Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vorauer, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Ratner, R. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Who's Going to Make the First Move? Pluralistic Ignorance as an Impediment to Relationship Formation

Jacquie D. Vorauer

University of Manitoba

Rebecca K. Ratner

Princeton University

Six studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that individuals contemplating `making the first move' in initiating a romantic relationship experience pluralistic ignorance (N = 544). Studies 1 and 2 established the preconditions for the phenomenon: participants indicated that they were more likely than a potential partner to be inhibited from making an initiative by a fear of rejection. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated pluralistic ignorance: although participants explained their own inaction in terms of their fear of being rejected, they attributed a potential partner's inaction to a lack of interest in developing a relationship with them. Study 5 utilized an open-ended thought-listing measure to demonstrate that individuals spontaneously perceive a potential partner's inaction as reflective of disinterest more so than they perceive their own inaction in these terms. Finally, Study 6 provided more definitive evidence that participants' divergent perceptions of their own vs their potential partner's underlying feelings stemmed from the biased interpretation of inaction. Implications for the formation of social bonds are discussed.

Key Words: attribution bias • pluralistic ignorance • relationship initiation

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 13, No. 4, 483-506 (1996)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407596134001
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Psychological Science in the Public InterestHome page
D. Dunning, C. Heath, and J. M. Suls
Flawed Self-Assessment: Implications for Health, Education, and the Workplace
Psychological Science in the Public Interest, December 1, 2004; 5(3): 69 - 106.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Communication ResearchHome page
L. L. WILSON, M. E. ROLOFF, and C. M. CAREY
Boundary Rules: Factors That Inhibit Expressing Concerns About Another's Romantic Relationship
Communication Research, December 1, 1998; 25(6): 618 - 640.
[Abstract]