Can we experience relationship jealousy online? The effect of rival attractiveness

Previous research reported that gender differences in patterns of romantic jealousy responses intensified when a rival was described as being attractive. The current study extends these findings and investigates whether jealousy responses to attractive rivals also applies in an online situation. A 2 (infidelity context: offline/online) X 2 (participant gender) X 2 (rival attractiveness: attractive/unattractive) X 2 (infidelity type: emotional/sexual) design was employed. Participants were 104 undergraduate students who responded to online and offline scenarios in terms of jealousy, hurt, anger, and disgust. More anger was reported when participants were told of a partner being unfaithful with an attractive rival, and also more anger and hurt was reported when the scenarios featured attractive rivals in the online condition compared to the offline condition. This study has implications for our understanding of emotional reactions to jealousy in romantic interactions online.