factors of attraction and relationship satisfaction_ the love-is

8/13/2019 Factors of Attraction and Relationship Satisfaction_ the Love-Is

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Te Florida State University

DigiNole Commons

Honors Teses Division of Undergraduate Studies

2013

Factors of Araction and Relationship Satisfaction:Te Love-is-Blind Bias and Perceived Risk of

IndelityJeanie ShultsFlorida State University, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: hp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm

Tis Open Access Honors Tesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Division of Undergraduate Studies at DigiNole Commons. It has

been accepted for inclusion in Honors Teses by an authorized administrator of DigiNole Commons. For more information, please contactlib-

[email protected].

Recommended CitationShults, Jeanie, "Factors of Araction and Relationship Satisfaction: Te Love-is-Blind Bias and Perceived Risk of Indelity" (2013).Honors Teses. Paper 205.hp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm/205
http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/ugs?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPagesmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm/205?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPagesmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm/205?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/ugs?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/uhm?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fuhm%2F205&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages


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Running head: LOVE IS BLIND

Abstract

Attraction and relationship satisfaction have been topics of increased investigation over the past

several decades (Yela & Sangrador, 2001; Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Hall & Taylor, 1976). The

love-is-blind bias hypothesizes that individuals within fulfilling relationships exhibit the

phenomenon of rating their partners attractiveness higher than self-ratings of their own

attractiveness, a product of positive partner illusions (Swami & Furnham, 2008; Gagn, &

Lydon, 2004). Using the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and novel measures for attraction

and perceived infidelity, this study applied the love-is-blind hypothesis against relationship

satisfaction and perceived risk of infidelity. The creation of two new subscales for measuring the

love-is-blind bias, self-perceived love-is-blind bias (SPB) and externally-perceived love-is-blind

bias (EPB) were instrumental in computations. Significant positive interactions between both

scales of the love-is-blind bias and both attraction, and relationship satisfaction were found.

Perceived risk of infidelity was negatively related to all positive scales. The findings suggest a

system of interactions among the love-is-blind bias, perceived risk of infidelity, relationship

satisfaction, and overall partner attraction. Preliminary analysis suggests perceived past infidelity

may also predict lessened relationship satisfaction in current relationships.

Keywords: attraction, infidelity, love-is-blind bias


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LOVE IS BLIND

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

FACTORS OF ATTRACTION AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION:

THE LOVE-IS-BLIND BIAS AND PERCEIVED RISK OF INFIDELITY

By

JEANIE SHULTS

A Thesis submitted to the

Department of Psychology

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation

with Honors in the Major

Degree Awarded:

Spring, 2013


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LOVE IS BLIND

The members of the Defense Committee approve the thesis of Jeanie Shults, defended

on April 10, 2013.

______________________________

Dr. Kelley Knapp-Kline

Thesis Director

______________________________Dr. Thomas Kelley

Outside Committee Member

______________________________

Dr. Amy Polick

Committee Member


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LOVE IS BLIND

This thesis is dedicated to my late father, who never treated me like a child,

but as a colleague-in-training. Rest in peace, Dad. I hope the angels up there

are pretty, the dogs are there to keep you company, and the Bears always win.


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LOVE IS BLINDFactors of Attraction and Relationship Satisfaction:

The Love-is-blind Bias and Perceived Risk of Infidelity

Intimate relationships satisfy more than basic biological prerogatives; those reporting rich

social lives exhibit higher levels of both psychological and physiological health, live longer and

are less likely to commit suicide than socially isolated individuals (House, Landis & Umberson,

1988). As such, a broad variety of research has been conducted on relationship factors, a large

part of which focuses upon the internal processes of romantic attachments. Mate-seeking

behaviors, a common topic of evolutionary psychologists, have been widely examined in the

literature (Barber, 1995; Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Buss, 1989; Gangestad, 1993; Gitter, Lomranz &

Saxe, 1982). With rising percentages of non-traditional families and escalating rates of divorce,

the last several decades have also been marked by research investigating functions predicting

relationship satisfaction (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013; Funk &

Rogge, 2007; Hendrick, 1988; Meeks, Hendrick & Hendrick, 1998). Conversely, evolutionary

psychology has also focused on the dark side of attraction and relationships: the processes

underlying infidelity and how it relates within the framework of human attraction (Buss &

Shackelford, 1997; Nannini & Meyers, 2000; Wilson, Mattingly, Clark, Weidler, & Bequette,

2011).

