Relationships Maintenance - Reward and Needs

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Relationships Maintenance - Reward and Needs

Advantages

  • Floyd found commitment develops when couples are satisfied and feel rewarded in a relationship.
  • Cate found reward level was superior to all other factors in determining relationship satisfaction.
  • Aron found that when in love there is a high amount of activity in the brain. Higher amounts of dopamine would continue to be released and act as a reward throughout the relationship.

Disadvantages

  • The theory does not explain why relationships continue when they become unsatisfactory. E.g Abusive relationships.

Evaluation

Cate and Floyd are supportive as they suggest rewards are an important factor in maintaining a relationship. However it does not support the hypothesis as it does not explain why people would stay in relationships where they don't get any rewards. 

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