Love and the commitment problem in romantic relations and friendship

Citation
Gc. Gonzaga et al., Love and the commitment problem in romantic relations and friendship, J PERS SOC, 81(2), 2001, pp. 247-262
Citations number
113
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology
Journal title
JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
ISSN journal
00223514 → ACNP
Volume
81
Issue
2
Year of publication
2001
Pages
247 - 262
Database
ISI
SICI code
0022-3514(200108)81:2<247:LATCPI>2.0.ZU;2-N
Abstract
On the basis of the proposition that love promotes commitment, the authors predicted that love would motivate approach, have a distinct signal, and co rrelate with commitment-enhancing processes when relationships are threaten ed. The authors studied romantic partners and adolescent opposite-sex frien ds during interactions that elicited love and threatened the bond. As expec ted, the experience of love correlated with approach-related states (desire , sympathy). Providing evidence for a nonverbal display of love, four affil iation cues (head nods, Duchenne smiles, gesticulation, forward leans) corr elated with self-reports and partner estimates of love. Finally, the experi ence and display of love correlated with commitment-enhancing processes (e. g., constructive conflict resolution, perceived trust) when the relationshi p was threatened. Discussion focused on love, positive emotion, and relatio nships.