Love-is-blind bias

An interesting phenomenon reported in the human perception of attraction is that

individuals in committed relationships rate their partners attractiveness significantly higher than

their own (Swami & Furnham, 2008). This is known as the love-is-blind bias (Gagn, & Lydon,

2004; Swami, Furnham, Georgiades, & Pang, 2007). Past studies have found that both female

and male participants display the bias similarly, with little gender differences documented


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LOVE IS BLIND(Swami, Stieger, Haubner, Voracek, & Furnham, 2009). As a tactic for relationship satisfaction

management, the love-is-blind bias may lead to higher levels of reported relationship

satisfaction. Physical attraction factors often scale similarly with other factors of stable

relationships such as intimacy, commitment, and passion (McNulty, Neff, & Karney, 2008; Yela

& Sangrador, 2001). Several researchers have suggested that the love-is-blind bias is less a

function of objective attractiveness rather than partner idealism, positive partner illusions, or

optimism bias (Barelds-Dijkstra & Barelds, 2008; Fowers, Lyons, Montel, & Shaked, 2001; van

Lange & Rusbult, 1995). Positive partner illusions, or the pattern of participants to rate partners

perceived attractiveness as greater than empirical measures of attractiveness, have been

associated with relationship satisfaction (Martz, Verette, Arriaga, Slovik, Cox, & Rusbult, 1998;

Murray & Holmes, 1993; Murray, 1999; Murray & Holmes, 1997, Yela & Sangrador, 2001).

These illusions have also been found to be related to greater short- and long-term measures of

relationship stability, self-perception, and self-esteem (Flannagan, Marsh & Fuhrman, 2005;

Taylor & Brown, 1988).

Infidelity

A simple scan of news media outlets and recent box-office hits reveal the pervasive

interest humanity has in infidelity. This isnt delegated only to the general public; in the past

decades, infidelity has grown as a popular subject within attraction studies and evolutionary

psychology (Buss, 1995; Buunk, Angleitner, Oubaid, & Buss, 1996; DeSteno, Bartlett,

Braverman, & Salovey, 2002; Spanier & Margolis, 1983; Thompson, 1983). Infidelity is a

tremendously difficult subject to operationalize efficiently, with contrasting opinions existing on

the treatment of how to conduct infidelity research, what causes infidelity, why it occurs, and

even how infidelity is even defined (Blow & Hartnett, 2007). High levels of variance in past


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LOVE IS BLINDresearch and a lack of cohesive literature suggest that little hard evidence exists to explain why

infidelity occurs and the factors that predict infidelity (Glass & Wright, 1992; Olson, Russell,

Higgins-Kessler, & Miller, 2002; Prins, Buunk, & VanYperen, 1993; Weis & Jurich, 1995). Due

to the ethical implications of imposing empirical manipulations of infidelity, most research has

focused upon self-report data and the perception of infidelity. One classic experiment has

reported that women rate that partners emotional infidelity causes more distress than physical

infidelity, whereas males report significantly more distress over perceived physical infidelity

than emotional (Buss, Larsen, Westen, & Semmelroth, 1992). Infidelity has only become

widespread as a topic of investigation in the past several decades, though humanity has certainly

anecdotally hypothesized reasons why infidelity occurs (Allen & Baucom, 2004; Atkins,

Baucom, & Jacobson, 2001; Buunk, 1987).

