Your Cheating Cognitions: Young Women's Responses to Television Messages about Infidelity. Issue 2 (3rd March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Alexopoulos, Cassandra; Taylor, Laramie D.
• Is Part Of: Mass communication & society. Volume 23:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 249
• Page End: 271
• Publication Date: 2020-03-03
• Subjects: Mass media -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Mass media and culture -- Periodicals; Communication -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Communication and culture -- Periodicals; Journalism -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Médias -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Médias et culture -- Périodiques; Communication -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Communication et culture -- Périodiques; Presse -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Communication and culture; Communication -- Social aspects; Journalism -- Social aspects; Mass media and culture; Mass media -- Social aspects; Periodicals; 302.23
• DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2019.1705350
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1520-5436

Abstract

Abstract : The current study examined how exposure to a depiction of sexual infidelity on television influenced women's responses to hypothetical infidelity. In addition, we examined three individual factors as moderators for these effects: experience with infidelity, infidelity concern, and loyalty concern. In a laboratory experiment, young women were exposed to a media narrative featuring either a romantic relationship, the same relationship but with one partner engaging in sex outside the relationship, or a control narrative before completing measures of reactions to hypothetical relationship transgressions. Results indicated that women who had a cheating partner and exhibited high levels of concern about infidelity reported a lower tolerance for infidelity following exposure to a television narrative featuring infidelity.