Dynamics of Attraction and Love - Module 1 Flashcards
This kind of relationship refers to the association and close connection between people, formed by emotional bonds and interactions. These bonds often grow and form mutual experiences. Personal relationships generally refer to family, friends, and significant others.
Changes in the physical and cognitive aspects go along with the changes in relationships especially with family and friends during the adolescence period. Moreover, in the adolescence stage, a new understanding of one’s self occurs. This may include Independence, identity, and self-esteem. A person’s personal relationships then play a significant role in the adolescent’s pursuit of self-understanding.
Personal Relationship
Family is generally defined as people living together in a household who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. It may include siblings and parents whom you grew up with. One’s family relationship can also be extended to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins though not living together. In a family, roles are also defined. Parents and older relatives’ role is to guide, discipline, and support younger members.
Family bond plays a vital role in a person’s well-being. It helps form other kinds of relationships such as friendships and romantic relationships bound by love and closeness. On the other hand, relationships, in general, may involve arguments, disagreements, moments of anger, and hurt. There may be a usual increase in arguments and conflicts with parents when adolescents assert their independence as their way of finding self-identity. However, these are short-lived for families when there is love, care, and understanding.
In families, the physical expression of bonds also varies. Family members express affection through hugging, kissing on the cheek or forehead, patting the head or tousling the hair, patting on the back, etc, in whatever ways affection is expressed. These actions show closeness and respect for each other.
Family Relationship
Friends are the people who are not related to us by blood but we choose to interact with them. They are the people with whom we share our trust, respect, and care. We feel that we can confide in them and we want to spend time with them, Friendship is a reciprocal relationship. Both people must see each other as a friend for the relationship to exist, Good friendships are mutually respectful, supportive and share common interests and ideas. It should be built on honesty, support, and loyalty.
There are different degrees of friendship. You may find that you feel closer to some friends than others. Some friendships, especially if they have only known each other for a short time, may not share personal issues or concerns. Usually, you may find that you feel more comfortable and able to confide in friends whom you have known well. Furthermore, friends who are very close and have known each other well are referred to as “best friends or close friends”. Some people have many friends, while others may only have one or two. It is not in the number of people with whom you can call friends but in thequality and that everyone is different.
Some friendships can be close where they choose to greet each other by hugging or kissing on the cheek, other friendships may have no physical contact or may simply shake
hands. However, romantic contact or being intimate physically is not appropriate in a friendship.
Friendship
A romantic relationship is when you feel strongly attracted to the other person. The attraction encompasses a person’s physical attributes and personality. This should be reciprocated by the other person in the relationship.
A romantic relationship is described as the closest form of relationship in which, the two people who are involved will often describe themselves as being attracted to each other and/or “in love”. They feel a strong connection and bond with each other that they do not feel with anyone else, even with close friends. The bond is also exclusive and monogamous.
People in a romantic relationship often see each other and when apart will find ways to contact each other by phone and the likes. An example of a romantic relationship for adolescents is between a boyfriend and girlfriend.
Arguments and disagreements in romantic relationships also occur. These arguments can be avoided through effective communication and understanding. In other cases, if there are frequent arguments, the two people involved may decide to seek help from friends or
adults.
As two people continually share interests and desires to live their lives together, they
eventually discuss their future plans. For adolescents, various kinds of physical contact are not appropriate. These include prolonged cuddling and holding, kissing on the lips, and sexual intercourse. These activities may lead to premarital sex and untimely pregnancy. And so, for the romantic relationship to be successful for both adolescents, it is built on love, trust, respect, support, and acceptance.
Romantic Relationship
As proposed by anthropologist Helen Fisher, there are three brain systems of love: Just, attraction, and attachment. Each also involves different neurochemicals in the brain. Depending on a person, a love relationship can start in any of these three.
Biological Model of Love
Refers to an urge or desire that motivates us to partake in sexual activity. It is also described as a sex drive associated primarily with estrogens and androgens.
Lust
Described as the love-struck phase. It involves focusing attention on a particular person. Many factors influence attraction such as physical attractiveness, proximity, similarity, and reciprocity.
Attraction
One of the primary determinants of romantic attraction. Most people prefer whom they consider physically attractive especially in the early stages of dating.
Physical Attractiveness
Can be explained when people tend to get attracted to people who are geographically closer to them. They are more likely to develop feelings of mutual familiarity with the people who live close to them. For example, being attracted to a classmate since you regularly see the person.
Proximity
Is when people choose partners whom they find similarities such as social class, religious beliefs, and education. It explains when two people share more attitudes and opinions, the more they will want to do the same activities. As a result, they would create a strong bond between them.
Similarity
Means people like others who like them back. The more a person is Iiked by someone, the more he/she behaves in ways that promote mutual feelings of liking.
Reciprocity
A deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another. Usually, long-lasting commitments are exchanged when people are attached even across time and space.
Attachment
There are three main components of love as suggested by Robert Stenberg (1988). These are intimacy, passion, and commitment. The relationships vary and depend on the presence or absence of each of these components.
Triangular Theory of Love
Is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. It is characterized by closeness, connectedness, and boundedness.
Intimacy
Is described as an intense emotion towards a person. It is also shown as compelling interest for someone. Like having a desire to spend time with a person most of the time.
Passion