Measuring relationship satisfaction

Various measures of relationship satisfaction in use over the last several decades include

the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMS), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), the Couples

Satisfaction Index (CSI), the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), among others (Crane,

Middleton, & Bean, 2000; Funk & Rogge, 2007; Hendrick, 1988; Schumm, Nichols, Schectman,

& Grinsby, 1983; Spanier, 1976; Vaughn & Baier, 1999). Some inventories consist of hundreds

of questions in rather large question batteries, while others are short Likert-scaled questionnaires.

In this case, the amount and variety of inventories indicate the difficulty of assessing relationship

satisfaction (Graham, Diebels, & Barnow, 2011). The Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) was

selected for use to evaluate relationship satisfaction due to the scales well-validated measure of

relationship satisfaction while being only seven questions in length.


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LOVE IS BLINDThe current research

The current study applied the love-is-blind hypothesis to perceived risk of infidelity, relationship

satisfaction, and self-reported measures of attraction. This study hypothesized that participants

will confirm the love-is-blind bias by rating partners as more attractive than themselves. It was

also expected that the love-is-blind bias will positively relate to relationship satisfaction and

negatively relate to perceived risk of infidelity. Finally, it was hypothesized that moderate love-

is-blind bias would predict higher relationship satisfaction and lower perceived risk of infidelity,

whereas high love-is-blind bias would predict lower relationship satisfaction and higher rates of

perceived risk of infidelity.

Method

Participants

Forty-five (45) undergraduates enrolled in psychology classes in at a university in the

southeast United States volunteered for this study. Seventeen of the forty-five respondents were

not currently in a committed relationship and only completed demographic variables and the

infidelity battery. The final sample, including single respondents, included 11 males and 34

females with a mean age of 26.89 years (SD = 8.67). One participant indicated a homosexual

preference, two bisexual, and the remaining 42 participants indicated that they were

heterosexual. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 52 years and included both traditional and

nontraditional students. A diverse population of races was represented within the sample, the

majority of which were Caucasian (68%); minorities represented include African-American

(12%), Hispanic (12%), American Indian/Native Alaskan (4%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (4%).

Of the sample, 15 participants (33.3%) reported being single, two in casual dating (4.4%), and 28

were within committed relationships (62.3%). All participants within the committed relationship


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LOVE IS BLINDstatus indicated monogamy. The majority of participants cohabitate with partners (75%), while a

25% do not live together. Of the sample, more than 46% of participants had children and 54%

did not.

Measures

All participants completed a four-page questionnaire comprised of four subject areas,

presented in the following order:

DemographicsGeneral demographic questions such as gender, age, sexual orientation,

ethnicity and current relationship status were presented. Additionally, participants were asked to

report their relationship length if applicable, in years and months, as well as listing the ages of

any applicable children and if they currently resided with their parents.

Partner attractionNine questions were used to examine aspects of attraction (see

Appendix A). Each question required participants rating on a 9-point Likert-type scale (1=least,

9=most). Items including rating partner physical attractiveness, physical attractiveness of self,

and the extent to which they feel attracted to their partner physically, emotionally, and

intellectually were examined. A factor analysis was conducted to determine a single factor score

for attraction to partner as a subset of attraction/attractiveness scores. Three questions were

chosen for this scale to represent overall attraction (What is the extent to which you find yourself

attracted to your partner physically?, What is the extent to which you find yourself attracted to

your partner emotionally?, and What is the extent to which you find your partners personality

characteristics attractive?). A principle components analysis indicated that the measures were

valid (75.45% of the variance explained, with no factor loading less than .819). The factor score

for attraction to partner was computed by averaging the responses to those three items

(Cronbachs = .82).


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LOVE IS BLINDRelationship satisfactionA modified version of theRelationship Assessment Scale

(Hendrick, 1998) was utilized in the third section of the questionnaire, wherein participants rated

factors of their current relationship. Scoring for the RAS was computed by taking the average of

the questions, how well does your partner meet your needs, how good is your relationship

compared to most, and to what extent has your relationship met your original expectations. A

factor analysis was completed to ensure validity (74.61% of the variance explained to a

minimum of .863 factor loading). Cronbachs coefficient for the modified RAS was .91.

