Dr. Rhonda Balzarini
Areas of Interest:
Social Psychology
Research Information:
I am a social psychologist studying the interpersonal processes that enhance and detract from the quality of romantic and sexual relationships. My recent research focuses on how diverse couples can have satisfying and passionate relationships and successfully navigate challenges during times of conflict or distress.
In my work, I take multiple theoretical and methodological approaches, drawing on perspectives such as interdependence theory, ideal standards, communal motivation, stigma management, and evolutionary theory to better understand how couples can maintain satisfying relationships overtime.
I am also committed to implementing open science practices in my research through making all of my research materials available since 2014 (see the Open Science Framework for more information), and I am dedicated to conducting research that is reproducible and replicable through conducting high-powered studies and crowdsourcing data across labs when collecting data from hard-to-reach populations.
Selected Publications:
Balzarini, R. N., Muise, A., Zoppolat, G., Di Bartolomeo, A., Rodrigues, D. L., Alonso-Ferres, M. et al. (in press). Love in the time of COVID: Perceived partner responsiveness buffers people from lower relationship quality associated with COVID-related stressors. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
Balzarini, R. N., & Muise, A. (conditional acceptance). Does diversifying sexual need fulfilment across partners in polyamorous relationships buffer the detriments of unmet sexual ideals? Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Balzarini, R. N., Muise, A., Gesselman, A., Zoppolat, G., Lehmiller, J., Garcia, J., Slatcher, R. & Mark, K., (2022). Sex in the time of COVID: How COVID-related stressors shape sexual desire. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 3823–3838.
Balzarini, R. N., Muise, A., Dobson, K., Kohut, T., Raposo, S., & Campbell, L. (2021). The detriments of unmet sexual ideals and the buffering effect of sexual responsiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120, 1521–1550.
Balzarini, R. N., McDonald. J., Kohut, T., Harman, J. J., Lehmiller, J. J., & Holmes, B. M. (2021). Compersion: When jealousy-inducing situations don’t (just) induce jealousy. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50, 1311–1324.
Balzarini, R. N., & Muise, A. (2020). Beyond the dyad: A review of the novel insights gained from studying consensual non-monogamy. Current Sexual Health Reports, 12, 398–404..
Balzarini, R. N., Shumlich, E., Kohut, T., & Campbell, L. (2020). Sexual attitudes, opinions, and sociosexual orientation differ based on relationship orientation. Journal of Sex Research, 57, 458–469.
Balzarini, R. N., Dharma, C., Muise, A., & Kohut, T. (2019). Eroticism versus nurturance: How eroticism and nurturance differ in polyamorous and monogamous relationships. Social Psychology, 50, 185–200.
Balzarini, R. N., Dharma, C., Kohut, T., Campbell, L., Lehmiller, J. J., Harman, J. J., & Holmes, B. M. (2019). Comparing relationship quality across different types of romantic partners in polyamorous and monogamous relationships. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 1749–1767.
Balzarini, R. N., Dharma, C., Kohut, T., Campbell, L., Holmes, B. M., Lehmiller, J. J., & Harman, J. J. (2019). Demographic comparison of American individuals in polyamorous and monogamous relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 56, 681–694.
Balzarini, R. N., Shumlich, E., Kohut, T., & Campbell, L. (2018). Dimming the “halo” around monogamy: Re-assessing stigma surrounding consensually non-monogamous romantic relationships as a function of personal relationship. Frontiers in Psychology.
Balzarini, R. N., Campbell, L., Kohut, T., Holmes, B. M., Lehmiller, J. J., Harman, J. J., & Atkins, N. (2017). Perceptions of primary and secondary relationships in polyamory. PLoS ONE, 12, 1–20.
Balzarini, R. N., Dobson, K., Chin, K., & Campbell, L. (2017). Does exposure to erotica reduce attraction and love for romantic partners in men: Independent replications of Kenrick, Gutierres & Goldberg (1989) Study 2. Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 70, 191–197.
Recent Media Coverage:
Stark, S. (2022). Study shows COVID-related stress reduces sexual desire in romantic relationships. KXAN.
Moreno, J. (2022). COVID-related stress affects people’s sex lives, studies find. KSAT.
Blaschke, J. (2022). Study shows COVID-related stress major obstacle to sexual desire in romantic relationships. Texas State Newsroom.
Billings, D. (2022). Was the pandemic hard on your romantic relationship? RelationshipHelp.com
Ferguson, S. (2022). How to achieve compersion in romantic relationships. PsychCentral.
Mandriota, M. (2022). Sex, love, and all of the above: How to manage jealousy in an open relationship. PsychCentral.
Klein, J. (2021). How the pandemic has changed our sex lives. BBC.
Bernstein, E. (2021). Feeling too schlubby to have sex? It’s not just you. Wall Street Journal.
Fugère, M. (2021). The relationship consequences of a partner's unmet sexual ideals. Psychology Today.
Ludden, D. (2021). When your romantic partner fails to meet your sexual ideal. Psychology Today.
Dolan, E. (2021). Romantic partners who watch pornography together report higher relationship quality, study finds. PsyPost.
Yu, A. (2021). If you’re dating, the pandemic may have sped up your relationship. So you make it or break it sooner. Toronto Star.
Ley, D. (2020). 3 Ways to Meet Your Partner’s Sexual Ideals and Why You Should. Psychology Today.
Macleans. (2020). Love in the time of COVID. Macleans Magazine.
Lewandowski, G. (2020). Will the pandemic ruin your relationship? Psychology Today.
Fugère, M. (2020). This quality may help protect your relationship from COVID-19 stress. Psychology Today.
University of Georgia (2020). Researchers study COVID’s effects on relationships. Newswise.
Wilkins, T. (2020). Researchers study COVID’s effect on relationships. UGA Today.
Park, W. (2020). The people redefining faithfulness. BBC.
Way, K. (2020). No relationship could survive this demented 'insecurity test'. VICE.
Puiu, T. (2019). Polyamorous relationships may be more fulfilling than monogamous ones (for a time at least). ZME Science.
Montgomery, M. (2019). Polyamory-loving more than one at the same time- with permission. Radio Canada International (RCI).
Young, E. (2019). Polyamory offers a “unique opportunity” to enjoy prolonged passion and closeness in romantic relationships. BPS Research Digest.
Warren, M. (2019). The dissatisfaction of being sexually rejected by a partner lasts longer than the pleasure of having an advance accepted. BPS Research Digest.
Lehmiller, J. (2019). Who’s into polyamory? A demographic comparison of polyamorists and monogamists. Sex and Psychology.
Zane, Z. (2018). Who really practices polyamory? Rolling Stone.
Docuseries
Big Sex Talk (TV Series 2022). Season 1, episode 1, Mono-Poly. Noble Productions.
CBC.