Ghosting and destiny: Implicit theories of relationships predict beliefs about ghosting

Abstract

Two studies examined how implicit theories of relationships are associated with ghosting (i.e., ending a relationship by cutting off all contact). Previous research on implicit theories of relationships has identified two types of beliefs, destiny and growth, and the present research examines how these implicit theories are associated with ghosting perceptions, intentions, and behaviors. Study 1 was an exploratory study conducted on Mechanical Turk that focused on romantic relationships (N = 554). Study 2 was a confirmatory study conducted on Prolific Academic that aimed to replicate the romantic relationship findings and extended the research to friendships (N = 747). Stronger destiny beliefs, compared to weaker destiny beliefs, were positively associated with feeling more positively toward ghosting, having stronger ghosting intentions, and having previously used ghosting to terminate relationships. Stronger growth beliefs, compared to weaker growth beliefs, showed the opposite pattern with perceptions of acceptability and intentions to use ghosting. Taken together, the present research provides an important first step in understanding how implicit theories relate to relationship termination strategies and, specifically, the process of ghosting.

A Decade Review of Sex and Partnering in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

“…These approaches will be important to advancing what we know about how young people navigate their romantic and sexual experiences. For example, growing attention is being given to the “ghosting” phenomenon (i.e., removing all contact from a romantic partner; Freedman, Powell, Le, & Williams, ) as well as “just talking” as a step in relationship formation (Sibley, Kahovec, Schraufnagel, & Stoffel, ; Sibley et al, ). As technological advances develop and infiltrate growing aspects of young peoples' lived experiences, it will be necessary to develop theory about and gain in‐depth understandings regarding these influences.…”

When Your Boo Becomes a Ghost: The Association Between Breakup Strategy and Breakup Role in Experiences of Relationship Dissolution

“…A poll conducted by YouGov and Huffington Post in 2014 surveyed 1000 US adults (52% female, 82% over the age of 30, 79% white), and found that approximately 13% of the responders had previously been ghosted by a partner and 11% reported having ghosted a partner themselves (Moore, 2014). More recently, Freedman et al (2018) found that 25.3% of a sample of 554 participants (49% female, M age = 33.86, SD age = 10.62, 75% white) drawn from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) had been ghosted, and 21.7% had previously ghosted a romantic partner. In a second sample from Prolific Academic (N = 747, 46% female, M age = 32.64, SD age = 11.59, 74% white), 23% of participants had experienced being ghosted and 18.9% reported having ghosted a romantic partner.…”

“…Much of the existing ghosting literature has used qualitative data to provide definitions and preliminary descriptive information of the phenomenon (LeFebvre et al 2019;Koessler et al, 2019) and only one study has been published that uses a theoretical perspective to explain when ghosting is used to dissolve a romantic relationship (Freedman et al, 2018). Freedman et al (2018) investigated the association between implicit theories of relationships and ghosting behaviors, intentions, and perceptions.…”

“…Much of the existing ghosting literature has used qualitative data to provide definitions and preliminary descriptive information of the phenomenon (LeFebvre et al 2019;Koessler et al, 2019) and only one study has been published that uses a theoretical perspective to explain when ghosting is used to dissolve a romantic relationship (Freedman et al, 2018). Freedman et al (2018) investigated the association between implicit theories of relationships and ghosting behaviors, intentions, and perceptions. They found individuals with greater destiny beliefs (i.e., the belief that relationships are stable and unchanging, and that people are either compatible or not; Knee, 1998) were more likely to have ghosted and been ghosted, more likely to use ghosting in the future, and thought less poorly of those who use ghosting to end their relationships.…”

“…What distinguishes ghosting from other breakup strategies is the lack of an explicit explanation or declaration of dissolution to the breakup recipient. As a result, the ghosted partner is not immediately aware of what has happened and is left to interpret on their own what the absence of communication might mean (Freedman, Powell, Le, & Williams, 2018). While ending a relationship through avoidance may not be novel, building extensive technologically-mediated connections between partners is, meaning that dissolving relationships by severing these networks may be an increasingly typical aspect of modern relationship dissolution (LeFebvre, 2017).…”