Abstract
A path-analytic study was undertaken to investigate the proposed relationship between physical attractiveness, need for intimacy, self-disclosure, thought about one's dating partner, and reported romantic love. Extrapolations from theories by Murstein (1971) and I. Reiss (1960), and conclusions from other empirical work, provided the background for the assessment of the relationship between the four proposed predictive factors and the development of romantic affect. During the winter of 1977-78 656 college students responded to a survey assessing each of the four predictors and romantic love. Path structures were initially estimated for male and female subsamples. Since few significant sex differences were noted, coefficients were compared for groups of students involved in dating relationships of varying durations. All four predictors were significantly associated with the subjects' self-reported romantic affect toward their dating partner. In all analyses, thinking about one's partner was found to be the most potent predictor. The data suggest the earlier work by Murstein and Reiss offer both testable and productive theoretical foundations for the study of romantic involvement. However, in future work it would be beneficial to (a) search for more numerous and powerful antecedents to romantic love; (b) delineate the specific role of cognitive processes in influencing romantic attachment; (c) compare relationships on criteria other than months of involvement; and (d) seek to examine love from the perspectives of both individuals involved in the dyadic relationship.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, G. R. (1977a). Physical attractiveness, personality and social reactions to peer pressure,J. Psychol. 96: 287–296.
Adams, G. R. (1977b). Physical attractiveness research: Toward a developmental social psychology of beauty.Hum. Dev. 20: 217–239.
Adams, G. R., and Crossman, S. M. (1978).Physical Attractiveness: A Cultural Imperative, Libra Press, Roslyn Heights, N.Y.
Altman, I. (1973). Reciprocity of interpersonal exchange.J. Theory Soc. Behav. 3: 249–261.
Bentler, P. M., and Huba, G. J. (1979). Simple minitheories of love.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 37: 124–130.
Berscheid, E., and Walster, E. (1974). Physical attractiveness. In Berkowitz, L. (ed.),Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Vol. 7, Academic Press, New York.
Berscheid, E., Dion, K., Walster, E., and Walster, G. (1971). Physical attractiveness and dating choice: A test of the matching hypothesis.J. Exper. Soc. Psychol. 7: 173–189.
Blau, P. M. (1964).Exchange and Power in Social Life, Wiley, New York.
Bloom, M. (1967). Developmental concept of love.Hum. Relat. 15: 246–263.
Burgess, R. L., and Huston, T. L. (1979).Social Exchange in Developing Relationships, Academic Press, New York.
Carter, D. (1967). Love and integrity in marriage.J. Home Econom. 59: 425–427.
Clayton, R. R. (1975).The Family, Marriage, and Social Change, Health, Lexington, Mass.
Coutts, R. L. (1973).Love and Intimacy: A Psychological Approach, Consensus Publishers, San Ramon, Calif.
Critelli, J. W., and Dupree, K. M. (1978). Self-disclosure and romantic attraction.J. Soc. Psychol. 106: 127–128.
Duncan, O. T. (1966). Path analysis: Sociological examples.Am. J. Sociol. 72: 1–16.
Erikson, E. (1968).Identity: Youth and Crisis, Norton, New York.
Fischer, J. L. (1981). Transitions in relationship style from adolescence to young adulthood.J. Youth Adoles. 10: 11–23.
Goode, W. J. (1959). The theoretical importance of love.Am. Sociol. Rev. 24: 38–47.
Huston, T. L., and Levinger, G. (1978). Interpersonal attraction and relationships. In Rosenzweig, M. R., and Porter, L. W. (ed.),Annual Review of Psychology. California Annual Reviews, Inc., Palo Alto.
Jourard, S. M. (1959). Self-disclosure and other cathexis.J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol. 59: 428–431.
Kacerguis, M. A., and Adams, G. R. (1980). Erikson stage resolution: The relationship between identity and intimacy.J. Youth Adoles. 9: 117–126.
Kephart, W. M. (1967). Some correlates of romantic love.J. Marr. Fam. 29: 471–474.
Land, K. C. (1969). Principles in path analysis. In Borgatta, B. F. (ed.),Sociological Methodology, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Lee, J. A. (1977). A typology of styles of loving.Personal. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 3: 173–182.
