lower waist-to-hip ratios. They were also four times more often partnered with women who had both relatively narrow waists and large breasts. These findings suggest that levels of sex steroids during fetal development in males may have long-lasting influences on their mating value. This is the first study to show relationships between men's intrauterine environment, reflected by 2D:4D, and their actual partners' anthropometric traits, linked to perceived attractiveness and potential fertility.

Father's physique influences mate preferences but not the actual choice of male somatotype in heterosexual women and homosexual men

Abstract Body constitution plays an important role in human mate choice. Cross-cultural research reports that women on average prefer men with muscular physique. It is still unclear, however, what mechanisms influence the inter-individual variation in mate preferences and choices of partner's physique. In this study, we tested the mechanisms of an imprinting-like effect (similarity between father and an ideal and actual partner) and of homogamy (similarity between self and an ideal and actual partner) for male physique in heterosexual women and homosexual men. To assess the variation in male physique, we employed somatotype paradigm which characterizes body constitution using three components: endomorphic (heavy-set), mesomorphic (muscular), and ectomorphic (lean). In total, 149 homosexual men and 769 heterosexual women from the Czech Republic indicated the somatotype of their father, ideal and actual partner, and in homosexual men also their own somatotype. In line with previous research, the somatotype most preferred by both men and women was the mesomorphic, followed by the ectomorphic and the endomorphic one. Women's preferences for an ideal partner somatotype weakly correlated with their fathers' somatotype, especially in women who reported a positive relationship with their fathers during childhood. Among homosexual men, we found imprinting-like preferences only for the ectomorphic somatotype component and no significant association with the quality of their relationships with their fathers. We also found no significant relationship between the fathers' and actual partners' somatotype in either heterosexual women or homosexual men. Our research indicates that fathers have a rather weak influence on mate preference for somatotypes and no influence on actual mate choice.

Consistency and inconsistency among romantic partners over time.

Theoretical perspectives on mating differentially emphasize whether (and why) romantic partner selection and maintenance processes derive from stable features of individuals (e.g., mate value, mate preferences, relationship aptitude) and their environments (e.g., social homogamy) rather than adventitious, dyad-specific, or unpredictable factors. The current article advances our understanding of this issue by assessing how people's actual romantic partners vary on constructs commonly assessed in evolutionary psychology (Study 1), sociology (Study 2), and close relationships (Study 3). Specifically, we calculated the extent to which the past and present partners of a focal person (i.e., the person who dated all of the partners) cluster on various measures. Study 1 investigated consistency in the observable qualities of the romantic partners, revealing substantial evidence for clustering on coder-rated attributes like attractiveness and masculinity. Study 2 examined qualities self-reported by romantic partners themselves in a demographically diverse sample and found modest evidence for clustering on attributes such as IQ and educational aspirations; however, clustering in this study was largely due to demographic stratification. Study 3 explored target-specific ratings by partners about the focal person and found little evidence for clustering: The ability to elicit high romantic desirability/sexual satisfaction ratings from partners was not a stable individual difference. The variables that affect mating may differ considerably in the extent to which they serve as stable versus unpredictable factors; thus, the fields of evolutionary psychology, sociology, and close relationships may reveal distinct depictions of mating because the constructs and assessment strategies in each differ along this underappreciated dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record