The Effect of Love Styles on the Motives for and Perceptions Of
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“What’s Love Got to Do with It?” The Effect of Love Styles on the Motives for and Perceptions of Online Romantic Relationships A thesis submitted to the College of Communication and Information of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Molly B. Taggart December, 2011 Thesis written by Molly B. Taggart B.A., Ohio University, 2004 M.A., Kent State University, 2011 Approved by _____________________________________ Janet R. Meyer, Ph.D., Advisor _____________________________________ Paul Haridakis, Ph.D., Interim Director, School of Communication Studies ______________________________________ Stanley T. Wearden, Ph.D., Dean, College of Communication and Information ii Table of Contents Page Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... vi Chapter I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Online Dating .................................................................................................................. 1 Uses and Gratifications Theory ....................................................................................... 4 Love Styles ...................................................................................................................... 5 Variables of Interest and Review of Research ................................................................ 6 Rationale for the Current Study ....................................................................................... 7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 7 II. Review of Related Literature ................................................................................................. 9 Uses and Gratifications .................................................................................................... 9 Love Styles .................................................................................................................... 35 Online Dating. ............................................................................................................... 50 Perceptions of Online Romantic Relationships ............................................................. 64 Rationale ........................................................................................................................ 73 Hypotheses and Research Questions ............................................................................. 77 Summary of Hypothesis and Research Questions ......................................................... 87 III. Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 89 Participants .................................................................................................................... 89 Procedure ....................................................................................................................... 91 Measures ........................................................................................................................ 91 IV. Results .................................................................................................................................. 96 Reliability ...................................................................................................................... 96 Means ............................................................................................................................ 96 Characteristics of the Sample ........................................................................................ 97 Findings ....................................................................................................................... 102 V. Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 105 Summary and Implications .......................................................................................... 105 Limitations ................................................................................................................... 122 Future Research Directions ......................................................................................... 129 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 130 iii Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 132 A. Cyber Relationship Motives Scale ......................................................................................... 133 B. Perceptions of Online Romantic Relationships ...................................................................... 135 C. Love Attitudes Scale .............................................................................................................. 136 D. Romantic Relationships Background Experiences ................................................................ 138 E. Demographics ......................................................................................................................... 143 References .................................................................................................................................... 145 iv List of Tables Table Page 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Cronbach’s Alphas for Love Styles, Perceptions of Online Romantic Relationships, and Cyber Relationship Motives .............. 98 2. Responses to Questions Regarding Experience with Romantic Relationships (Frequency Distributions) ................................................................................................... 99 3. Average Hours Per Day Spent on the Internet (In General), for Social and/or Entertainment Purposes, and on Online Dating Websites .................................................. 101 4. Correlations among Love Styles and Cyber Relationship Motives and Perceptions of Online Romantic Relationships ................................................................. 104 v Acknowledgments Most importantly, I would like to kindly thank my advisor, Dr. Janet Meyer. I am grateful for her endless support, advice and enthusiasm for communication research and my personal and scholarly development. I owe Dr. Meyer a huge debt of gratitude for her gracious mentorship, advice, and assistance. I am also thankful to the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Mei-Chen Lin and Dr. Jeffrey Child, who chose to give their valuable time, experience and skills to assist me in this research endeavor. Lastly, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my family, friends, colleagues, and mostly to my parents and fiancée for pushing me to be the best person I can be. Thank you all. vi 1 Chapter I Introduction Interpersonal relationships are the core of the human experience. While animals have relationships with other animals and with people, due partly to the vast difference in the development of the brain, the ability to have deep, meaningful relationships with other people is one of the main distinctions between humans and other mammals in the animal kingdom. For some people, the human experience would not be whole or complete, or possibly, even worthwhile, if they did not have a romantic partner with which to share in life’s journey. Many people invest significant time, effort, and money to find, attract, and keep a romantic partner. One specific concept or location gaining recognition in terms of people’s quest for true love is through the Internet. Given the important nature of the search for romantic relationships, paired with the ubiquity and popularity of the Internet as a mode of communication, the guiding focus of this thesis is an exploration and investigation of using the Internet to create adult romantic relationships. Online Dating The availability of the Internet as a medium, channel, forum and/or tool for seeking relationship partners has changed over the last twenty-plus years since 1986, when the oldest online dating website still currently in existence, matchmaker.com, was officially launched as a dial-up bulletin board system for dating based on geography (Adams & Frey, 2001). Since 1986, people have continued to look for love online as evidenced by researchers Madden and Lenhart (2006) of the Pew Internet and American Life Project who reported that 11% of all Internet-using American adults (approximately 16 million people) indicated having visited an online dating website or other Internet site in order to meet other people online. Of all American adults, 31% (63 million people) know someone who has interacted with an online dating site, 26% (53 million people) know someone who has gone on a physical date with someone met through an online dating site, and 15% (30 million people) know someone who has been in a long-term relationship 2 or married someone whom they met online. Highlighting the possible desire for or practicality of online dating, the