Seeds of love: Positivity bias mediates between passionate love and prorelationship behavior in romantic couples

Moran Mizrahi, Edward P. Lemay, Michael R. Maniaci, Harry T. Reis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Passionate love (PL) is a central concept in romantic relationships, yet the process through which it enhances relationship maintenance remains unclear. The current research included two studies of daily relationship experiences among dating couples (N = 203) and newlyweds (N = 173). We examined the contribution of PL to greater daily prorelationship behavior and the role of idealized views of romantic partners in explaining this association. Furthermore, we examined the unique effect of PL on prorelationship behavior beyond relationship commitment. Results indicated that positivity bias mediated the association between PL and prorelationship behavior, and this effect was independent of commitment. Conversely, relationship commitment did not predict prorelationship behavior beyond PL. These findings highlight the role of positively biased perceptions in explaining how the motivational experience of PL translates into daily acts and suggest that daily behaviors shaped by PL may support long-term goals of relationship maintenance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2207-2227
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Social and Personal Relationships
Volume39
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Commitment
  • passionate love
  • positivity bias
  • relationship maintenance
  • romantic relationships

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