Cognitive Jealousy Research Articles

Extending the study of playfulness in romantic life: Analyzing associations with attachment and jealousy in same-gender and opposite-gender couples

Adult playfulness describes individual differences in (re)framing situations so that they are experienced as entertaining, and/or interesting, and/or intellectually stimulating. There is increasing interest in its role for romantic life. Using the OLIW model of playfulness, we localized its facets Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical playfulness into systems of attachment styles and romantic jealousy. We analyzed data of 332 mixed-gender and 139 same-gender couples (Ntotal = 942). We found no robust mean differences between same-gender and mixed-gender couples (exception: same-gender couples are lower in emotional jealousy). Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analyses showed that Other-directed, Lighthearted, and Intellectual playfulness yielded negative relations to attachment insecurities in actors, but no partner effects. For jealousy, all types of playfulness related negatively to emotional jealousy, but Whimsical playfulness showed positive inclinations to cognitive and behavioral jealousy in actors. Partners reported greater cognitive jealousy when their partner was high in Lighthearted, whereas partners from Whimsical high scorers reported lower emotional jealousy. The findings are invariant between same-gender and mixed-gender couples. Our study extends the knowledge on how playfulness relates to experiences in close relationships in mixed-gender and same-gender couples. We discuss implications (e.g., Signal Theory of Playfulness) and future directions.

The Relationship Between Cognitive Jealousy and Stress Levels In Romantic Relationships In Emerging Adulthood

The Relationship Between Cognitive Jealousy and Stress Levels In Romantic Relationships In Emerging Adulthood

Measurement Invariance of the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale and Quality of Relationships Inventory (Friend).

The aim of this study is to measure the invariance of the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale (MJS) and of the Quality of Relationships Inventory (Friend) (QRI-F) across gender, age, education, and being in a romantic relationship in a Portuguese sample (N = 662). A confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the fit of different potential factor structures. The results pointed out that both MJS and QRI-F were most suitable if represented by three first-order factors correlated between them. Results from multi-group analyses suggested there was factorial invariance for these structures across groups, suggesting that the MJS and the QRI-F provide, respectively, an assessment of romantic jealousy and quality of relationship that are equivalent across gender, age, education, and being in a romantic relationship. The study established the strong psychometric properties of its instruments, validating reliability and convergent and discriminant validity, thereby bolstering the research's overall credibility. Additionally, cognitive jealousy is primarily influenced by heightened conflict values, with education, relationship status, and gender moderating the associations between QRI-F dimensions and MJS behavioral and cognitive jealousy. The research offered in-depth perspectives on jealousy, underscoring its diverse manifestations across demographic variables and illuminating the complexities within the dynamics of friendships.

The Impact of Romantic Attachment Styles on Jealousy in Young Adults.

Romantic attachment is reflected in various aspects of dyadic interaction in a couple, since it is a self-reinforcing system of cognitive, emotional and behavioral patterns. Romantic jealousy was shown to be associated with dimensions of attachment insecurity in various studies worldwide. To identify differences in expressions of romantic jealousy based on romantic attachment style. To determine the influence of attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral jealousy. The sample comprised 171 heterosexual individuals. The "Experiences in Close Relationships - Revised" questionnaire (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000; adapted for Russian by Chursina, 2022) and "Multidimensional Jealousy Scale" (MJS; Pfeiffer, & Wong, 1989) were used. A number of significant differences were identified between insecure and secure attachment styles. Avoidant attachment is characterized by cognitive jealousy, ambivalent attachment is characterized by cognitive and behavioral jealousy, while dismissing attachment showed no significant differences in the manifestations of jealousy in comparison with secure attachment style. Emotional jealousy is equally characteristic of all types. The primacy of romantic attachment in relation to cognitive and behavioral jealousy was also proved. The experience of jealousy differs among romantic attachment styles. Attachment-related anxiety is a predictor of intrusive thoughts and behavioral manifestations of jealousy, while attachment-related avoidance is less, the greater the manifestation of jealousy behaviors.

