Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper

Jealousy is an emotional response to the threat of losing a valued relationship. In this research, we revisit the proposal that jealousy in friendship is an evolved response to the threat of someone else replacing what is unique in this kind of relationship. Burkett (2009) found that most people ide...

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Main Authors: Ana María Fernández, Belén Castro, Pablo Molina, Leda Cosmides, Brandy Burkett
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 2022-11-01
Series:Psykhe
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.uc.cl/index.php/psykhe/article/view/38635
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author Ana María Fernández
Belén Castro
Pablo Molina
Leda Cosmides
Brandy Burkett
author_facet Ana María Fernández
Belén Castro
Pablo Molina
Leda Cosmides
Brandy Burkett
author_sort Ana María Fernández
collection DOAJ
description Jealousy is an emotional response to the threat of losing a valued relationship. In this research, we revisit the proposal that jealousy in friendship is an evolved response to the threat of someone else replacing what is unique in this kind of relationship. Burkett (2009) found that most people identify mental coordination—responding to the world as you do—as the feature that makes their best friend uniquely valuable to them. We presented 305 Chilean participants with one of three hypothetical conditions, in which their best friend: i) spent most of their time with a new friend, ii) shared mental coordination with a new friend, or iii) spent most of their time and shared mental coordination with a new friend. We replicated the expected effect in this novel context: Friendship jealousy was evoked more strongly by the threat of losing mental coordination with a friend than by just losing time spent with them, and friendship jealousy was higher for women than to men. We discuss the implications of these findings in order to understand friendships evolutionary basis and psychology, as well as other close relationships, and other types of non-pathological jealousy.
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spelling doaj.art-f12c598a9388436ab476e76a387bc8f62023-07-04T16:41:36ZengPontificia Universidad Católica de ChilePsykhe0718-22282022-11-0110.7764/psykhe.2021.3863534539Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an InterloperAna María Fernández0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4132-5891Belén Castro1Pablo Molina2Leda Cosmides3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1197-7824Brandy Burkett4Laboratorio de Evolución y Relaciones Interpersonales, Universidad de Santiago de ChileLaboratorio de Evolución y Relaciones Interpersonales, Universidad de Santiago de ChileLaboratorio de Evolución y Relaciones Interpersonales, Universidad de Santiago de ChileUniversity of Califronia, Santa BarbaraPsychological Sciences Department, College of William and MaryJealousy is an emotional response to the threat of losing a valued relationship. In this research, we revisit the proposal that jealousy in friendship is an evolved response to the threat of someone else replacing what is unique in this kind of relationship. Burkett (2009) found that most people identify mental coordination—responding to the world as you do—as the feature that makes their best friend uniquely valuable to them. We presented 305 Chilean participants with one of three hypothetical conditions, in which their best friend: i) spent most of their time with a new friend, ii) shared mental coordination with a new friend, or iii) spent most of their time and shared mental coordination with a new friend. We replicated the expected effect in this novel context: Friendship jealousy was evoked more strongly by the threat of losing mental coordination with a friend than by just losing time spent with them, and friendship jealousy was higher for women than to men. We discuss the implications of these findings in order to understand friendships evolutionary basis and psychology, as well as other close relationships, and other types of non-pathological jealousy.https://ojs.uc.cl/index.php/psykhe/article/view/38635close relationshipscooperationrivalryjealousymental coordination
spellingShingle Ana María Fernández
Belén Castro
Pablo Molina
Leda Cosmides
Brandy Burkett
Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper
Psykhe
close relationships
cooperation
rivalry
jealousy
mental coordination
title Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper
title_full Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper
title_fullStr Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper
title_short Experimental Induction of Friendship Jealousy: Comparing the Effects of Time versus Mental Coordination with an Interloper
title_sort experimental induction of friendship jealousy comparing the effects of time versus mental coordination with an interloper
topic close relationships
cooperation
rivalry
jealousy
mental coordination
url https://ojs.uc.cl/index.php/psykhe/article/view/38635
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AT pablomolina experimentalinductionoffriendshipjealousycomparingtheeffectsoftimeversusmentalcoordinationwithaninterloper
AT ledacosmides experimentalinductionoffriendshipjealousycomparingtheeffectsoftimeversusmentalcoordinationwithaninterloper
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