InfidelityFour questions were used to examine participants histories with cheating,

perceived risk of partner infidelity, and likelihood of participant to cheat on their partner. An

unused item from the RAS (How often do you wish you hadnt gotten into this relationship)

was averaged with the rating of partners perceived likelihood to cheat. This stood as the

measure of perceived risk of infidelity (Cronbachs = .90).

In addition to the preceding four scales, two subscales were created from the attraction

scale. These subscales, self-perceived love-is-blind bias (SPB) and externally-perceived love-is-

blind bias (EPB), were used to assess the differences in the love-is-blind bias.

Self-perceived love-is-blind bias (SPB)This difference score was computed by

subtracting the rating ofHow would you rate your own physical attractivenessfromHow would

you rate your partners physical attractiveness.

Externally-perceived love-is-blind bias (EPB)This difference score was computed by

subtracting the rating ofHow do you feel others would rate your own physical attractiveness

fromHow do you feel others would rate your partners physical attractiveness. A factor analysis

of EPB and SPB revealed a significant load factor of .935 with 87% of variance explained


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LOVE IS BLIND(Cronbachs = .852); a Pearsons correlation, calculated for redundancy, was additionally

found to be significant, r(28) = .748, p < .01.

Procedure

All participants were recruited at a nontraditional branch campus of Florida State

University from psychology classes; see Appendix B for sample consent form. No compensation

was provided upon completion of surveys. Due to the sensitive nature of the data collected, each

pen-and-paper survey was packaged in individual privacy folders. Three data collectors were

trained and given a written protocol for conducting the survey. This protocol included a script

statement involving the nature of the study, how to collect informed consent, and directions for

maximizing privacy and anonymity of participants. All participants provided informed consent

and were given contact information for voluntary debriefing (no usage of deception within this

study). Participants were given approximately fifteen minutes to finish the survey. At the end of

the survey, participants returned completed surveys within privacy folder in a different location

from the written informed consent sheet.

Results

Three forms of data analyses were used to analyze the dataset: paired t-tests, Pearsons r-

correlation coefficient, and analyses of variance (ANOVA). Two types of analyses were

performed to test the first hypothesis to confirm the existence of the love-is-blind bias.

Paired subject t-test

To analyze the relationship between attractiveness ratings, paired t-tests were conducted

in three permutations. Self-ratings versus partner-ratings, and partner-ratings versus evaluation of

external partner ratings did not yield significant data. However, significance was found when

comparing evaluation of external partner attractiveness to evaluation of external self-


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LOVE IS BLINDattractiveness, t(27) = 3.936,p < .001. Evaluation of external partner attractiveness received

higher ratings than evaluation of external self-attractiveness, confirming the love-is-blind bias.

This is consistent with past studies findings that found that participants rate their own

attractiveness systematically lower than their own attractiveness (Swami & Furnham, 2008).

Correlations

Pearsons correlation coefficients were calculated among the following variables: EPB,

SPB, perceived risk of infidelity, general partner attraction, and relationship satisfaction. The

results of this test are available in Table 1. These results indicate statistically significant

associations between attraction and satisfaction, r(28) = .732,p < .01; attraction and perceived

risk of infidelity, r(28) = -.608,p


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LOVE IS BLINDattraction, satisfaction, or perceived risk of infidelity. However, SPB was found to have a

significant effect upon satisfaction, F(1, 24) = 4.874,p< .05. Additional analyses were

performed to assess the impact of gender differences on various scales. No significant

differences were found in any of the three main measures and gender, indicating that males and

females respond similarly across attraction, F(1, 26) = 1.642,p >.05; satisfaction, F(1, 26) =

