In contrast, married people high in commitment dismissed the highly threatening attractive person as unappealing.įinally, when predicting the future prospects for the relationship, one’s frame of mind matters. The researchers concluded that the daters were not sufficiently committed to withstand the stronger threat. However, when they were led to believe that the other person was attracted to them, committed daters no longer defended the relationship by “devaluing” the attractiveness of the person. For example, research has found that students committed to heterosexual dating relationships judged an attractive opposite-sex person as ordinary-looking, whereas those less committed judged the person as highly attractive. How far a person is willing to go depends upon the level of commitment and the level of costs. ![]() In general, commitment motivates people to sacrifice their self-interest and short-term rewards, and to inhibit immediate negative impulses, on behalf of the relationship. Of course, the darker side of this is that committed individuals may try to accommodate their partners even when the partner is abusive. Finally, if explaining away the behavior is not sufficient, committed individuals are more likely than others to accommodate the bad behavior in ways that help keep the relationship going (talk through the problem, loyally keep quiet and move on), and they are less likely to respond in ways that undermine the relationship (scream, throw objects and leave, or neglect the partner). Highly committed people are less likely to notice the bad behavior and are more likely to excuse the behavior if it is noticed (“It’s because she had a bad day at work”). For example, romantic partners sometimes can behave undesirably, ranging from annoying little habits to major transgressions. Commitment promotes relationship longevity by motivating people to see, think, and act in ways that help sustain a relationship. ![]() The decision to commit and work through short-term periods of boredom or distress will allow people to potentially reap the benefits of a loving, long-term relationship.
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