Mathes, E. (1975). The effects of physical attractiveness and anxiety on heterosexual attraction over a series of five encounters.J. Marr. Fam. 37: 769–773.
Munro, B., and Adams, G. R. (1978). Love American style: A test of role structure theory on changes in attitudes toward love.Hum. Relat. 31: 215–228.
Murstein, B. I. (1971). A theory of marital choice and its applicability to marriage adjustment. In Murstein, B. I. (ed.),Theories of Attraction and Love, Springer, New York.
Nye, F. I., and Berardo, F. M. (1973).The Family: Its Structure and Interaction, Macmillan, New York.
Orlinsky, K. (1972). Love relationships in the life cycle: A developmental interpersonal perspective. In Otto, H. (ed.),Love Today: A New Exploration, Associated Press, New York.
Orlofsky, J. (1976). Intimacy status: Relationship to interpersonal perception.J. Youth Adoles. 5: 73–88.
Orlofsky, J. L., and Ginsburg, S. D. (1981). Intimacy status: Relationship to affect cognition.Adolescence 15: 91–100.
Reedy, M. N., Birren, J. D., and Schaie, K. W. (1981). Age and sex differences in satisfying love relationships across the adult life span.Hum. Dev. 24: 52–66.
Reiss, H. T., Nezlek, J., and Wheeler, L. (1980). Physical attractiveness in social interaction.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 38: 604–617.
Reiss, I. L. (1960). Toward a sociology of the heterosexual love relationship.Marr. Living 22: 139–145.
Rubin, Z. (1970). Measurement of romantic love.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 16: 265–273.
Rubin, Z. (1974). From liking to loving: Patterns of attraction in dating relationship. In Huston, T. L. (ed.),Foundations of Interpersonal Attraction, Academic Press, New York.
Rubin, Z., Hill, C. T., Peplau, L. A., and Dunkel-Schelter, C. (1980). Self-disclosure in dating couples: Sex roles and the ethic of openness.J. Marr. Fam. 42: 305–317.
Rubin, Z., Peplau, L. A., and Hill, C. T. (1981). Loving and leaving: Sex differences in romantic attachments.Sex Roles 2: 821–835.
Sadler, O., and Tesser, A. (1973). Some effects of salience and time upon interpersonal hostility and attraction during social isolation.Sociometry 36: 99–112.
Smith, E. R. (1978). Specification and estimation of causal models in social psychology: Comment on Tesser and Paulhus.J. Personal Soc. Psychol. 36: 34–38.
Sorell, G. T., and Nowak, C. A. (1981). The role of physical attractiveness as a contributor to individual development. In Lerner, R. M., and Busch-Rossnagel, N. A. (ed.),Individuals as Producers of Their Development, Academic Press, New York.
Spanier, G. B. (1972). Romanticism and marital adjustment.J. Marr. Fam. 34: 481–487.
Taylor, D. A. (1968). The development of interpersonal relationships: Social penetration process.J. Soc. Psychol. 75: 79–90.
Taylor, D. A., and Altman, I. (1966). Intimacy scaled stimuli for use in studies of interpersonal relationships. Research Report No. 9, Naval Medical Research Institute (available from second author, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah).
Tesser, A., and Conlee, M. (1975). Some effects of thought and time on attitude polarization.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 31: 262–270.
Tesser, A., and Paulhus, D. L. (1976). Toward a causal model of love.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 34: 1095–1105.
Thibaut, J. W., and Kelley, H. H. (1959).The Social Psychology of Groups, Wiley, New York.
Waller, W. (1938).The Family: A Dynamic Interpretation, Dryden, New York.
Walster, E., and Walster, G. W. (1978).A New Look at Love, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Walster, E., Aronson, V., Abrahams, D., and Rottman, L. (1966). Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 4: 508–516.
White, G. L. (1980). Physical attractiveness and courtship progress,J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 39: 660–668.
Won-Doornink, M. J. (1979). On getting to know you: The association between the stage of a relationship and reciprocity of self-disclosure.J. Exper. Soc. Psychol. 15: 229–241.
Yufit, R. (1956). Intimacy and isolation: Some behavioral and psychodynamic correlates. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received her Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University
Received his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shea, J.A., Adams, G.R. Correlates of romantic attachment: A path analysis study. J Youth Adolescence 13, 27–44 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088651
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088651