When Your Boo Becomes a Ghost: the Association Between Breakup Strategy and Breakup Role in Experiences of Relationship Dissolution
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 6-21-2018 11:00 AM When Your Boo Becomes a Ghost: The Association Between Breakup Strategy and Breakup Role in Experiences of Relationship Dissolution Rebecca B. Koessler The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Campbell, Lorne J. The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Psychology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Science © Rebecca B. Koessler 2018 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Koessler, Rebecca B., "When Your Boo Becomes a Ghost: The Association Between Breakup Strategy and Breakup Role in Experiences of Relationship Dissolution" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5402. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5402 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Two studies examined ghosting, a unilateral breakup strategy that involves avoiding technologically-mediated contact with a partner instead of providing a verbal indication of the desire to break up. Study 1 solicited open-ended responses regarding experiences with ghosting and explored associations between ghosting and a variety of dispositional and situational variables. Study 2 investigated differences in the process of relationship dissolution and post-breakup outcomes as a function of breakup role (disengager or recipient) and breakup strategy (ghosting or direct conversation) across two samples. Recipients experienced greater distress and negative affect than disengagers, and ghosting disengagers reported the least amount of distress. Ghosting breakups were characterized by greater use of avoidance/withdrawal and distant/mediated communication tactics and less open confrontation and positive tone/self-blame tactics. Distinct differences between ghosting and direct conversation strategies suggest developments in technology have influenced traditional processes of relationship dissolution. Keywords Romantic relationship dissolution, breakup strategy, ghosting, technologically-mediated communication i Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Lorne Campbell. The direction and support you have provided over the past two years has been invaluable, and I have been genuinely inspired by your passion for research and improving the state of psychological science. You have motivated me to critically evaluate and constantly strive to improve the quality and transparency of the research I produce, and I hope to encourage others to do the same. Special shout out to Dr. Taylor Kohut, who acted as an essential resource during my formative first year and helped me develop and conduct my first research study. I would have floundered without your guidance, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from you. Thank you for knowing the right time to lead gently, and when to give me a much- needed kick in the pants. Thank you to my examiners, Dr. Irene Cheung, Dr. Bill Fisher, and Dr. Erin Heerey for your time (and patience) during the evaluation of this thesis. In addition, I would like to recognize the research assistants that helped code the qualitative data presented here. Alia Hussain, Suzie Blainey, Karly Mullins, Nazanin Kafaee, and Carlone Van Rooyen, thank you for volunteering your time. I would also like to express my deepest admiration and appreciation of my fellow women in STEM who I consider to be downright badass colleagues, friends, and role models. Thank you, Alexa Clerke, Sarah Babcock, Marina Gross and Nicolyn Charlot for exemplifying what the best scholars should be: intelligent, resilient and selfless. Being around you constantly inspires me to be better. I am especially grateful for my friendship with Nicolyn--my fellow American, the cake to my wine, the zen garden to my pit, thank you for always being a shoulder to complain on. Best friends five-ever. Finally, thank you to my family, who have offered me endless support and encouragement throughout this entire endeavor. You all mean more to me than you know. ii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Ghosting: A Modern Breakup Strategy .................................................................. 1 1.2 Breakup Tactics ...................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Who Ghosts? Who Gets Ghosted? .......................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Dark Triad ................................................................................................... 4 1.3.2 Attachment Style ......................................................................................... 6 1.4 Characteristics of Relationships that End Through Ghosting ................................. 7 1.4.1 Relationship Origination ............................................................................. 7 1.4.2 Relationship Length and Commitment ....................................................... 8 1.5 Consequences of Ghosting ...................................................................................... 9 1.6 Advantages of Ghosting ........................................................................................ 10 1.7 The Current Research ........................................................................................... 11 1.7.1 Study 1 ...................................................................................................... 13 1.7.2 Study 2 ...................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 15 2 Study 1 ......................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Methods................................................................................................................. 15 2.1.1 Recruitment ............................................................................................... 15 iii 2.1.2 Participants ................................................................................................ 16 2.1.3 Procedure .................................................................................................. 16 2.1.4 Materials ................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Results ................................................................................................................... 22 2.2.1 Online Dating Experience ......................................................................... 22 2.2.2 Base Rates and Definition of Ghosting ..................................................... 22 2.2.3 Relationship Dissolution ........................................................................... 25 2.2.4 Descriptions of Ghosting Experiences ...................................................... 27 2.2.5 Breakup Tactics ........................................................................................ 41 2.2.6 Attachment Style ....................................................................................... 43 2.2.7 Dark Triad ................................................................................................. 44 2.2.8 Breakup Distress ....................................................................................... 44 2.3 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 45 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 53 3 Study 2 ......................................................................................................................... 53 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 53 3.1.1 Breakup Role ............................................................................................ 54 3.1.2 Breakup Tactics ........................................................................................ 54 3.1.3 Motivations for Breakup Strategy Choice ................................................ 55 3.1.4 Breakup Distress ......................................................................................