The Grey Areas of Romance: A Measure of Presumptuous Romantic Intentions

To capture the attention of a romantic partner requires thoughtful selection of effective pursuit strategies. Sometimes these strategies err on the side of caution, and in other instances pursuers can take a bolder approach to their courtship endeavors. In the present research, we developed a measure capturing the degree to which a romantic pursuer intends to take a presumptuous course of action. Across five studies (Ntotal = 2,137), we validated a 13-item self-report measure: the presumptuous romantic intentions (PRI) scale. First, we used a training set to refine item content and explore factor structures. Then using a validation set, we confirmed a bifactor solution with one general and three auxiliary factors. We then observed test-retest reliability over periods of three and four weeks, found strict measurement invariance across both relationship status (single and partnered individuals) and across gender (women and men). We also found that PRI predicted actual presumptuous romantic behavior over the subsequent month. Finally, we established a pattern of convergent and discriminant associations with relationship measures, socioemotional outcomes, executive function, dark personality traits and more. This new measure may be of interest to researchers studying intimate relationships, partner violence, and the grey area in between.