1.540,p >.05; and perceived risk of infidelity, F(1, 26) = 2.130,p >.05. To further assess the

relevance of infidelity, a 2x2 ANOVA using dichotomous measures of cheating (history of

cheating X participant likelihood of cheating) was conducted on relationship satisfaction, also

leading to a lack of significant data, F(1, 26) = 2.400,p > .05, suggesting that history of cheating

or probability of self-infidelity in the future does not predict satisfaction. However, interactions

were found when analyzing perceived partner infidelity in current or past relationships against

the general attraction scale, F(1, 26) = 7.501,p < .05, suggesting that participants are more

concerned with partners infidelity than their own.This assumption is supported by the further

findings of a statistically significant main effect between participants level of emotional

attraction to partner and perceived partner infidelity, F(1, 26) = 10.103,p < .05. These two

analyses indicate that if you believe your partner has cheated on you or is likely to cheat on you,

you have lessened emotional attraction and decreased relationship satisfaction.

Discussion

The results of this study support the findings of previous research confirming the love-is-

blind bias. Over 80% of the population surveyed fit the expected pattern. The remaining 19%

included 11% who indicated that they were in fact more physically attractive than their partners,

with the remaining eight percent rating their partners equally as attractive as themselves. This

bias does not seem to be mediated or moderated by age, gender, relationship length, or history of


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LOVE IS BLINDinfidelity. There do seem to be significant associations between the two separate measures of the

love-is-blind bias (EPB and SPB), as well as associations with attraction, relationship

satisfaction, and perceived risk of infidelity. Measures of attraction, satisfaction, and infidelity

were also all correlated (see Table 1). One point of interest is that high rates of relationship

satisfaction and attraction were reported with very low perceived risk of infidelity. These rates

are less than the reported average of cheating (Blow & Hartnett, 2007), and may be explained by

optimism bias: that is, that individuals have unrealistic expectations of positive outcomes.

Alternatively, the general pattern of high relationship satisfaction (M=8.129, SD=1.061) and

attraction (M=8.024, SD=.956) versus low perceived risk of infidelity (M=1.929, SD=1.676) may

be explained by impression management, or the tendency to report more positively to meet

expectations.

The self-evaluative and externally-evaluative subscores used to compute the love-is-blind

bias may offer insight into future directions on how to measure the love-is-blind bias. Self-

evaluative love-is-blind bias was computed as a difference score calculated by deductingHow

would you rate your own physical attractiveness? fromHow would you rate your partners

physical attractiveness?. The results from that scale (M=2.21, SD=2.13) follow previous findings

about the love-is-blind bias in that participants readily and systematically rated partners higher in

attractiveness than themselves (Swami et al., 2009). The second difference score for external-

evaluative love is blind bias was calculated by deductingHow do you feel others would rate your

own physical attractiveness? fromHow do you feel others would rate your partners physical

attractiveness?. The results of this score (M=1.39, SD=1.87) differed from the self-evaluative

score in 64% of the population. In some individual cases, EPB and SPB differed considerably.

While self-evaluative and externally-evaluative scores yielded a significant correlation, there


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LOVE IS BLINDmay be patterns of difference between them. This suggests that research is merited within

examining the difference between how an individual perceives attractiveness versus how they

believe the rest of the world perceives attractiveness.

The results from the Pearsons correlation test may be viewed in Table 1. The specific

lack of significance between attraction scores and both love-is-blind scores indicates that feeling

attracted to ones partner does not necessarily require an inflated perception of that partners

physical attractiveness. Due to the small sample size, the lack of significance is suggested as a

preliminary result. It may be the case that with larger sample sizes, the lack of interaction will

prove insightful to the relationship between attraction and physical attractiveness.

Measures of attraction were statistically significantly correlated with relationship

satisfaction, such as that the more attractive you perceive your partner to be, the more satisfied

you are with your relationship. These scores negatively correlate with perceived risk of

infidelity, indicating that participants that were high in attraction and satisfaction perceived to be

at a lower risk of partner infidelity. This is supported by the strongest correlation of all assessed,

the relationship between perceived risk of infidelity and satisfaction, r(28) = -.825.

