The Hyperperception Model: When Your Partner's New Friends Inspire Jealousy and Failing to Use Social Distancing

The hyperperception model was used to derive hypotheses concerning the processes by which people experience romantic jealousy because of their observation of their romantic partners on social network sites. The main focus was on the receiver component of the model that specifies that when observation of others' interactions is constrained to social media, those interactions appear more intimate than when the dyad is also observable offline. A survey (N = 322) was conducted to test this component of the model and determine if the model can predict additional phenomena such as possession signals and staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were generally consistent with the hypotheses and the utility of the hyperperception model for understanding the effects of observing romantic partners' interactions on social media. The data also reveal the importance of interpersonal processes in obeying social distancing guidelines.