Examining and understanding patterns of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral jealousy: Dispositional Mindfulness as a protective factor in romantic relationships

The present research proposes that dispositional mindfulness may play a key role in our understanding of romantic jealousy, conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of three components: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. All three components involve experiencing an outside threat, but diverse aspects of the experience are implied: cognitive jealousy entails thoughts and suspicions, emotional jealousy entails affective responses, and behavioral jealousy entails surveillance behaviors. Across five studies ( N = 3275), using non-dyadic and dyadic data, different measurement scales for mindfulness, and different indicators of relationship functioning (couple satisfaction, relationship quality, occurrence of conflicts), we consistently found that mindfulness is negatively related to cognitive and behavioral jealousy. This is explained by increased self-esteem characterizing mindful individuals. In turn, decreased cognitive and behavioral jealousy resulted positively related to couple satisfaction and relationship quality, whereas negatively to occurrence of conflicts. We did not find significant relations between mindfulness, self-esteem, emotional jealousy, and relationship functioning. These results provided evidence, which was also confirmed by a mini meta-analysis, that mindfulness may constitute a protective factor against detrimental cognitive and behavioral (vs. emotional) romantic jealousy. We discuss how these results advance literature and open new research avenues for both theoretical and applied purposes.

I’m doing the right thing! Technological intimate partner violence and social media use: the moderating role of moral absolutism and the mediating role of jealousy

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the associations between social media use integration and Technological Intimate Partner Violence (TIPV) while also exploring the mediating role of the three dimensions of jealousy and the moderating role of moral absolutism. Our sample consisted of 404 adults aged 18 to 59. The results indicated a significant positive effect of social media use integration on cognitive jealousy and TIPV. Social media use integration was correlated with behavioral jealousy and TIPV, while TIPV was positively associated with all three dimensions of jealousy. The moderated mediation analysis suggested that behavioral jealousy fully mediated the effect of social media use integration toward TIPV at all levels of moral absolutism, while cognitive jealousy had a partial mediating effect only at medium and high levels of moral absolutism. We discuss our findings by pointing out that (a) various dimensions of jealousy might be influenced differently by social media use integration, and (b) individuals with high levels of moral absolutism might be more prone to cognitive jealousy after being exposed to prolonged social media use. We acknowledge that our results may have limited generalizability as our sample was primarily female. Research involving larger portions of male participants would be important to pursue.

Development and Validation of an Indigenous Jealousy Scale for Polygamous Women

The present study aimed to develop a culturally relevant and indigenous scale to assess the jealousy among polygamous women In study one, 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with the age range of 18-60 years women (Polygamous, monogamous, experts) were conducted, and 65 items of the scale were empirically validated through content validation and Exploratory Factor Analysis on polygamous women (N = 200). The findings indicated that the Jealousy Scale for Polygamous Women has five factors having internally consistent (emotional, cognitive, behavioral, sexual, and possessive jealousy). Further, independent t-test was applied to seek the differences between first and second wives on jealousy and its subscales. Means scores revealed a significant differences between first and second wives as the first wives showed more emotional, cognitive, sexual, and overall jealousy, while lower possessive jealousy than the second wives. Study II was a conducted to determine the convergent validity with psychological distress while discriminant validity with psychological well-being of newly developed Jealousy scale for polygamous women. Both were subscales of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI, Veit, & Ware, 1983). The findings revealed the positive relationship between jealousy and its sub-scales with psychological-distress while the negative relationship with psychological well-being among polygamous women. Results indicate Jealousy Scale for Polygamous Women is a valid, reliable, and promising tool in the indigenous setting.

