eventually break up the relationship and friendship between both parties. These negative emotions can also arise because of increased relational uncertainty, which was defined by Knobloch and Solomon (1999) as the degree of confidence people will have in the level of commitment they see within a relationship. The research was guided by a general curiosity in the FWBR phenomena that has gained prominence with college students. Very limited amounts of research exist on this topic, especially when it involves uncertainty, which plays a role in all types of relationship. The topic is also considered taboo and is not openly discussed by participants because it is motivated by sexual desires. Acknowledging engagement in this relationship has the potential to negatively affect an is important to gain more information on FWBRs because of individual’s reputation. It the popularity in both media (through films like and Friends with Benefits relationship’s growing and social situations on college campuses. For these reasons, the study was No Strings Attached) designed to examine the relationship between uncertainty, liking, and loving in a FWBR as well as a way to gather information and opinions about this unique, emerging relationship. A brief review of literature delving deeper on the subject of uncertainty and liking/love is presented next. Defining Relational Uncertainty Relational uncertainty is defined as of confidence people have in the level of “the degrees involvement they observe within a & Solomon, 1999). It is initiated by relationship” (Knobloch three interrelated sources within a relationship: the self, the partner, and the relationship itself (Berger & Bradac, 1982). involves about their own involvement in Self-uncertainty one’s doubts the relationship; incorporates questions about their partner uncertainty one’s partner’s involvement in the relationship; and doubts about the relationship uncertainty involves one’s relationship as a whole, aside from self and partner concerns (Knobloch & Solomon, 2002). Self
eventually break up the relationship and friendship between both parties. These negative emotions can also arise because of increased relational uncertainty, which was defined by Knobloch and Solomon (1999) as the degree of confidence people will have in the level of commitment they see within a relationship. The research was guided by a general curiosity in the FWBR phenomena that has gained prominence with college students. Very limited amounts of research exist on this topic, especially when it involves uncertainty, which plays a role in all types of relationship. The topic is also considered taboo and is not openly discussed by participants because it is motivated by sexual desires. Acknowledging engagement in this relationship has the potential to negatively affect an individual’s reputation. It is important to gain more information on FWBRs because of the relationship’s growing popularity in both media (through films like Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached) and social situations on college campuses. For these reasons, the study was designed to examine the relationship between uncertainty, liking, and loving in a FWBR as well as a way to gather information and opinions about this unique, emerging relationship. A brief review of literature delving deeper on the subject of uncertainty and liking/love is presented next. Defining Relational Uncertainty Relational uncertainty is defined as “the degrees of confidence people have in the level of involvement they observe within a relationship” (Knobloch & Solomon, 1999). It is initiated by three interrelated sources within a relationship: the self, the partner, and the relationship itself (Berger & Bradac, 1982). Self-uncertainty involves one’s doubts about their own involvement in the relationship; partner uncertainty incorporates one’s questions about their partner’s involvement in the relationship; and relationship uncertainty involves one’s doubts about the relationship as a whole, aside from self and partner concerns (Knobloch & Solomon, 2002). Self
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