The use of facebook

Bernard Williams Dr. cutull Method and Theory In Psychology October 8, 2013 Romantic Jealousy and Facebook usage The use ot Facebook, a popular social network, can have a significant influence in the development of romantic jealousy.

Facebook jealousy can occur when someone feels threatened after vlewlng their partner Interacting online with a superior potential mate, which could possibly lead to a daily surveillance of their partner's activity on Facebook, A person with enxlous-dttachment could be described ds having low self- esteem and a tear ot abandonment, resulting in the continuous need tor reassurance bout the status of their romantic relationship and possible signs of Infidelity. Individuals who have an anxious-style of attachment and frequently view their partners Facebook activity are more prone to experience feelings of romantic jealousy.

Prior research has shown that anxious attachment is positively related, and avoidant attachment negatively related, to Facebook jealousy and surveillance (Marshall, Bejanyan, DICastro, ; Lee, 2012, Those with an anxious-style of attachment do not feel that they deserve a loving relationship and are scared of being alone. The researchers designed an online survey to test the prevalence of Facebook Jealousy. The study included 255 participants, 201 women and 54 men. Two tests were conducted that measured attachment style, self-esteem. perceived relationship quality, Jealousy, and their usage ot Facebook.

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The participant's answers were formatted in the form of a Likert Scale. The study discovered that attachment anxiety and avoidance were strongly correlated to Facebook Jealousy and surveillance because individuals with attachment anxiety had a lack of trust in their partner (Marshall et al. , 2012, p, 17), Overall. those who were less satisfied with their elationship and had a lack ot trust tor their partners were most likely to display Facebook jealousy. Another study aimed to figure out whether an Increased usage of Facebook had an effect on romantic jealousy.

The researcher hypothesized that the amount of time spent on Facebook would significantly add to the amount of Facebook Jealousy, In addition to other variables that were described in the jealousy literature (Muise, Christofides, & Desmairais, 2009). To evaluate their thesis. Muise. Christofldes. and Desmarals created a questionnaire with 27 Items measured on a 7- polnt Likert scale. The topics included jealousy, perceived amount of trust within their relationship, self- esteem, uncertainty, and level of commitment (Mulse et al. , 2009).

The subjects included 308 undergraduate students (231 temale, 77 male) between the ages ot 17 and 24. It was concluded that regular Facebook usage had a strong Influence on romantic Jealousy. The researchers explained that these findings could be the result of a partner having access to new information about their partner's social circle; therefore the partner continues to look at their significant other's Facebook page to ocial circle were often innocent, but frequent viewing of their activity cause the other partner to become more suspicious of their intentions.

The next study focused on determining whether Facebook Jealousy had a negative effect on relationship satisfaction and if trait Jealousy is positively related to social network sites (SNS) Jealousy. Continuous surveillance of behaviors is and indicator of a possessive relationship, which is a typical effect of an individual with an anxious style of attachment. The researchers built an online survey consisting of questions esigned to measure monitoring behavior, Facebook Jealousy, and self-esteem.

A few items of the Facebook Jealousy scale measured actions such as the number of times they check their partner's Facebook page or whether they "add" their partner's friends to watch their online activity (Utz & Beuekeboom, 2011). The participants were students enrolled in a course at a large Dutch University. The study found that individuals with lower self-esteem experienced higher rate of Facebook Jealousy than individuals with higher self-esteem, although there was not a significant difference in relationship satisfaction. According to I-J? et al. 201 1), individuals who were prone to trait Jealousy, monitoring behavior, had a low self-esteem, and a need for popularity, were more likely to display Facebook Jealousy. A lack of self-esteem could possibly cause a person to believe that every potential attractive mate is a threat to their relationship and happiness. Because of their own insecurities, they may feel the need to compete with those they view as competition for their mate. The following study was conducted to test the outcome of Facebook intrusion on romantic relationships.

Facebook intrusion can be described as an obsessive ttachment to Facebook that causes a lack of functioning in daily lives and in romantic relationships (Elphinston & Noller, 2011). The researchers aimed to further existing research by evaluating whether Facebook intrusion is linked to romantic jealousy and dissatisfaction in relationships. The participants consisted of 342 (110 men and 232 women) freshman, undergraduate psychology majors at an Australian university. They were recruited based on the university's first-year student pool.

The students received partial course credit for participating in the study. Approximately 90 to 95 percent of the articipants were Facebook users, between the ages of 18 and 25. 86. 9 percent of participants were currently dating, with the average length of 16. 44 months. The study was in the format of a quantitative self-report, consisting of several questionnaires. All of the participants took a 7-point Facebook Intrusion scale with answers ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, which measured amount of Facebook usage, level of romantic Jealousy, and relationship satisfaction.

