ICPR Abstracts: Session 6

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Session 6

Dark Side of Social Interaction

6.1
Obsessive Relational Intrusion

Brian H. Spitzberg, San Diego State University
William R. Cupach, Illinois State University

One of the most fearful crimes of our times is stalking. 
This study expanded the notion of stalking to include a 
range of obsessive relational intrusion (ORI), defined as 
repetitive unwanted pursuit and invasion of one's sense of 
physical or symbolic privacy by an acquaintance desiring 
and/or presuming an intimate relationship. This range of 
behavior has not been systematically studied. Various 
scholarly literatures were consulted to produce a 63-item 
measure of ORI behaviors and a 50-item measure of 
coping responses. Incidence and psychometric 
characteristics of this phenomenon are reported. 
Discussion focuses on future research and approaches to 
management. 

6.2
The Meaning of "Relationship" in Sexual Harassment

     Renee Melancon, Maureen O'Connor, Barbara A. 
Gutek, Christine Myhre, University of Arizona

One unfortunate by-product of work relationships is sexual 
harassment.  Existing research on sexual harassment does 
not capture the reality of workplace relationships.  Instead, 
it focuses on isolated incidents, often described in a few 
sentences. In this paper, we will: discuss how 
"relationships" are presented in existing sexual 
harassment research; present selected clips from a video 
trial that conveys realistic work relationships to illustrate 
the complexity of workplace interactions; and, discuss the 
implications of that complexity for researchers and for 
judges and juries who deal with these cases.

6.3
Sexualization of Relationships and Norms of Conduct

Suzanne B. Kurth and Bethany Spiller
University of Tennessee 

This presentation focuses on the norms of conduct invoked 
in arguments proposing that certain types of adult 
relationships should not be sexualized (professor-student, 
employer-employee). Specifically, ideals of relationship 
partners' behaviors being volitional and consensual that 
are typically incorporated in models of the sexualization of 
relationships increasingly are treated as norms of conduct 
governing these relationships. We propose that the 
constraints on volition and consent noted in certain types 
of relationships make only more apparent versions of ones 
existing in most potential sexual relationships. 

6.4
The Management and Production of Risk in Romantic 
Relationships:  A Postmodern Paradox

Kris Bulcroft, Western Washington University
Richard Bulcroft, University of British Columbia
Karen Bradley and Carl Simpson, 
Western Washington University
 
Expanding on the work of Ulrich Beck (1992) and other 
social theorists (Giddens, Weber, Habermas), the central 
thesis of this paper is that individuals in contemporary 
North American society are increasingly motivated by the 
need to alleviate increasing levels of perceived risks 
associated with interpersonal love relationships and mate 
selection.  It will be argued that the perceptions of risk in 
interpersonal relationships is greater today than at any 
other historical time period.  In response to these 
perceived risks, men and women today are altering their 
relationship patterns in such a way that the process of 
relationship formation and assessment has become 
increasingly rationalized..  As a result, a paradox has been 
created between the rational management of interpersonal 
risk associated with romance and the production of even 
greater risk.  This paper is primarily a theoretical 
treatment of the issues, augmented with data from an 
ongoing investigation into the social history of the 
American honeymoon experience and a comprehensive 
review of the literature on mate selection processes in 
contemporary society. 

6.5
The Relationship Between Perceived Risk in Intimacy 
and Life-Satisfaction

Samantha Walker, Laura R. Green and Deborah R. 
Richardson, Florida Atlantic University

People who perceive high risk in intimacy report fewer 
close friendships and a greater tendency toward 
introversion than do individuals with lower perceived risk 
in intimacy (Pilkington & Richardson, 1988).  
Consequently, individuals who perceive greater risk in 
intimacy may be more cautious in initiating and 
maintaining close relationships. Senior citizens and young 
adults completed measures assessing risk in intimacy, life-
satisfaction, loneliness and narratives describing 
influences on life-satisfaction.  As predicted, individuals 
who perceived greater risk in intimacy reported less life-
satisfaction and more loneliness. Relative satisfaction 
(narrative index) was related to risk in intimacy in young 
adults.