A large confirmation of the love-is-blind bias may lie within the rejection of the novel

EPB scale in terms of the ANOVAs performed. As EPB measures the perception of the

participants objective rating of attractiveness, it may simply be confirmation that self-rated

attractiveness is more pertinent to the proposed bias. Therefore, individuals may remain

conscious of the fact that they view their partner more favorably than the rest of the world would.

In contrast to the lack of significant ratings of EPB, SPB did significantly interact with

satisfaction. Higher rates of either SPB and EPB did not, however, support the hypotheses

projected after confirmation of the love-is-blind bias; that is, moderate love-is-blind bias did not


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LOVE IS BLINDcorrelate or predict lessened relationship satisfaction or heightened perception of infidelity.

Instead, the love-is-blind bias appears to have a strong positive correlation with satisfaction

without diminishing returns at the highest levels.

The findings of this study, while significant, merit further investigation. Shortcomings of

the study such as the small sample size (N=45), underrepresentation of males, remain valid

criticisms of resulting statistical analyses. As a pilot study for a new method of measuring the

love-is-blind bias, the results suggest that future efforts may find systematic differences between

EPB and SPB. Future applications may include replication across a larger population, or with

extensions such as using matched dyads in committed relationships. Another validating factor

that could be added to future studies would be to control for objective attractiveness by rating

matched dyads and comparing objective measures to self-reported ratings.

In conclusion, the present study increases the body of work performed on the love-is-

blind bias by confirming the bias and introducing new methods of measurement. It also indicates

that future directions of love-is-blind researchers may include controlling for objective

attractiveness, and examining the influence of undue optimism on the love-is-blind hypothesis.

Optimism bias could be a third variable to explain both higher ratings of attractiveness and low

perceived risk of infidelity and could prove to be an interesting body of future work. The

confirmation of the love-is-blind bias remains a challenge to previous bodies of work regarding

the tendency of individuals to self-inflate personal attributes in the presence of social

comparisons (Brown, 1986; Taylor & Koivumaki, 1976). Another contrast is the negative

correlation between partner attractiveness and perceived risk of infidelity. This tendency of high

partner attractiveness ratings and low perceived risk of infidelity defies many prior studies which

indicate that high rates of physical attractiveness are a risk factor for infidelity (Buss,


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LOVE IS BLINDShackelford, Kirkpatrick, Choe, Lim, Hasegawa, Hasegawa, & Bennett, 1999; Harris, 2003;

Wiederman & Kendall, 1999). The previous assumption that partners with high attractiveness are

more likely to take part in extra-relationship affairs, when contrasted with the findings of the

current study, provide implications for future avenues of research.


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LOVE IS BLINDAppendix A

Attraction and Satisfaction Questionnaire

Please DO NOT write your name on this form.

1. Please indicate your gender.o Male

o Female

2. Please indicate your age.

_____ years

3. Please indicate your sexual orientation.

o Heterosexual

o Homosexualo Bisexual

4. What is your ethnicity?

o Caucasian

o African American

o Asian/Pacific Islander

o American Indian/Native Alaskan

o Hispanic

o Other: _____________

5. Please indicate your current relationship status.

o Single

o Casual Dating

o Committed relationship

If single or casual dating, please proceed to question 31.

6. Please indicate the length of your current relationship._____ years, _____ months

7. Is your current relationship monogamous (ie, you and your partner are exclusive)?

o Yes

o No


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LOVE IS BLIND8. Do you and your partner currently live together?

o Yes

o No

9. Are you married to your partner?

o Yeso No

o Engaged

10. Do you and your partner have children?

o Yes; born of this relationship

o Yes; pre-existing from past relationships

o No

If no, proceed to question 12.

11. Do your children live at home?

o Yes

o No

12. Please list the ages of your youngest and oldest child(ren):

Youngest: ____ years, _____ months; Oldest: _____ years, ______ months

13. How did you meet your partner?

o Work

o Social event (in person)

o Mutual friends

o Online dating site

o Other: ___________

Please answer the following questions on a scale of 1 9, 1 being LEAST and 9 being

MOST.

