Close Relationships Exam #2

Relationship Trajectories

a path that plots how relationships change over time.

• framework: an ascent towards peak

• a descent

Thresholds

break up, when to have sex, when to reveal something

• can include turning points

Accelerated Trajectory

some people have a quick jump into emotional intimacy .

Accelerated-Arrested Trajectory

Can jump from one point to another, but may not continue to grow

Prolonged Trajectory

Intentionally taking things slow, or busy and can’t see each other as often

Relationship Coordination and Strategic Timing Model

suggests that people go through different commitment steps

• cannot determine if a relationship will be short of long term, only can know after it happens

Building Love: Cross-Cultural Experience

Core features: sexual attraction, altruistic self-sacrifice, intrusive thoughts (can’t stop thinking about them)

• these features can help with reproduction (biologically)

Passionate Love

• romantic love

• has a sexual intimacy component

Companionate love

feel love for other types of relationships (friends, pets, family)

• can feel for any type of relationship

• includes sharing goals and making plans

Attachment love

the type of love that you feel for a person that is felt during a time of support

Compassionate love

more about caring for people, being selfless

Triangular Theory of Love

Passion, intimacy, commitment

• if you feel love for someone, you must have at least one of these

Does Passion Fade?

tends to be higher in early stages of the relationship (honeymoon face) - 18 months

• it might be there because it allows you to get to know the person well

Falling in love

Transition stage

• emotionally and cognitively consuming

• linked to motivational and reward systems

Intimacy

emotional closeness

• sharing info, feeling close

• feeling understood and validated build intimacy

Interpersonal Process Model of Intimacy

• in order to build intimacy, you have to share and be responsive

• self disclosures: intentionally share info about themselves

Perceived partner responsiveness

• partner has to be validating and show care

• contextual factors might interfere with the process of intimacy

• stress, lower socioeconomic status

Self Assumes aspects of partner

starts liking hobbies or things from the other partner

• self-concept starts to change to build the partner into it.

Self-expectation theory

have a motivation to do new things and learn new things

• people have an intrinsic motivation to expand their capacity to pursue goals

Cognitive Interdependece

people start developing the “we”

• attachment anxiety: want closeness in overlap

• avoidant: want their own circle

self-expansion (two dimensional model of self-change)

you gain a positive

Self-pruning

loose negative

get better becuase you start loosing habits or diffe