Boon, Susan D.Salavati, Sara2020-09-172020-09-172020-09-15Salavati, S. (2020). Examining Judgements of Ambiguous Extradyadic Behaviours Using a Policy Capturing Method (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/112542Ambiguous extradyadic behaviours such as buying/receiving gifts or talking on the phone can be perceived as infidelity under certain circumstances and therefore cause distress and conflicts in romantic relationships. The research presented here used a policy capturing method to illuminate the relative role of contextual factors (secrecy, frequency of the behaviour, and familiarity with the rival) in perceiving whether an ambiguous act crosses the line from benign to infidelity. In two sessions, 43 participants completed individual difference measures and rated 30 different vignettes in which the ambiguous behaviour (i.e., direct messaging on social media) was kept constant, but levels of contextual factors varied. Multilevel modelling revealed that participants perceived secrecy as the most important contextual factor in deciding whether an ambiguous behaviour was infidelity. Keeping a behaviour secret breaches important relational rules such as honesty and trust and indicates an awareness of guilt. Frequency of the behaviour was the second most influential contextual factor. High frequency of engaging in an extradyadic behaviour can signal an interest and investment in the extradyadic relationship. Familiarity was the least important contextual factor, suggesting its effect might depend on other contextual factors such as the rival’s attractiveness. Reactive jealousy and attachment avoidance as individual difference variables partially predicted participants’ judgements; however, such results need to be replicated in a bigger sample. The findings have implications for couples discussing the boundaries of their relationship and recognizing the source of emotional distress in the occurrence of ambiguous behaviours. Future research can benefit from investigating other contextual factors and responses to the perceived threat following an ambiguous behaviour.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.ambiguous extradyadic behaviourcontextual factorspolicy capturinginfidelityindividual differencesPsychologymaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/38207