A case for “Stealing Thunder”: Relationship sliding vs deciding after a transgression
Department
Psychology & Family Studies
Format of Presentation
Asynchronous
Research Category
Social Sciences
Description
Stealing thunder is defined as revealing potentially damaging information about oneself before others reveal the same information to save one’s image from harm (Arpan et al., 2005). Although research has examined the stealing thunder effect on political matters (Nguyen 2020; Nguyen et al., 2021), research has not explored the effect within the context of romantic relationships. To explore stealing thunder among emerging adults’ romantic relationships, we identified a transgression and a scenario that would prompt a young person to question their romantic partner’s commitment to the relationship. Our goals were to identify (1) whether confessions at varying levels of specificity provided any benefit relative to when the negative information was revealed by a third party, (2) whether the severity of the transgression moderated the efficacy of stealing thunder at different levels of specificity, and (3) how people perceive the fictional partner in each scenario. An online Qualtrics survey link was distributed to individuals ages 18 and older who currently identified as being in a relationship (n = 47). The three-factor ANOVA test revealed the overall perception of a romantic partner and the intent to stay in a relationship after a transgression is revealed is influenced by how, when, and by whom the transgression is revealed. Furthermore, the integrity of the romantic partner is not altered by the circumstances of how a transgression is revealed. Therefore, further research is needed to establish a relationship between stealing thunder and relationship churning among young adults.
Recommended Citation
McCool, Hailey Jeanette and Reel, Hailey B., "A case for “Stealing Thunder”: Relationship sliding vs deciding after a transgression" (2024). Undergraduate Research Conference. 2.
https://athenacommons.muw.edu/urc/2024/oral-presentations-i/2
A case for “Stealing Thunder”: Relationship sliding vs deciding after a transgression
Stealing thunder is defined as revealing potentially damaging information about oneself before others reveal the same information to save one’s image from harm (Arpan et al., 2005). Although research has examined the stealing thunder effect on political matters (Nguyen 2020; Nguyen et al., 2021), research has not explored the effect within the context of romantic relationships. To explore stealing thunder among emerging adults’ romantic relationships, we identified a transgression and a scenario that would prompt a young person to question their romantic partner’s commitment to the relationship. Our goals were to identify (1) whether confessions at varying levels of specificity provided any benefit relative to when the negative information was revealed by a third party, (2) whether the severity of the transgression moderated the efficacy of stealing thunder at different levels of specificity, and (3) how people perceive the fictional partner in each scenario. An online Qualtrics survey link was distributed to individuals ages 18 and older who currently identified as being in a relationship (n = 47). The three-factor ANOVA test revealed the overall perception of a romantic partner and the intent to stay in a relationship after a transgression is revealed is influenced by how, when, and by whom the transgression is revealed. Furthermore, the integrity of the romantic partner is not altered by the circumstances of how a transgression is revealed. Therefore, further research is needed to establish a relationship between stealing thunder and relationship churning among young adults.