To measure the level of romantic Jealousy, a five-item Short-form Multidimensional Jealousy Scale was administered. A five-item questionnaire was also given to measure the level of romantic satisfaction in the participant's current relationship (Elphinston & Noller, 2011). It was found that the more an individual spent time on Facebook, they more likely they were to feel threatened by a potential mate of their partner. Also, Facebook intrusion was positively correlated with romantic Jealousy, relationship dissatisfaction, and cognitive Jealousy.

A strength of the study was that multiple questionnaires were given to the participants. Findings would not be as informative if large, which welcomes many perspectives. No evidence of validity or reliability was reported. Some of the limitations included a restricted participant pool because it only included first-year psychology students at an Australian University. For future studies, participants that do not attend a college or university and individuals of a more broad age range should be included.

A longitudinal study of the effects of Facebook intrusion would be beneficial for acquiring new information about the long term effects of Facebook on romantic relationships. The final research study aimed to explore romantic Jealousy from the attachment theory perspective. Cognitive ealousy can be described as feelings of discomfort when a partner feels a third party is a threat to their romantic relationship. According to the attachment theory, an individual's relationship with their parent or caregiver shapes the individual's mental needs in their adult life (Knobloch, Solomon, & Cruz, 2001, p. 6).

The researchers hypothesized that attachment styles that were developed during childhood, play a key role in influencing romantic Jealousy. An empirical, cross-sectional design was formulated to test their assumptions. The sample included students enrolled in a communication class at a large Mid-western University. The students received extra course credit for participating in the study. Overall, 132 students (43 men and 89 women), between the ages of 18 and 30, finished all portions of the experiment. The participant's relationship lengths ranged from 1 to 65 months, with the average relationship length being of 12 months. 31 out of the 132 relationships were heterosexual (Knoblauch et al. , 2001). Several self-report questionnaires were given to the participants, and were completed in groups ranging from 5 to 25 people. The first questionnaire measured attachment styles, perceived Jealousy, and the level of ntimacy in their current romantic relationships. Next, the researchers distributed Pfeiffer and Wong's (1989) Multidimensional Jealousy Scale to measure cognitive jealousy. The answers were formatted in a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from never (1) to all the time (7).

The Knobloch and Solomon's (1999) relational uncertainty scale was given to measure the level of uncertainty in the relationship, with answers formatted on a 6-point scale. Lastly, the participants completed the Rubin's (1970) Love Scale to measure the level of intimacy in their relationship, in addition to affiliate need, illingness to help, and exclusiveness toward their partner (Knobloch et al. , 2001). The study found that women and men did not significantly differ in their level of romantic Jealousy. It was also found that attachment anxiety was positively correlated with the relational uncertainty measures.

Findings also indicated that a negative correlation between cognitive Jealousy and intimacy was present (Knobloch et al. , 2001, p. 10). Because the results found a significant positive association between cognitive Jealousy, emotional Jealousy, and anxiety over relationships, their ypothesis was proven to be correct (Knobloch et al. , 2001, p. 12). During childhood, an anxious style of attachment is formed when a child's caregiver is often inconsistent or overly protective, resulting in the child becoming more prone to insecurity and fearfulness.

Consequently, adults with an anxious-style of attachment are frequently worried about the status of their relationship. These individuals usually crave the attention of their partner, which could leady to clingy and controlling behavior. They often become Jealous or overact at the possibility of a coincides with Guerrero and Andersen's 1998 study. Reliability was reported because the researcher's bivariate results produced the same results as the first experiment. The strengths of the study included a very detailed explanation as to why an anxious- style of attachment is associated with romantic Jealousy.

Another strength of the study was that it expanded upon previous studies on the notion that relationship uncertainty and intimacy are strongly linked to emotional and cognitive Jealousy. Some of the drawbacks of the study included the cross-sectional design. A longitudinal study would be more efficient in confirming their conclusions. Another limitation was the lack of male participants in the study. If the amount of men and women participants were more equal, the results would be more universal.

The final limitation is that the study focused on the experience of Jealousy but not on the underlying factors that cause Jealousy. A better understanding about Jealousy could be achieved if information was given from the individuals about their upbringing. This study looks to expand the literature by evaluating how attachment styles that were developed during an individual's childhood can influence romantic Jealousy on Facebook. Little research has been conducted to determine how these attachment styles are developed and their effect on Jealousy.

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