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Formation of Relationships

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Formation of Romantic Relationships.

The reward theory suggests that we are attracted to people if we find them satisfying to be with. Most of the stimuli in our lives is considered either rewarding or punishing and therefore we are motivated to seek the rewards and avoid the punishments. What we find rewarding or attractive in a person reflects our unmet needs, this can differ from person to person and can range from financial security to support. Mutual attraction therefore occurs when each partner meets the other’s needs.
As people in our life are stimuli and stimuli can be either rewarding or punishing it can explain why some people make us feel happy while others make us feel sad. The principles of operant condition suggest that we are more likely to repeat behaviour that gives us a desirable outcome while avoid the behaviour that results in a less desirable outcome. Therefore it is thought that we enter into relationships because the other person creates positive and happy feelings inside us and we want to repeat these feelings.
It is also thought that attraction can occur through association, not just direct reinforcement. When we are in a happy mood we are more inclined to like someone we have no previous feelings towards than if we were in a bad mood. Following the principles of classical conditioning we come to positively value a person through association despite them being a neutral stimulus beforehand.
The balance of these negative and positive feelings are thought to be important in the formation of romantic relationships. If the positive feeling outweigh the negative feelings a relationship is more likely to develop and succeed. When the negative feelings outweigh the positive feelings a relationship is more likely to fail.
A study conducted into the area of the formation of relationships found that a person is more inclined to like someone if

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