14. How would you rate your partners physical attractiveness?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Least attractive Moderately attractive Very attractive

15. How do you feel others would rate your partners physical attractiveness?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Least attractive Moderately attractive Very attractive


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LOVE IS BLIND16. How would you rate your own physical attractiveness?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


17. How do you feel others would rate your own physical attractiveness?1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


18. What is the extent to which you find yourself attracted to your partner physically?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Least attracted Moderately attracted Very attracted

19. What do you feel is the extent to which your partner is attracted to you physically?1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


20. What is the extent to which you find yourself attracted to your partner emotionally?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


21. What is the extent to which you find your partners personality characteristics attractive?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


22. How intellectually stimulating do you find your partner?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Least stimulating Moderately stimulating Very stimulating

23. How well does your partner meet your needs?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Not well Moderately well Very well

24. In general, how satisfied are you with your relationship?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not satisfied Moderately satisfied Very satisfied


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LOVE IS BLIND25. How good is your relationship compared to most?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not good Moderately good Very good

26. How often do you wish you hadnt gotten into this relationship?1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not often Moderately often Very often

27. To what extent has your relationship met your original expectations?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not well Moderately well Very well

28. How much do you love your partner?1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not much Average Very much

29. How many problems are there in your relationship?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not many Average Very many

30. What do you feel the likelihood is of your partner cheating in your current relationship?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not likely Moderately likely Very likely

31. What do you feel the likelihood of you cheating on your partner is?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Not likely Moderately likely Very likely

32. Do you feel that you have been cheated on, in this or past relationships?

o Yes

o No

33. Have you cheated on a partner in this or past relationships?

o Yes

o No


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LOVE IS BLINDAppendix B

Informed Consent Sheet

STUDENT CONSENT FORMFor the Research Study Entitled

The Relationship between Attraction and Relationship Satisfaction

You are invited to participate in a research study aimed at investigating the relationship betweenpartner attraction and relationship satisfaction. We hope to learn more about the significance of

attraction in long-term relationships via this research.

This survey has been developed to gain information regarding particulars of attraction, bothphysical and emotional, and relationship satisfaction. We understand that the content of the

survey is personal and sensitive; however, it is very important to answer the questions in the

survey as honestly as posSPBle. To protect the potential risk of a breach of confidentiality, allinformation that you provide will remain completely anonymous to the extent allowed by law.

Moreover, any data you provide will not be identifiable to you.

If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete a short questionnaire. Your

participation will require approximately 10 to 15 minutes of your time. You may withdraw from

participation at any time, without penalty; however, after your data have been collected, you will

be unable to withdraw your data because there will be no way to identify your individualinformation.

Your decision whether to participate will not jeopardize your future relations with Florida StateUniversity or the Psychology Department at Florida State University. Information collected

through your participation may be published in a professional journal, and/or presented at a

professional conference or meeting.

If you have any questions, we invite you to ask them now. If you have questions later, you may

contact the student researcher Beth Shults at [email protected] Professor Kelley Kline [email protected] 850-770-2252. Both will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

For more information regarding your rights as a research participant you may contact the FSU

Institutional Review Board (IRB) at 850-644-8633 or you may access their website at

http://www.fsu.research.edu.

Please print your name and sign below if you give consent to participate in this study.

Your name: ________________________

Your signature ___________________________ Date _____________


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LOVE IS BLINDTables

Table 1. Correlations between the love-is-blind bias and supplemental scales

2 3 4 5

1. SPB bias .748** .349 -.405* .511**2. EPB bias .319 -.357 .413*

3. Attraction -.608** .732**4. Perceived Risk of Infidelity -.825**

5. Modified Relationship Assessment Scale

Note: *p

factors of attraction and relationship satisfaction_ the love-is

Documents