Date of Award

Summer 8-1-2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Virgil Sheets

Second Advisor

Thomas J. Johnson

Third Advisor

Robert Gruenert

Abstract

The current study represents an investigation of the impact of weight change on romantic relationships, and the hypothesized gender difference in the importance assigned to a partner's weight. Participants were 221 undergraduate students (148 women and 73 men) from a medium sized Midwestern University. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in which their weight in a photo image was increased, decreased or left unchanged. Upon inspecting the image, participants were asked to complete measures of relationship satisfaction and commitment (including among others, items from the Dyadic Adjustment Scale [DAS]), the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale [KMSS], as well as to indicate the perceived availability of alternative partners [as measured by the Ease of Finding an Alternative Partner Index]. Results did not confirm the predictions of both social exchange and evolutionary theory that a female's commitment and satisfaction with her current relationship, as well as her perceived alternatives, would be significantly more impacted by her weight change than that of a males'. However, women believed that their partners would find them significantly less attractive if they were to gain weight than men. In addition, women believed that their partners would be most committed to them if they were to lose weight or remain the same weight, and least committed if they were to gain weight. Men's projected partner commitment was not impacted by anticipated weight change.

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