Erken Dönem Uyum Bozucu Şemalar ile Çok Boyutlu Kıskançlık Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between individuals' early maladaptive schemas and the level of multidimensional jealousy. The present study was carried out with a total of 344 people, 226 female (%66) , and 118 male (%34) participants. In the current study, "Personal Information Form", "Multidimensional Jealousy Inventory" and "Young Schema Inventory" were used. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS 25.0 package program. While examining the data, Pearson Correlation analysis, Multidimensional Jealousy Inventory t-Test with Independent Samples, and whether the Young Schema Inventory differed significantly according to demographic variables and its predictors were examined using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis to see the relationship between variables. According to the results of the study; a significant relationship was found between early maladaptive schemas and multidimensional jealousy. In addition, inclusion, suppression of emotions, social isolation, self-sacrifice independent variables from early maladaptive schema dimensions predicted emotional jealousy, emotional inhibition, defectiveness/shame, vulnerability to harm/illness, self-sacrifice, enmeshment/undeveloped self variables predicted behavioral jealousy, and social isolation, It was found that the variables of emotional inhibition, defectiveness/shame, self-sacrifice, vulnerability to harm/illness, and enmeshment/undeveloped self predict cognitive jealousy. The results reveal that early maladaptive schemas are associated with jealousy.

I Ruminate Therefore I Violate: The Tainted Love of Anxiously Attached and Jealous Partners.

Anxiously attached individuals worry about the psychological availability of their partners. Their preoccupation with unmet attachment related needs is likely accompanied by ruminative thoughts, feelings of jealousy, and dating abuse perpetration. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of gender differences in perpetrating psychological and cyber dating abuse and to explore a hypothesized serial path from anxious attachment, through rumination, and cognitive jealousy to psychological and cyber dating abuse perpetration. The sample consisted of 562 (404 women) Turkish emerging adults. The majority of the sample perpetrated at least one psychological (88.9%) and cyber (68.4%) abusive behavior over the last six months, with women perpetrating more psychological and cyber abuse. We tested a serial mediational model for each type of dating abuse, which indicated that anxious attachment was related to more rumination (brooding), cognitive jealousy, and in turn, to psychological and cyber dating abuse perpetration. We discuss the implications of our study for research, theory, and practice.

Unraveling the Roles of Distrust, Suspicion of Infidelity, and Jealousy in Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration: An Attachment Theory Perspective.

People who are anxiously attached, distrustful and jealous of their partners, and suspect infidelity are more likely to use psychological dating violence. Is this also true for cyber dating abuse perpetration (CDAP)? This study investigated the prevalence of and gender differences in self-reported CDAP and whether trust, anticipated partner infidelity, and jealousy serially mediated the association between anxious attachment and CDAP in a sample of Turkish college students. College students (N = 390) completed the Cyber Dating Violence Inventory, Anxious Attachment subscale of the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale-Short Form, Dyadic Trust Scale, Cognitive Jealousy subscale of the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale, Partners' Intentions Towards Infidelity Scale, and a Demographic Information Form. A total of 67% of the sample used at least one cyber abusive behavior with their partner over the last 6 months. A multiple serial mediation model indicated that greater anxious attachment was related to more dyadic distrust, the anticipation of partner infidelity, and jealousy, and, in turn, to the use of cyber dating abuse. Overall, results show that the prevalence of CDAP is high and that attachment theory offers a promising framework for identifying predictors of CDAP in emerging adults. These findings have implications for research, intervention, and prevention of CDAP by identifying potential risk factors for perpetrating cyber abuse.

Identity Gaps and Jealousy as Predictors of Satisfaction in Polyamorous Relationships

ABSTRACTParticipants in the present study include individuals in at least one polyamorous relationship. Grounded in the communication theory of identity, this article introduces identity gaps into two hierarchical regression models (n = 156, n = 151) to explain communication and relational satisfaction from cognitive jealousy and communicative responses to jealousy. Results indicate that identity gaps contribute significantly to predicting both relationship satisfaction and communication satisfaction for individuals in polyamorous relationships. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Relational uncertainty and interdependence processes in marriage: A test of relational turbulence theory

This study examined how relational uncertainty and qualities of interdependence within marriages correspond with eight measures of cognitive, emotional, and communicative phenomena. Structural equation modeling evaluated predictions deduced from relational turbulence theory (RTT), which links relational uncertainty to biased cognitions and interference and facilitation from a partner to emotional intensity. A research question focused on associations with indices of communicative engagement. Results provided mixed support for RTT. Relational uncertainty was significantly associated with taking conflict personally and cognitive jealousy as predicted, but it was also associated with emotional jealousy and negative affect and did not predict communicative engagement. Interference from a partner was positively associated with negative affect for women, but not men, and with topic avoidance for men, but not women. Facilitation from a partner was positively associated with the directness of communication about ...

