Centrality of Religiosity and Dyadic Coping in Close Romantic Relationships: Actor Partner Interdependence Model

Some studies suggest that religious people cope better with stress. For married couples, if partners perceive their relationship as sacred, supportive dyadic coping mediates the association of sanctification with marital satisfaction and well-being. In the current study, applying the actor–partner interdependence model to 116 Polish couples (n = 232), aged between 21 and 64 (males: M = 37.8, SD = 11.8; females M = 37.1, SD = 12.0), we examined the link between centrality of religiosity and dyadic coping. Although general dyadic analyses indicate that centrality of religiosity and dyadic coping are unrelated concepts, at the subscales level, we could observe few significant relationships. The results show that Polish religious men rate their common dyadic coping low. Actor effects in women are moderated by the type of relationship (cohabitation and civil marriage vs. catholic marriage).

EXPRESS: Communication in the Gig Economy: Buying and Selling in Online Freelance Marketplaces

The proliferating gig economy relies on online freelance marketplaces, which support relatively anonymous interactions by text-based messages. Informational asymmetries thus arise that can lead to exchange uncertainties between buyers and freelancers. Conventional marketing thought recommends reducing such uncertainty. However, uncertainty reduction and uncertainty management theories indicate that buyers and freelancers might benefit more from balancing, rather than reducing, uncertainty, such as by strategically adhering to or deviating from common communication principles. With dyadic analyses of calls for bids and bids from a leading online freelance marketplace, this study reveals that buyers attract more bids from freelancers when they provide moderate degrees of task information and concreteness, avoid sharing personal information, and limit the affective intensity of their communication. Freelancers’ bid success and price premiums increase when they mimic the degree of task information and affective intensity exhibited by buyers. However, mimicking a lack of personal information and concreteness reduces freelancers’ success, so freelancers should always be more concrete and offer more personal information than buyers do. These contingent perspectives offer insights into buyer–seller communication in two-sided online marketplaces; they clarify that despite, or sometimes due to, communication uncertainty, both sides can achieve success in the online gig economy.

Decade Review of Social Support in Family Gerontology: Methods, Theories, and Directions for Future Research

Social support has a rich foundation in family gerontology benefiting older adults, such as bolstering mental health, decreasing social isolation, and connecting them in families and communities. This study draws from a decade review of 995 empirical articles focusing on family gerontology from 13 of the top journals in gerontology, family, and relationships. Of the 995 articles, 86 were coded as social support or social network. Of these 86 articles, less than 3% included dyadic analyses, 95% were quantitative with just over 30% longitudinal. Over 30 different theories were identified with many building their work off multiple theories. Two key theories appear in over 30% of the articles, social support and socioemotional selectivity. Only 4% did not cite any theoretical framework. Overall, this presentation will review the methods, theories, and key findings of the social network/social support subtheme of a decade review of family gerontology and identify related gaps.

Male Internalizing Heightens the Risk of Escalating Jealousy and Perceptions of Negativity in Romantic Relationships

The present study examined whether the spread of jealousy and negative relationship perceptions between romantic partners varies as a function of boyfriend and girlfriend internalizing symptoms. Participants included 152 emerging adults in 76 heterosexual romantic dyads. At least one partner was 17 years or older ( M = 19.52 years) at the outset. Participants completed reports twice, approximately 13 months apart. Dyadic analyses indicated that the spread of jealousy and negativity was moderated by boyfriend but not girlfriend internalizing symptoms. When boyfriends presented above average (but not below average) levels of internalizing symptoms, girlfriend perceptions of relationship negativity and jealousy predicted increases in boyfriend perceptions of the same. The findings underscore the risk that internalizing poses to negative affect contagion.

Good Character Is What We Look for in a Friend: Character Strengths Are Positively Related to Peer Acceptance and Friendship Quality in Early Adolescents

This study investigates the role of character strengths in peer relationships among early adolescents. A sample of students ( N = 339; [Formula: see text] age = 12.84 years, 53.1% female) nominated friends in the classroom and completed assessments of character strengths, the desirability and importance of character strengths in a friend, and friendship quality. Results indicate that the character strengths of honesty, humor, kindness, and fairness were most desirable and important in a friend. Perspective, love, kindness, social intelligence, teamwork, leadership, and humor were associated with higher peer acceptance. Dyadic analyses of mutual best friends suggested that a number of character strengths were also positively related to friend-rated friendship quality. Overall, the results demonstrate the relevance of character strengths for positive peer relationships in adolescents.

Households in international marketing research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to respond to the call of alternative methodologies for studying household dynamics and aims to contribute to method development in international marketing research. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the Viennese Diary Study, a methodology was developed to study Vietnamese middle-class partners’ decision making. This allows for dyadic analyses and keeping track of the decision and mutual influence history in an emerging market. Findings – The methodology proved suitable to be used in a transitional economy, which is characterized by specific cultural aspects, such as the embeddedness of decisions in close relationships and traditional role specialization. Research limitations/implications – While the diary method is time and resource-costly with rather small sample size, it allows for detailed insight into everyday decision making. Further research might want to extend participation in the method to the extended family, which is of high importance in collectivistic cultures. Originality/value – Since partners in a household independently reported their perceptions and behaviours during decision processes each day, the methodology allows for dyadic analyses and keeping track of everyday decision making. In addition, the role in decision making of each spouse can be analysed.

If the Gear Fits, Spin It!

Two embodied gears games were created. Better learners should use fewer gear switches to reflect their knowledge. Twenty–three 7th graders, playing as dyads, used gestures to manipulate virtual gears. The Kinect sensor tracked arm-spinning movements and switched gear diameters. Knowledge tests were administered. Statistically significant knowledge gains were seen. For Game 1 (gear spun one direction), switching significantly predicted only pretest knowledge. For Game 2 (gear spun two directions) switching was also negatively correlated with both tests. For game 2, those who used fewer switches during gameplay understood the construct better scoring higher on both tests. Dyadic analyses revealed the winner used significantly fewer switches. In-process data can provide a window onto knowledge as it is being encoded. However, games should stay within the learner's ZPD, because if the game is too easy (Game 1), meaningful data may be difficult to gather. The use of in ludo data from games with high sensitivity may attenuate the need for repetitive traditional, post-intervention tests.