Expanding Who I Am: Validating the Self-Expansion Preference Scale.

People's self-concepts are subject to change through various processes, one of which is self-expansion. Self-expansion is a motivation to increase one's self-concept through engaging in novel, exciting, and interesting activities or by taking on one's partner's qualities. Despite the plethora of research on self-expansion, there has not been much work on whether people vary in their desire to expand.

Princesses, Princes, and Superheroes: Children's Gender Cognitions and Fictional Characters.

The goal of the present study was to identify whether children recognize the gender stereotypes prevalent within the increasingly popular princess, prince, and superhero characters. Interviews with 126 children from the northeast region of the Unites States (3-11 years old) indicated that children recognized the gender-typed personality traits of princesses, princes, and superheroes, with older children holding more gender-typed cognitions about the characters. Children's own-schemas (i.

Under pressure: the effects of stress on positive and negative relationship behaviors.

This study investigates the effects of acute stress on positive and negative relationship behaviors, specifically assurances and attention to alternatives. A sample of 129 college students were randomly assigned to either a high or low stress condition, then were led to believe they had the opportunity to interact with attractive potential relationship partners and list compliments about their current partner. Results indicated that those in the high stress condition gave their partner fewer assurances and paid more attention to alternatives.

Hungry for love: the influence of self-regulation on infidelity.

The current research examines the effect of self-regulation on the likelihood of committing infidelity. Thirty-two college students in exclusive romantic relationships interacted through a private chat room with an opposite-sex confederate. Prior to this interaction, a food-restriction task depleted half the participants of self-control.

Something's missing: need fulfillment and self-expansion as predictors of susceptibility to infidelity.

The present authors investigated whether an individual's motivations that are related to need fulfillment and self-expansion within a romantic relationship can predict self-reported susceptibility to infidelity. A sample of 109 college students (50 men, 59 women) who were in dating relationships completed questionnaires that assessed 5 types of variables of need fulfillment (i.e.