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Dating can be both a fun and daunting experience. So what does psychology have to say about what attracts people to others and how romantic relationships are maintained? Psychological theories explore various aspects of romantic relationships, including social exchange theory, equity theory, investment theory, and Duck's phase model. How do people view romantic relationships? And how do people maintain romantic…
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenDating can be both a fun and daunting experience. So what does psychology have to say about what attracts people to others and how romantic relationships are maintained? Psychological theories explore various aspects of romantic relationships, including social exchange theory, equity theory, investment theory, and Duck's phase model. How do people view romantic relationships? And how do people maintain romantic relationships?
Fig. 1 - Romantic relationships are present in many aspects of our lives.
A romantic relationship is when two people form an intimate connection based on attachment, interdependence and a sense of their needs being met.
Psychologists are interested in all kinds of human relationships and how they form, develop and affect our daily life. Social psychologists study these relationships to learn more about human behaviour.
We can see romantic relationships in various areas of our lives; parents are engaged in a romantic relationship, and friends may explore feelings for one another if they are romantically attracted to each other.
The theories on romantic relationships include:
Romantic relationships are thought to develop in several ways: physical attraction, proximity, the similarity of attitudes, and complementarity, among other things.
Starting to date someone you regularly see in your class or workplace is an example of a proximity factor that can allow a romantic relationship to develop.
Meeting someone at a group, club or event you enjoy going to is an example of the ways similarity of attitudes and having something in common can bring people closer together.
Some psychologists believe that our attraction is an innate, evolutionary force, whereas others view it as a social phenomenon, stating that factors such as the similarity of values influence our attraction.
Fig. 2 - Romantic relationships can form due to many factors, including proximity and attitude similarity.
There are typically three types of romantic relationships;
The different types of romantic relationships often start out as casual dating and develop into cohabitation and long-term and official commitments. This is one aspect of development through the romantic relationship stages. These stages, however, are affected by other factors.
Various theories on romantic relationships explore how these factors affect the development of the relationships in question. Commitment to a relationship may be influenced by investment into the relationship, the presence of children, and cost-benefit analysis, according to multiple theories. We will explore these further below.
One research theory on the stages of romantic relationships comes from Thibaut and Kelley's (1959) social exchange theory, which, to summarise, suggests four stages for romantic relationships;
We will discuss more of the principles of social exchange theory as one of the theories of romantic relationships in the next section.
Psychologists are interested in investigating why we form romantic relationships and why they last, as they are an intrinsic part of human life for many of the population. The theories studied here take an economic approach, stating that relationships exchange costs and benefits.
Some argue that these exchanges should be unequal, whereas others think they should be equitable. Theories of relationship breakdown suggest that it occurs in stages.
Thibaut and Kelley (1959) describe relationships in economic terms. They claim that through a cost-benefit analysis, partners strive to maximise rewards (praise, comfort, etc.) and minimise costs (arguments, compromises, stress, etc.).
To maintain the relationship, the benefits need to outweigh the costs.
According to Thibaut and Kelley (1959), partners use comparison levels to assess their relationships' profitability. At these comparison levels, as we mentioned earlier, romantic relationships go through stages: sampling, bargaining, commitment and institutionalisation.
If people strive to get more than they give in to a relationship, however, it may cause issues with inequality.
Comparison level is where partners in a relationship compare the cost and rewards of the current relationship to their previous one. If the current one is better, they will be more motivated to maintain the current relationship.
The alternative comparison level compares the current relationship to possible future relationships. Naturally, this affects whether or not a person decides to stay in a relationship. They may leave the current one if they can find a better relationship.
Fig. 3 - Social exchange theory in relationships focuses on a cost-benefit analysis.
Proposed by Walster et al. (1978), equity theory states that partners are concerned with fairness in relationships, concerning the input and output each partner provides and receives from one another.
When one partner reaps more rewards from a relationship, they feel guilty, whilst the other partner is dissatisfied, and this is known as inequity and distress.
According to equity theory, partners must strive for equal costs and rewards to maintain a happy, fair relationship.
Research has identified differences between men and women, however, in their attitudes to inequality in relationships (Argyle et al., 1988)
Rusbult (1980) aimed to improve the social exchange theory with Rusbult's Investment Model, as they found that many couples stay together even though the costs outweigh the benefits.
Rusbult et al. (2001) also identified maintenance mechanisms (accommodation, forgiveness, ridiculing alternatives, positive illusions, and willingness to sacrifice) that aid the continuance of a relationship.
Duck (1988) stated that although breakups seem like one-time events, they are progressive breakdowns in stages. The romantic relationship stages of breakdown are:
The model fails to consider individual differences, however.
A romantic relationship is when two people form an intimate connection based on attachment, interdependence and a sense of their needs being met.
Some psychologists believe that our attraction is an innate, evolutionary force, whereas others view it as a social phenomenon, factors such as the similarity of values and proximity influence our attraction.
There are many theories about why we form romantic relationships, namely: the social exchange theory (Thibaut and Kelley), equity theory (Walster et al.), Rusbult's investment model and Duck’s phase model of relationship breakdown.
According to psychologists, a romantic relationship is when two people form an intimate connection based on attachment, interdependence and a sense of their needs being met.
It means to have an intimate connection and relationship with another person.
Casual, dating, marriage.
According to psychologists, romantic relationships develop in several ways: physical attraction, proximity, the similarity of attitudes, and complementarity, among other things.
Two people form an intimate connection.
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