title: Automatic and self-reported attitudes in romantic relationships.
abstract: Two studies used response latency measures to assess automatic attitudes that individuals are unwilling or unable to reveal about their partners. In Study 1, participants (n = 51) in dating relationships completed two response latency measures (Time 1) and several relationship self-reports (Times 1 and 2). Participants who faced high barriers to exiting (BTE) their relationship generally showed a negative association between their relationship self-reports and automatic attitudes, and there was some evidence that automatic attitudes at Time 1 predicted relationship satisfaction at Time 2. Study 2 (n = 41 couples) replicated the BTE finding and showed that image-based response latency measures may assess automatic attitudes more effectively than word-based measures. A negative correlation between self-reported and automatic attitudes among high-BTE participants suggests that they may overreport relationship positivity to quell feelings of doubt about a relationship they cannot feasibly dissolve.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Nevada State College, Henderson, NV 89015, USA. tony.scinta@nsc.nevada.edu
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scinta
authors.forename: Shelly L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Gable
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D003380:Courtship / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires