Sex-Role Attitudes, Social Comparison, and Satisfaction with Relationships

In the present study, we were interested in whether satisfaction with relationships is related more strongly to equity comparison with the partner or with a reference group. We tested two non-exclusive hypotheses derived from social comparison theory. First, we expected that the association between satisfaction and comparison with the partner would be stronger among individuals with egalitarian sex-role beliefs, whereas among individuals adhering to traditional sex-role beliefs, satisfaction would be related more closely to comparison with a reference group (the similarity hypothesis). Second, we predicted that comparisons with others, including the partner, would be related more strongly to satisfaction among individuals who feel uncertain about how things are going in their relationship (the uncertainty reduction hypothesis)