Attitudes toward ghosting and ghosters: A vignette study

Ghosting, which refers to abruptly ending a relationship without explanation, has become increasingly common. This study, involving 224 participants aged 18-50 with an equal number of males and females, investigated how the context of ghosting (romantic relationship or friendship) and the gender of both the ghoster and the participant influenced perceptions of this behavior. Participants were presented with one of four scenarios, varying the gender of the ghoster and the type of relationship, and asked to evaluate the "appropriateness" of the behavior and the "likability" of the ghoster. MANOVA analysis revealed that ghosting was perceived as equally inappropriate in both romantic relationships and cross-sex friendships. However, male participants found ghosters more likable in romantic scenarios, while female participants showed no significant differences across contexts. Both genders found the behavior more acceptable when performed by their own gender. Additionally, male participants rated ghosters of both genders equally likable, whereas female participants found female ghosters more likable than male ghosters. Furthermore, prior engagement in ghosting was associated with more favorable attitudes toward both the behavior and the ghosters, while having been ghosted did not significantly alter perceptions. The findings indicate that gender and relationship type shape perceptions of this behavior not independently, but interactively. Keywords: Ghosting, Romantic relationship, Friendship