Cognitive Jealousy and Constructive Communication: The Role of Perceived Partner Maintenance and Uncertainty

The current study focused on how perceptions of a partner’s relational maintenance behavior relate to the degree to which an individual reports experiencing cognitive jealousy and using constructive communicative responses to jealousy. Additionally, this study examined the mediating role of relationship uncertainty in the associations between maintenance and cognitive jealousy, as well as maintenance and constructive responses. Participants were 192 individuals who were involved in a romantic relationship who completed surveys about their partners’ relational maintenance behaviors and their own levels of cognitive jealousy, relationship uncertainty, and constructive responses. Results revealed perceived partner relational maintenance behaviors were negatively associated with cognitive jealousy and relationship uncertainty. Additionally, relationship uncertainty mediated the associations between maintenance and cognitive jealousy, integrative communication, and compensatory restoration.

Obsessional Jealousy: A Narrative Literature Review

Context: Obsessive jealousy is a highly disturbing disorder that is usually unrecognized, as most studies are concerned with delusional jealousy. The aim of the present article was to provide a narrative review of studies conducted on obsessional jealousy and associated factors. Evidence Acquisition: A literature search was conducted using electronic databases, including MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, Psycho INFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus for articles published between 1976 and April 2016. Results: The core of jealous concerns was found to be different between males and females. Patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) had greater concerns about their partner than healthy individuals. Studies suggested a phenomenological overlap between OCD and obsessional jealousy, for which anti-OCD treatment could be useful. Conclusions: Different terms were found for symptoms associated with obsessive jealousy, such as cognitive jealousy or neurotic jealousy. The term obsessional jealousy should be standardized in psychiatry reference books. It could be used in scales applied for diagnosis and evaluation of OCD.

The dark side of romantic jealousy

The present study investigates whether self-esteem and entitlement moderate the relation between jealousy (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) and the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy). To test this question, 453 participants (311 females, 140 males, 2 unidentified) between the ages of 17 to 81years (M=33.19, SD=10.32) completed the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale, the Short-D3, the Psychological Entitlement Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The interaction of self-esteem and Machiavellianism has an effect on cognitive jealousy and emotional jealousy, and the interaction of selfesteem and narcissism has an effect on behavioral jealousy. The interaction of entitlement and narcissism has an effect on emotional jealousy and behavioral jealousy, and the interaction of entitlement and psychopathy has an effect on cognitive jealousy. These findings identify dimensions of the Dark Triad and other personality traits that influence the propensity to experience different types of jealousy.

The Dark Side of Jealousy

A previous unpublished study found positive associations between jealousy (cognitive, emotional, behavioural) and the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) (Raheb, Atkinson, Chin, Vernon, submitted). The present study investigates whether self-esteem and entitlement mediate these positive relationships. To test this question, 453 participants (311 females, 140 males, 2 other) between the age of 17 to 81 years (M = 33.19, SD = 10.32) completed the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale, the Short-D3, the Psychological Entitlement Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. One model showed significant mediation: higher psychopathy was related to higher cognitive jealousy, and this relationship was significantly mediated by lower self-esteem. Therefore, individuals higher in psychopathy may be especially prone to cognitive jealousy if they have low self-esteem. These findings identify dimensions of the Dark Triad and other personality traits that influence the propensity to experience types of jealousy.

College Students’ Romantic Relationships on Facebook: Linking the Gratification for Maintenance to Facebook Maintenance Activity and the Experience of Jealousy

Previous work indicates that one of the central motives for using Facebook is relationship maintenance and that the use of Facebook is linked with romantic jealousy. Grounded in a uses and gratifications perspective, this study examined the maintenance motive for using Facebook; positive and negative online maintenance activity; and trait, cognitive, emotional, and Facebook jealousy. Results indicate that individuals who are strongly motivated to use Facebook for relationship maintenance are more likely to engage in Facebook assurances and monitoring but that there is a curvilinear relationship between the maintenance motive and the use of online monitoring. Regarding the patterns of relationships among Facebook maintenance and the various forms of jealousy, results indicate that the more that individuals used online monitoring and Facebook openness, the more of all four types of jealousy they reported, whereas the use of Facebook positivity and assurances was negatively associated with cognitive jealousy. Finally, there was little evidence of a relationship between the use of Facebook for maintenance purposes and the experience of jealousy.

