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Interested and Instrumental: An Examination of Instrumentality Regulation With Potential Romantic Partners.

Kylie R Chandler¹, Kori L Krueger², Amanda L Forest³

¹The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin

|December 29, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

People are more willing to help potential romantic partners achieve their goals when they desire attraction and closeness. This willingness to be instrumental is linked to romantic interest, especially for single individuals.

Keywords:

attraction close relationships goal pursuit instrumentality romantic interest

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Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Interpersonal Relationships
Attraction Research

Background:

Instrumentality, defined as facilitating another's goal progress, is a key factor in attraction and relationship closeness.
Previous research has not explored the regulation of instrumentality based on desired attraction or closeness.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether individuals adjust their helpfulness (instrumentality) towards others based on their desire for attraction and closeness.
To examine the role of romantic interest in modulating willingness to be instrumental.

Main Methods:

Four studies utilized imagined online scenarios and in-lab experiments.
Participants' romantic interest in targets was manipulated (e.g., target availability).
Willingness to be instrumental was assessed under varying conditions.

Main Results:

Single participants showed greater willingness to be instrumental towards targets they were more romantically interested in, particularly when targets were romantically available.
Romantic interest positively correlated with instrumental behavior in single individuals.
Findings for romantically involved participants were less consistent.

Conclusions:

Individuals strategically adjust their instrumental behavior in romantic contexts, influenced by their level of romantic interest.
Willingness to be instrumental appears to be a dynamic aspect of attraction and relationship initiation.
Further research is needed to clarify findings for romantically involved individuals.