A prototype analysis of infidelity

Abstract

The current research tested whether the concept of infidelity is prototypically organized and whether laypeople's conceptualizations of infidelity are consistent with how researchers have operationalized this construct. Across 4 studies, results indicated that infidelity is indeed prototypically organized as individuals are able to list and rate how central certain features are to the infidelity construct. Furthermore, there was evidence that the centrality ratings influenced how individuals processed information in a series of memory tasks and narratives about infidelity experiences. Laypeople are less likely than researchers to consider the presence of particular behaviors (i.e., flirting, kissing, and sexual intercourse) as defining qualities of infidelity. Instead, laypeople focus more on the concealment of behaviors and the resulting emotional fallout from infidelity.

Exploring intergenerational patterns of infidelity

“…Furthermore, participants were able to define for themselves whether they engaged in infidelity or not, so our operationalization of infidelity is somewhat subjective. Future work could benefit by more precisely defining infidelity for participants, although there is difficulty in defining infidelity for participants as both laypeople and researchers possess broad and varying definitions of infidelity (see Weiser et al, , for discussion). Moreover, more detail about parental infidelity could also be collected to explore for moderators (e.g., offspring's reactions to parental infidelity, type of parental infidelity).…”

“…Other researchers have focused on the presence of specific behaviors such as flirting, kissing, and sexual intercourse (Luo, Cartun, & Snider, 2010). In a recent prototype analysis, Weiser, Lalasz, Weigel, and Evans (2014) found that laypeople tend to focus less on the presence of specific behaviors and instead conceptualize infidelity in terms of the concealment of behaviors and the resulting emotional fallout. In the United States, infidelity is particularly viewed as unacceptable for romantic relationships (Druckerman, 2007;Wiederman & Allgeier, 1996), likely due to its often-hurtful nature.…”

Intensive care nurse conceptions of well‐being: a prototype analysis

“…Previous prototype analyses describe a series of studies approach extending from three studies (Hone et al, ) to seven studies (Lambert et al, ). The key characteristics of five prototype analyses (Fehr and Sprecher, ; Hone et al, ; Kearns and Fincham, ; Lambert et al, ; Weiser et al, ) are illustrated in Appendix S1, Supporting information.…”

Lay perceptions of mental toughness: Understanding conceptual similarities and differences between lay and sporting contexts

“…As this number of attributes resembles the total number of attributes generated for other common everyday constructs (e.g., love and commitment, n = 68 and 40 features respectively, Fehr, 1988; forgiveness, n = 78 features, Kearns & Fincham, 2004; infidelity, n = 95 features, Weiser et al, 2014), findings suggest that mental toughness is a familiar term to laypeople.…”