bims-chumac 2020-09-13 papers

Issue of 2020‒09‒13
two papers selected by
Jay Dixit
Storytelling.NYC

Behav Sci (Basel). 2020 Sep 03. pii: E134. [Epub ahead of print]10(9):

Jealousy Incarnate: Quiet Ego, Competitive Desire, and the Fictional Intelligence of Long-Term Mating in a Romantic K-Drama.

Lucchi Basili L, Sacco PL.

In this paper, we analyze a K-drama aired by the Korean TV network SBS in 2016, Jealousy Incarnate, as a case study of the application of the Tie-Up Theory to a romantic narrative as a form of simulation of human mating processes with social cognition valence. We find that this case provides us with an example of a mating process where the choice of the male partner by the female lead character does not privilege the one that should be preferable on the basis of the standard prediction of the experimental research on human mating. This discrepancy is a signal of a basic limitation of experimental research, that highlights the subjects' preferences for abstract potential partners but is not able to fully account for the mechanisms that lead to the choice of a specific partner in a specific mating interaction. We argue that the narrative simulation viewpoint provides insights that are complementary to those of experimental research, and that a more comprehensive theoretical approach, such as the one offered by the Tie-Up Theory, may be helpful to account for both perspectives.

Keywords: Tie-Up Cycle; Tie-Up Theory; long-term couple bonding; romantic K-dramas; social cognition

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10090134

Demography. 2020 Sep 08.

The Dynamics of Intimate Relationships and Contraceptive Use During Early Emerging Adulthood.

Kusunoki Y, Barber JS.

We investigate the immediate social context of contraceptive behaviors: specifically, the intimate relationship. We use the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) study (2008-2012), based on a random sample of 1,003 women ages 18-19 residing in a Michigan county. Women were interviewed weekly for 2.5 years, resulting in an age range of 18-22. We test three sets of hypotheses about change over time within a relationship, using relationship-level within-between models, which compare a couple's contraceptive behaviors across different times in the relationship. First, we find that a couple is less likely to use contraception when the relationship is more intimate and/or committed and that a couple becomes less likely to use contraception over time, regardless of intimacy and commitment. Second, we find that a couple using contraception becomes increasingly likely to choose hormonal over coital methods, but this change occurs as a relationship endures and is unrelated to intimacy and/or commitment. Third, we find that a condom-using couple's consistency does not decline when there is conflict; rather, consistency of condom use declines over time regardless of the relationship's characteristics. We also demonstrate that conflict and power imbalance increase reliance on hormonal methods among those using contraception; conflict decreases consistency among withdrawal (but not condom) users; and nonmonogamy increases reliance on condoms and decreases withdrawal consistency. The strong and consistent link between duration and contraceptive behaviors-regardless of intimacy, commitment, conflict, or power imbalance-suggests that the continual vigilance required for long-term contraceptive use is difficult during early emerging adulthood.

Keywords: Contraception; Emerging adulthood; Relationship dynamics; Transition to adulthood

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-020-00916-1