MailOniine Jealousy makes us think we are more like our love rival: Seeing our partner flirt with someone else shifts our 'self-view' + Three university studies found people liken themselves to love rivals + Only if they think partner is actually interested does this take effect ByDeni Kirkova PUBLISHED: 17:50 GMT, 11 July2013 | UPDATED: 17:50 GMT, 11 July2013 12 shares comments Jealousy prompts people to think of themselves as being like their rivals - such as more athletic or more musical, according to a new study. Previous research has shown individuals will often change their self-views to be more similar to someone. to whom they want to get closer, such as a romantic partner. "However, a rival isn't someone that individuals should like, let alone want to affiliate with,’ said Erica Slotter of Villanova University.‘The last thing you expect is to think of yourself more like your rival, But the new research suggests that If you see your partner flirt with someone else, you may feel hurt, angry, and jealous. The last thing you might expect is to start thinking of yourself more like your rival. But the new research suggests just that. She said: ‘This work was really novel in that we were looking at whether individuals would be willing to shift their self-views to be more similar to a romantic rival.’ Across three studies, her team tested what happens to people when in a jealous state. They predicted individuals would only change their self-views if they thought their partner was interested in someone else.Gere cue wace tae ees People would only change their self-views if they thought their partner was actually interested Dr Slotter said: ‘This meant individuals should not change their self-views if someone flirts with their Partner, but the partner doesn't respond with interest.’ ‘The findings, published online by the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, show people change how they view themselves relative to competitors for their partners’ attention. In one of the studies, 144 romantically involved men and women completed an online survey about personal attributes, such as artistic, musical, or athletic ability The researchers then asked the participants to imagine either that their partner expressed romantic. interest in someone else or not. In some of the scenarios, the other person expressed romantic interest in their partner, but the partner did not respond. In one scenario, for example, the parti romantic partner when an attractive in nts would imagine walking through a shopping mall with their idual - of the sex their partner would be attracted to - walked by. The partner would then say ‘Did you see that guy/gir!? That shirt looked really hot on hinvher.' In another condition, the partner would notice the attractive other but not express any interest, saying ‘Don't you have that shirt? It looks much better on you than on him/her." The researchers then asked the participants how jealous they felt and then showed them a personality profile for the potential rival they had imagined in the scenario. "Individuals who thought their romantic partner was interested in someone who was athletic or musically inclined reported themselves as more athletic or musically inclined’ Dr Slotter said: ‘Importantly, one attribute from the beginning of the study that participants had said was not true of them was in this personality profile.’ Finally, the participants would re-rate their personal