James McNulty

Research statement

My program of research focuses on how strong beliefs may change or remain stable over time. For the most part, I have addressed this issue in the context of close relationships, where initially positive beliefs frequently become negative, despite partners’ strong motives to maintain them. This transformation raises the possibility that there may be limits to social psychological theories that suggest people possess effective techniques for maintaining their desired beliefs. My long-term research goals are to understand and define these limits and, in doing so, to suggest directions for promoting the resilience of initially satisfying beliefs about close relationships. In pursuit of these goals, I conduct longitudinal research on newlywed couples to determine the impact of various cognitive, behavioral, and personality variables on changes in marital satisfaction over time. Issues I am currently investigating include, expectations, forgiveness, cognitive structure, physical attractiveness, psychological and physical abuse, and sexual satisfaction.

Selected Publications

Hellmuth, J. C., & McNulty, J. K. (in press). Neuroticism, marital violence, and the moderating role of stress and behavioral skills. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

McNulty, J. K., O’Mara, E., & Karney B. R. (in press). Benevolent cognitions as a strategy for relationship maintenance: “Don’t sweat the small stuff…but it’s NOT all small stuff.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

McNulty, J. K. (in press). Forgiveness in marriage: Putting the benefits into context. Journal of Family Psychology

McNulty, J. K., Neff, L. A., & Karney, B. R. (in press). Physical attractiveness in marriage: Consequences for satisfaction and behavior. Journal of Family Psychology.

Fisher, T. D., & McNulty, J. K. (in press). Neuroticism and relationship
satisfaction: The mediating role played by the sexual relationship. Journal of Family Psychology

Frye, N. E., McNulty, J. K., & Karney, B. R. (in press). When is the inability to leave a marriage related to negative behavior within the mearriage? Journal of Family Psychology.

McNulty, J. K., & Fisher, T. D. (in press). Gender Differences in Response to Sexual Expectancies and Changes in Sexual Frequency: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Sexual Satisfaction in Newly Married Couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Widman, L., Welsh, D. P., McNulty, J. K., & Little, K. C. (2006). Sexual communication and contraceptive use in adolescent dating couples. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Severy, L., Jacobs, J., Klein, C.T., & McNulty, J. K. (2006). Acceptability of a home monitor used to aid in conception: Psychosocial factors and couple dynamics. Contraception, 73, 65-71.

McNulty, J. K. & Karney, B. R. (2004). Should I expect the best or brace for the worst: The effects of positive expectations in the early years of marriage. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 729-743.

McNulty, J. K., & Karney, B. R. (2002). Expectancy confirmation in appraisals of marital interactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 764-775.

Shepperd, J. A., & McNulty, J. K. (2002). The affective consequences of expected and unexpected outcomes. Psychological Science, 13, 85-88.

Severy, L., Klein, C. T., & McNulty, J. K. (2002). Acceptability of personal home monitoring for contraception: Longitudinal and contextual factors. Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 87-96.

McNulty, J. K., & Karney, B. R. (2001). Attributions in marriage: Integrating specific and global evaluations of a relationship. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 943-955.

Karney, B. R., McNulty, J. K., & Bradbury, T. N. (2001). Cognition and the development of close relationships. In G. J. Fletcher (Ed.), Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology (Vol 2, pp. 32-59). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc.

Karney, B. R., McNulty, J. K., & Frye, N. E. (2001). A social-cognitive perspective on the maintenance and deterioration of relationship satisfaction. In Harvey, J. H. & Wenzel, A. E. (Eds.), Close Romantic Relationships (pp. 195-214). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

James McNulty

Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Florida (2001)

Email: jmcnulty@utk.edu
Phone: 865-974-3325

Key words: Social Psychology, marital relationships