Chapter 14 - Maintaining and Repairing Relationships Flashcards
Relationship maintenance mechanisms
strategic actions people take to sustain their partnerships,
Cognitive interdependence
think of themselves not as separate individuals but as part of a greater whole that includes them and their partners.
Positive illusions
idealizing each other and perceiving their relationship in the best possible light
Cognitive maintenance mechanisms (5)
-Cognitive interdependence
-Positive illusions
-Perceived superiority
-Inattention to alternatives
-Derogation of tempting alternatives
Perceived superiority
Think their relationship is better than most
Inattention to alternatives
uninterested and unaware of how well they could be doing in alternative relationships
Derogation of tempting alternatives
other potential partners are less attractive than the ones they already have.
Willingness to sacrifice
taking on trivial costs for the benefit of the relationship
Behavioural maintenance mechanisms (9)
-Willingness to sacrifice
-Prayer
-Michelangelo phenomenon
-Accommodation
-Self-control
-Play
-Savoring
-Rituals
-Forgiveness
Michelangelo phenomenon
Encouraging partner’s development and growth
Behavioural couple therapy (BCT)
focuses on the couple’s present interactions and seeks to replace any negative and punishing behavior with more gracious and generous actions.
Cognitive-behavioural couple therapy (CBCT)
seeks to change various aspects of the ways partners think about and appraise their partnership.
Integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT)
teach spouses adaptive emotional reactions to the nuisances they will inevitably face.
Unified detachment
defuses emotion and helps the couple understand with cool dispassion their problematic patterns of interaction.
Emotionally focused couple therapy (EFCT)
seeks to reestablish desirable patterns of interaction between spouses, but its primary focus is on the emotions the partners experience as they seek to fulfill their attachment needs.
