2024 Volume 39 Issue 3 Pages 204-211
Incomplete events make individuals pay sustained attention to mitigate feelings of incompleteness. In this study, we investigate how sustained attention, stemming from incomplete events, and the degree of inferred romantic interest impact the motivation to initiate new relationships among both men and women. 198 participants took part in trivia quizzes, with answers divulged to half of them, while keeping the other half unaware, thus inducing a state of incompleteness. Subsequently, participants were exposed to messages from individuals of the opposite sex and were asked to report their intentions regarding relationship formation with them. These messages varied in their potential to be interpreted as conveying romantic interest. Our findings reveal that, in comparison to women, men exhibit a greater motivation to form relationships with the message senders. Importantly, incomplete events consistently heightened the motivation to establish relationships with the message sender. This suggests that although women are cautious about forming relationships with the opposite sex, the inclination towards seeking information triggered by incomplete events may increase their motivation to form relationships with the opposite sex, just like men.
