Discussion
The researchers conducted a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA to examine the effects of participant sex (male vs. female), friend sex (male vs. female), and friend attractiveness (attractive vs. unattractive) on jealousy attributions.
The ANOVA yielded significant main effects for participant sex (F(1, 356) = 11.82, p < .001, η^2 = .03) and friend attractiveness (F(1, 356) = 6.12, p = .013, η^2 = .02) on jealousy attributions. However, the main effect for friend sex was nonsignificant (F(1, 356) = 0.02, p = .89, η^2 < .001).
Additionally, the researchers found a significant two-way interaction between participant sex and friend sex (F(1, 356) = 186.85, p < .001, η^2 = .34), indicating that jealousy attributions varied depending on the gender composition of the extramarital friendship.
However, the three-way interaction between participant sex, friend sex, and friend attractiveness was nonsignificant (F(1, 356) = 3.37, p = .066, η^2 = .009), suggesting that friend attractiveness did not significantly moderate the relationship between participant sex, friend sex, and jealousy attributions.
The researchers conducted linear regression analyses to examine the predictive relationship between emotional/sexual attributions and jealousy scores. Among men, both emotional attributions (b = .33, p < .001) and sexual attributions (b = .40, p < .001) were significant predictors of jealousy scores. Conversely, among women, only sexual attributions (b = .53, p < .001) emerged as a significant positive predictor of jealousy scores, while emotional attributions (b = .04, p = .67) were not significant.
The significant main effects and interactions observed in the ANOVA indicate that participant sex, friend sex, and friend attractiveness exert significant influences on jealousy attributions. Specifically, participant sex and friend attractiveness emerged as significant predictors of jealousy attributions, highlighting the role of individual characteristics in shaping jealousy perceptions.
The significant predictive relationships revealed by the linear regression analyses further underscore the importance of emotional and sexual attributions in determining jealousy scores. These findings provide valuable insights into the cognitive processes underlying jealousy perceptions in extramarital friendships, shedding light on the mechanisms driving interpersonal dynamics and relationship outcomes.
