| Summary: | Three experiments evaluated a novel motivated response to alternative threat for committed people, known as perceptions of the partner's devaluation of alternatives (PPD). By being led to perceive lower partner commitment (Study 1a and 1b) or that the partner was favorably evaluating a highly attractive alternative (Study 2), we found a consistent threat effect across the studies with perceivers reporting lower levels of PPD. However, perceivers reporting greater relational trust or greater perceived partner commitment reported greater PPD, with some evidence of buffering (Study 2). These studies provide preliminary insight into how committed people use perceptions of the partner's commitment to navigate situations involving their partners and threatening alternatives, beyond their own commitment and projective effects.
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