Pursue the boo: The moderating role of dating recency between ghosting and unwanted persistent pursuit

ABSTRACT

Drawing on Uncertainty Reduction Theory and Expectancy Violations Theory, this study examines the relationship between unwanted persistent pursuit (UPP) behaviors and ghosting behaviors. An online survey distributed via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk found that those who experienced UPP were more likely to have previously engaged in ghosting behaviors. Additionally, those who experienced being ghosted had a more positive attitude toward UPP than those who had not been ghosted, and the relationship was moderated by dating recency. Finally, the results indicated a positive correlation between views of persistent pursuit and likelihood of engaging in ghosting behaviors that is moderated by dating recency.

KEYWORDS:

• ghosting
• unwanted persistent pursuit
• relationship termination
• romantic relationships
• dating

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ellen Alley

Ellen Alley (MA, University of Texas at Austin) is a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin studying interpersonal communication. Her research interests center on uncertainty and emotions in personal relationships.

Mian Jia

Mian Jia (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2023) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and persuasive health message design.