The green eyed monster in the bottle: Relationship contingent self-esteem, romantic jealousy, and alcohol-related problems

Previous research suggests that both jealousy and relationship contingent self-esteem (RCSE) are related to alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. No work, however, has examined these two constructs together as they relate to motives for alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. The current study aims to build upon emerging literature examining different types of jealousy (i.e., emotional, cognitive, and behavioral), relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, commitment, closeness), RCSE, and alcohol use. More specifically, the current study aimed to examine the associations between RCSE and drinking to cope and RCSE and alcohol-related problems, in the context of the different types of jealousy. Moreover, the current study aimed to assess whether the associations between RCSE, jealousy, and drinking outcomes vary as a function of relationship quality. Two hundred and seventy seven individuals (87% female) at a large southern university participated in the study. They completed measures of RCSE, relationship satisfaction, commitment, closeness, and jealousy as well as alcohol-related outcomes. Using PROCESS, moderated mediational analyses were used to evaluate different types of jealousy as mediators of the association between RCSE and drinking to cope/alcohol-related problems. Further, we aimed to examine whether relationship quality moderated the association between RCSE and jealousy in predicting alcohol-related variables. Results indicated that cognitive jealousy mediated the association between both RCSE and drinking to cope and RCSE and alcohol-related problems. Further, relationship satisfaction, commitment, and closeness were all found to moderate the association between RSCE and cognitive jealousy such that at lower, but not higher levels of satisfaction, commitment, and closeness, cognitive jealousy mediated the association between RCSE and drinking to cope and RCSE and alcohol-related problems.

Gender Differences, Infidelity, Dyadic Trust, and Jealousy among Married Turkish Individuals

In the present study, relationships among gender, emotional response to partner’s imagined infidelity (emotional and sexual infidelity), and dyadic trust (low and high levels of trust) were investigated as functions of married Turkish individuals’ jealousy types (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral). Five hundred thirty seven (276 women and 261 men) married individuals living in urban areas in Turkey participated in the study. Results of the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) revealed significant main effects for gender, infidelity types, and dyadic trust. Particularly, married Turkish men in this study were found to be more emotionally jealous than women. Participants who responded to sexual infidelity as more upsetting had higher levels of emotional jealousy when compared to the participants who found emotional infidelity more upsetting. Moreover, participants with low dyadic trust for their partners were found to be high in their cognitive jealousy and behavioral jealousy reactions. Results are discussed in details with implications for future research and suggestions for mental health practitioners.

Jealousy and Couple Satisfaction: A Romantic Attachment Perspective

The overarching objective of this study was to examine a novel model investigating romantic attachment as a moderator of the relation between an individual's jealousy or an individual's perception of his or her partner's jealousy and one's couple satisfaction. The sample comprised of 502 university students currently involved in a relationship of at least 12 months. An original and comprehensive model concurrently investigating emotional, cognitive, and behavioral facets of jealousy was used. The implementation of hierarchical models revealed that cognitive jealousy was negatively associated with couple satisfaction, whereas emotional jealousy demonstrated a positive association; behavioral jealousy did not add incremental value in one's couple satisfaction. Results were applicable to both one's own and one's perception of his or her partner's jealousy for each respective facet. Cognitive jealousy was demonstrated to explain the greatest variance in one's couple satisfaction. Findings also revealed romantic attachment as a moderator of the relation between certain facets of jealousy and couple satisfaction, with attachment anxiety and avoidance leading to a strengthened or weakened relation, respectively. As such, results suggest that the negative and positive consequences of jealousy on couple satisfaction may be exacerbated among those exhibiting higher attachment anxiety. The applied and clinical implications of all findings are discussed.