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This article reports the development of the Faith Activities In The Home Scale (FAITHS). The initial FAITHS measure was improved on and expanded by using qualitative data of two separate samples and then empirically tested on three separate samples. Study 1 comprised two samples totaling 57 highly religious families from New England and California that represented the three major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) and focused on item development. Qualitative data were used to expand the breadth of survey items and to verify that religious families participate in the activities presented in the scale. The objective of Study 2 was to examine the FAITHS's reliability and validity using three samples of college students from a Southeastern university. The FAITHS demonstrated adequate validity and reliability. In addition to introducing a needed scale, the current study illustrates the importance of using qualitative data in scale development and improvement. (Contains 1 table.)

This study reports results from in-depth interviews with 57 highly religious middle-aged married couples representing the major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and residing in New England and Northern California. The study uses grounded theory methods to create themes that describe the ways that religiosity influences marital commitment. Couples reported that religious beliefs and practices helped them include God as the third partner in their marriage, believe in marriage as a religious institution that lasts, and find meaning in committing to marriage.

This study reports on in-depth interviews with 57 highly religious, middle-aged married couples representing the major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) residing in New England and Northern California. The study uses grounded theory methods to create themes and a model describing the ways that religiosity influences marital conflict. Couples reported that religiosity affects the conflict in their marriage at three phases of the conflict process: (a) problem prevention, (b) conflict resolution, and (c) relationship reconciliation. Practitioners may assist religious couples that are struggling with marital conflict by encouraging them to look to religious beliefs and practices.

Because religion and/or spirituality is integral to the lives of a majority of the world population, we conducted 3 studies on the role of prayer in romantic relationships. Study 1 (N = 375) showed that prayer for the partner predicted lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior over a 6-week period, over and beyond relationship satisfaction, and initial levels of extradyadic romantic behavior. In Study 2 (N = 83), we used an experimental design to show that participants assigned to pray for each day for 4 weeks engaged in lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior during that time, compared with those who engaged in daily positive thoughts about the partner or a neutral activity. Perception of the relationship as sacred mediated the relation between experimentally manipulated prayer and later infidelity. Study 3 (N = 23) showed that objective observers rated participants who had been praying for their partner for 4 weeks as more committed to their romantic relationship than control participants. The implications of these results are then discussed. Keywords: romantic relationships, prayer, infidelity DOI: 10.1037/a0019628

The present research tested the hypothesis that concepts of gratitude are prototypically organized and explored whether lay concepts of gratitude are broader than researchers' concepts of gratitude. In five studies, evidence was found that concepts of gratitude are indeed prototypically organized. In Study 1, participants listed features of gratitude. In Study 2, participants reliably rated the centrality of these features. In Studies 3a and 3b, participants perceived that a hypothetical other was experiencing more gratitude when they read a narrative containing central as opposed to peripheral features. In Study 4, participants remembered more central than peripheral features in gratitude narratives. In Study 5a, participants generated more central than peripheral features when they wrote narratives about a gratitude incident, and in Studies 5a and 5b, participants generated both more specific and more generalized types of gratitude in similar narratives. Throughout, evidence showed that lay conceptions of gratitude are broader than current research definitions. Keywords: gratitude; benefit-triggered gratitude; generalized gratitude; prototype analysis; positive psychology; interpersonal exchange

This study reports results from in-depth interviews with 57 highly religious middle-aged married couples representing the major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and residing in New England and Northern California. The study uses grounded theory methods to create themes that describe the ways that religiosity influences marital commitment. Couples reported that religious beliefs and practices helped them include God as the third partner in their marriage, believe in marriage as a religious institution that lasts, and find meaning in committing to marriage. Keywords: commitment; God; marriage; meaning; purpose; perspective; vows

This article reports the development of the Faith Activities In The Home Scale (FAITHS). The initial FAITHS measure was improved on and expanded by using qualitative data of two separate samples and then empirically tested on three separate samples. Study 1 comprised two samples totaling 57 highly religious families from New England and California that represented the three major Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) and focused on item development. Qualitative data were used to expand the breadth of survey items and to verify that religious families participate in the activities presented in the scale. The objective of Study 2 was to examine the FAITHS's reliability and validity using three samples of college students from a Southeastern university. The FAITHS demonstrated adequate validity and reliability. In addition to introducing a needed scale, the current study illustrates the importance of using qualitative data in scale development and improvement.