The relationship between ghosting and closure (article)

“"For recipients, the desire for closure has this magnifying effect. When someone with a high need for closure recalled a time where they were ghosted or directly rejected, it hurt more than if they had a low need for closure," Leckfor said. "But they also felt more positive after recalling times when they were acknowledged by their partner." In contrast, when someone considered initiating a breakup, the connection between closure and ghosting varied.

"We actually found that people who had a higher need for closure were slightly more likely to intend to use ghosting to end a relationship," Leckfor said. "Even though things may be ambiguous on the recipient side, the person who is ghosting sees it as a distinct end to the relationship. Those results weren't definitive in our study, but they pose an interesting avenue for future research."

And ghosting isn't just for dating apps anymore. More than half of the study participants wrote about a time when they were ghosted by a friend, rather than a romantic partner. "The individuals who were ghosted by a friend reported feeling just as bad about the relationship as those who wrote about a time when they were ghosted by a romantic partner," Leckfor said. "In psychology in general, a lot of literature regarding adult relationships focuses on romantic relationships. This [research] shows that friendships are really important to study as well."”

My Takeaways:

• Quite a rather sad topic on Valentine’s day but have you ever dealt with the experience of ghosting? Rather it be the person who ghosted or the person who got ghosted? Ghosting can lead to a very ambiguous situation whose effects, while generally negative, vary from person to person.

• According to research, it was found that a need for closure within a relationship can often be associated with how people view ghosting. For people with higher needs of closure, ghosting is a method to end a relationship once and for all. For people with little need of closure, ghosting can be seen otherwise.

• Additionally having a high need for closure correlated with being more hurt from being ghosted then compared to those when they have little need for closure.

Full article is here!

Have you ever had an experience of getting ghosted?

#Valentines #Ghosting #Relationships