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Relationship-specific identification and spontaneous relationship maintenance processes.

Lisa Linardatos1, John E Lydon

  • 1Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3A 1B1. pantelitsa.linardatos@mail.mcgill.ca

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
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Summary

When your romantic relationship becomes part of your identity, you automatically protect it from threats. This relationship-specific identity enables spontaneous, pro-relationship behaviors, enhancing relationship maintenance.

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Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Relationship Science
  • Social Cognition

Background:

  • Attractive alternative partners represent a significant threat to romantic relationships.
  • Effective relationship maintenance requires effortless responses to such threats.
  • Relationship-specific identity, or how central a relationship is to one's self-concept, is a key factor.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of relationship-specific identity on relationship-protective behaviors.
  • To determine if a strong relationship identity leads to more spontaneous relationship maintenance.

Main Methods:

  • Four studies were conducted, including assessments of relationship-specific identification, behavioral observations during interactions with attractive others, a dot-probe visual cuing task, and longitudinal relationship survival.
  • Convergent and divergent validity of relationship-specific identification were assessed.
  • Participants' attention and relationship-mention behaviors were measured in the presence of attractive alternatives.

Main Results:

  • Higher relationship-specific identification was linked to more spontaneous, pro-relationship responses when facing relational threats.
  • Participants with lower relationship-specific identification showed less relationship-protective behavior and attention towards attractive alternatives.
  • Relationship-specific identification predicted relationship survival over 1-3 years.

Conclusions:

  • Integrating a romantic relationship into one's self-concept fosters automatic, fluid relationship maintenance.
  • Relationship-specific identification is a crucial predictor of relationship stability and resilience against external threats.