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Category: Project

Description: With phrases like “will you go steady with me” becoming outdated, how does one know whether they are in a romantic relationship? Using a prototype analysis we examined how people determine whether they are in a relationship using samples of primarily college-aged participants in the United States. In Study 1 (N = 86), participants generated features of being in a romantic relationship. In Study 2 (N = 236), these features were rated for centrality and we determined that some items are more central than others. In Study 3 (N = 96), participants falsely recalled and recognized central features more than non-central ones. In Study 4 (N = 436), it sounded more peculiar to participants to hedge central but not non-central features. We suggest there may be features of relationships that are more central to one’s understanding of being in a relationship and, thus, may guide relationship and sexual decision-making.