LOVE AND EXPANSION OF THE SELF - THE STATE OF THE MODEL

The self-expansion model of love developed out of a confluence of rese arch on attraction and arousal, Eastern psychology, motivation theory, and the social psychology of personal relationships. The model treats love (the desire for a relationship with a particular other) as arisi ng from a desire to expand the self by including that other in the sel f, as well as by associating expansion with that particular other. Fir st, the model is described, including its function as a source of heur istically important metaphors for common human experiences of love and its unique focus in relation to other approaches to love. The remaind er of the article examines its application, including supporting resea rch, to predictors of falling in love, motivations for unrequited love , consequences of falling in love,love as including each other in each other's self, and how love changes (and how it can be maintained) in long-term relationships. The conclusion examines current trends in whi ch the model serves as both a very general integration of useful persp ectives and as a set of precise mini-theories.