ABSTRACT ROMANTIC INFATUATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY This study aims to measure the relationship between a person’s level of romantic infatuation (RI) and his or her personality characteristics. Romantic infatuation encompasses the initial feelings and behaviors brought on by a romantic interest in another individual. The five-factor model of personality is widely accepted in psychology as a general measure of personality characteristics. The five dimensions (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) assess aspects of personality that all people share, but vary in the extent of their expression of each trait. Three inter-related studies were designed to assess the construct of RI. Study 1 used the Act Frequency Approach to create an original measure of RI, consisting of 78 highly prototypical acts of infatuation (Buss & Craik, 1983). Study 2 employed a mood induction procedure to elicit a state of infatuation before the individuals’ RI Act Report ratings were correlated with measures of personality and social desirability (Goldberg, 1992; Paulhus, 1984). Study 3 employed a modified audio mood induction procedure. The RI Act Report items were factor analyzed resulting in five distinct factors of RI. Significant correlations were found between the total RI score, the Big Five personality dimensions, and the five factors of RI. These findings support the idea that there may be a relationship between the way a person experiences romantic attraction to another individual and his or her own personality characteristics. Hope Anne Castro August 2017 ii ROMANTIC INFATUATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY by Hope Anne Castro A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology in the College of Science and Mathematics California State University, Fresno August 2017 APPROVED For the Department of Psychology: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. Hope Anne Castro Thesis Author Michael Botwin (Chair) Psychology Ronald Yockey Psychology Jennifer Isom-Schmidtke Psychology For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Michael Botwin, for his encouragement, support, and friendship on this journey. His guidance has been pivotal to my success and I will be forever grateful. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Jennifer Isom- Schmidke and Dr. Ronald Yockey, for their additional advice and assistance. Their knowledge was incredibly helpful during critical phases of this process. A special thank you to James Verros for his work on the audio recording of the mood induction instructions, as well as the members of the Personality, Evolution, and Attraction Research Lab (PEARL) for their assistance with data collection. Their willingness to devote their own time to helping make this research happen was greatly appreciated. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their support and love, and to my cohort, namely Judith and Keith, for commiserating with me and encouraging me throughout this program. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 3 Romantic Infatuation Defined ........................................................................... 3 The Five-Factor Model of Personality .............................................................. 7 The Act Frequency Approach ........................................................................... 9 Mood Induction ............................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 3: STUDY 1: DEVELOPMENT OF THE ACT REPORT ................ 14 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 14 Method ............................................................................................................ 14 Results ............................................................................................................. 17 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 4: STUDY 2 ........................................................................................ 22 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 22 Method ............................................................................................................ 22 Results ............................................................................................................. 24 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 5: STUDY 3 ........................................................................................ 28 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 28 Method ............................................................................................................ 28 Results ............................................................................................................. 33 Discussion ....................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 6: GENERAL DISCUSSION ............................................................. 40 vi vi Page The Structure of RI and its Personality Correlates ......................................... 40 Limitations and Future Directions .................................................................. 43 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 48 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 52 APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORM ....................................................................... 53 APPENDIX B: DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................ 55 APPENDIX C: ACT NOMINATION SURVEY .................................................. 57 APPENDIX D: ROMANTIC INFATUATION ACT REPORT ........................... 59 APPENDIX E: BIG FIVE PERSONALITY INVENTORY ................................. 63 APPENDIX F: BALANCED INVENTORY OF DESIRABLE RESPONDING . 66 APPENDIX G: INFATUATION AND ATTACHMENT SCALES ..................... 69 APPENDIX H: STUDY 2 CORRELATIONS ...................................................... 71 APPENDIX I: STUDY 3 PARTIAL CORRELATIONS ...................................... 73 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Top 10 Rated Acts of Romantic Infatuation from Study 1 ........................ 16 Table 2 Correlations for Males, Females, and Total RI Scores with the Big Five Personality Dimensions and Social Desirability ............................. 18 Table 3 Number of Items and Alpha Reliabilities for the Eight Factors of RI ...... 24 Table 4 Varimax Rotated Principal Components Analysis, Displaying the 3 Highest Loading Items of the 78 Acts of RI for Each Factor .................. 25 Table 5 Sample Transformations and Correlation Comparisons ......................... 34 Table 6 Varimax Rotated Principal Components Analysis, Displaying Eigenvalues for Items of the 78 Acts of RI for Each Factor. ................... 35 Table 7 Number of Items, Means, Standard Deviations, and Alpha Reliabilities for the Five Factors of RI .................................................... 37 Table 8 Inter-correlations of the Five Factors of RI ............................................. 37 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The study of romantic infatuation (RI) grew initially out of a body of research on the subjective experience of love (Reynolds, 1983; Tennov, 1998). Feelings and behaviors associated with RI trigger intense physiological and psychological arousal (Berscheid & Walster, 1974). People experiencing these uncontrollable, and often unbearable, emotions and behaviors can become irrational, passionate, obsessive, and consumed. Past research on RI either focused on defining the construct, or on creating various psychometric instruments to measure individuals’ experiences of infatuation. Pioneering researchers in the study of RI were interested in the feelings that preceded love and attachment to a person of interest (Tennov, 1998). The vast majority of research on this topic has focused on defining and measuring the construct. There have not been any studies that have thoroughly examined the relationship between RI and the Big Five personality traits. The present study examines