Children's vulnerability to jealousy surrounding their best friends was explored in 2 studies. Study 1 involved 94 adolescents who reported on their friendship jealousy on a newly created measure. Results indicated that the jealousy measure had sound psychometric properties and produced individual differences that were robust over time and free from socially desirable responding. As expected, g...

There is no doubt that jealousy is a source of great personal misery and an emotion with far-reaching social consequences. For example, jealousy is frequently implicated as a factor in relationship dissolution, spousal abuse and even murder (Daly & Wilson, 1988; Harris, 2003a). Despite its destructive side, jealousy also may have some positive effects for individuals and relationships. For exam...

Individuals diagnosed with morbid jealousy have hypersensitive jealousy mechanisms that cause them to have irrational thoughts about their partner's fidelity and to exhibit extreme behaviors. Using a newly constructed database of 398 cases of morbid jealousy reported in the literature from 1940 to 2002, we tested four evolutionarily informed hypotheses about normally functioning jealousy mechan...

Previous research suggests that female jealousy is sensitive to hormonal variation and, more specifically, potentially moderated by estrogen levels. Here, we tracked self-reported jealousy using a within-subjects design, comparing jealousy when the same women were regularly cycling and using hormonal contraceptives. Results show that fertile cycle phases are associated with higher levels of jea...

Because of the difficulties surrounding the evocation of jealousy, past research has relied on reactions to hypothetical scenarios and recall of past experiences of jealousy. Both methodologies have limitations, however. The present research was designed to develop a method of evoking jealousy in the laboratory that would be well controlled, ethically permissible, and psychologically meaningful...

An empirically tested model of an individual’s cognitive and emotional consequences to a close relational partner’s jealousy expression is described and tested. Specifically, general partner uncertainty, relational uncertainty, negative jealousy-related emotion, and rumination are examined in concert with one another as consequences of partner jealousy expression. Path modeling techniques revea...

Although obsessive jealousy is a highly disturbing disorder, frequently it goes unrecognized, as most attention is paid to delusional jealousy, being the more prominent clinical phenomenon. In order to distinguish obsessive from delusional jealousy, the basic clinical characteristics of these two types of jealousy are presented, as well as the mechanism of their respective genesis, and the diff...

Western culture tends to view romantic jealousy as innate, and as an inevitable byproduct of romantic love. Relying on findings of empirical research, this Note argues that this view, widespread in America, is invidious. Likely as a result of this view, wrongful acts arising from jealousy are often excused or even condoned. This Note draws evidence from empirical studies on the contribution of ...

Research on sex differences in jealousy has been controversial with contrasting results. Many have examined how factors such as relationship experience may play a role in men’s and women’s jealousy, yet most has investigated sexual and emotional jealousy. Past authors suggest that investigating jealousy as a multidimensional construct, i.e., cognitive, emotional, and behavioral forms, may provi...

Most research on jealousy has focused on the correlation between one psychological factor and jealousy. In contrast, the current work examined how the link between relationship commitment and jealousy depends on the interplay of two situational factors: attractiveness of relationship alternatives and receiving threatening information about the self and the romantic relationship. In two studies,...