A Friend of Yours Is No Friend of Mine: Jealousy Toward a Romantic Partner's Friends

The current research examined the novel hypothesis that a romantic partner's same-sex friends can elicit jealousy by threatening people's central role in their partner's life. Thus, we expected that people whose partners were highly central to their lives would be particularly likely to experience jealousy toward their partner's same-sex friends and that jealousy would be exacerbated when they had reason to doubt their partner's commitment. Two studies supported our hypotheses. This research highlights how people alter perceptions of their partner's broader social context to minimize perceived threats to their romantic relationships.