Partner's perception of phubbing is more relevant than the behavior itself: A daily diary study

Abstract

Interactions between intimate partners are important for the maintenance of a healthy relationship. However, the practice of snubbing one partner in favor of a mobile phone (phubbing), may undermine interactions. Thus far, research has mainly investigated between-person differences, i.e., people experiencing more partner phubbing report lower relationship satisfaction. However, phubbing is linked to processes which unfold within-person and might trigger different appraising mechanisms across different phubbing situations. This study examined participants in intimate relationships (N = 133) over seven days. Results based on multilevel modelling demonstrate that participants did not report lower relationship satisfaction on days when phubbing occurred compared to days without phubbing. However, on days where people experienced partner phubbing, higher phubbing intensity was associated with stronger appraisals reactions: participants reported lower perceived partner responsiveness, more negative and less positive moral judgment of partner's phubbing behavior. These appraisal mechanisms were significantly associated with end-of-day relationship quality. This evidence highlights the importance of appraisal mechanisms in phubbing situations, in other words how the phubbing is perceived is important.