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Security design choices often fail to take into account users' social context. Our work is among the first to examine security behavior in romantic relationships. We surveyed 195 people on Amazon Mechanical Turk about their relationship status and account sharing behavior for a cross-section of popular websites and apps (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime). We examine differences in account sharing behavior at different stages in a relationship and for people in different age groups and income levels. We also present a taxonomy of sharing motivations and behaviors based on the iterative coding of open-ended responses. Based on this taxonomy, we present design recommendations to support end users in three relationship stages: when they start sharing access with romantic partners; when they are maintaining that sharing; and when they decide to stop. Our findings contribute to the field of usable privacy and security by enhancing our understanding of security and privacy behaviors and needs in intimate social relationships.
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This content will become publicly available on August 22, 2026
Appreciated and Motivated: Examining Whether, When, and Why Receiving Gratitude Enhances Instrumentality Intentions in Romantic Relationships
People benefit immensely when they have close relationship partners who are instrumental (i.e., helpful) to their goal pursuit. However, little is known about whatmotivatespartners’ continued instrumentality. Research on gratitude led us to examine whether, when, and why receiving expressions of gratitude for one’s instrumentality would increase people’s intentions to be instrumental to their romantic partner’s goal(s) in the future (future instrumentality intentions [FIIs]). In a correlational study (Study 1) and two experiments in which we manipulated expressed gratitude (Studies 2 and 3), gratitude receipt positively predicted FIIs. This finding persisted regardless of whether partners achieved their goal (Study 3). We identify potential mechanisms and show that gratitude receipt is particularly important for boosting FIIs among people in lower (vs. higher) quality relationships. These findings serve as a foundation for research examining antecedents to instrumentality and considering long-term consequences of gratitude receipt for support processes in romantic relationships.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1941350
- PAR ID:
- 10639951
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sage Journals
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- ISSN:
- 0146-1672
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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