Romantic Rejection in Platonic Relationships: Perceptions and Reactions to the Friend Zone

Event Center A & B

Although social dominance, romantic rejection and cross-sex friendships have been investigated separately, romantic rejection in platonic relationships is a subject that has been explored minimally in research. Romantic rejection has recently been coined as ‘stuck in the friend zone,’ a term which has gained popularity in American lexicon since its first appearance in 1994; since then, it has appeared in movies, television shows, internet memes, and thinkpieces by feminist critics. Despite this strong presence in pop-culture, this phenomenon and its implications have not been investigated in academia. This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between social dominance orientation and reactions to romantic rejection in platonic relationships in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the Friend Zone by examining what characteristics predict negative reactions to rejection, and potentially provide needed resources for coping to these groups. We conducted an online survey of 49 questions regarding Social Dominance Orientation, Pursuit Behaviors, Withdrawal Behaviors, Neutral Behaviors, Externalization of Blame, Internalization of Blame, Friend Zone Perceptions, and Friend Zone Usage. Participants included male and females from a southern California university; extra credit was offered as incentive to participate. An ANOVA will be used to determine which characteristics (of gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation) are the best predictors of negative reactions to rejection in platonic relationships. Additionally we will determine whether social dominance orientation is correlated with negative reactions to romantic rejection, and whether social dominance orientation is correlated with negative beliefs about the Friend Zone.