Characteristics of Good Relationships And Dark Side of Relationships

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The Psychology of Human Sexuality, Second Edition. Justin J. Lehmiller. 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Companion Website: www.wiley.comgolehmiller2e

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Introduction, 201 Singlehood and Casual Relationships, 201

Sexuality Among Singles, 201 Hookups, 203 Friends with Benefits, 204 Singles Sexual Outcomes, 204

Love and Committed Relationships, 207 The Nature of Love, 207 The Nature of Commitment, 212 Varieties of Loving and Committed Relationships, 214

Why Do Some Relationships Succeed While Others Fail?, 220 Characteristics of Good Relationships, 220 The Dark Side of Relationships, 223 Coping with Breakup, 229

Intimate Relationships: Sex, Love, and Commitment

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Introduction

Intimate relationships are a central aspect of human life. Psychologists theorize that this stems from a need to belong, or a near-universal human desire to develop and maintain social ties (Baumeister & Leary,1995). The need to belong is very powerful, and developing strong social bonds is vital to our physical and psychological well-being. Relationships with family, friends, and various social groups help to fulfill this need; however, our sexual and romantic relation- ships are at least as central (and some might argue even more central) to meeting our deep- seated needs and desires for social connection. As some evidence of this, research has found that having a high quality romantic relationship enhances personal health and longevity; in contrast, people who are alone or who lose their partners not only tend to be in worse health, but they tend to die sooner (Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton,2001).

Although the drive to pursue intimate relationships is ubiquitous, the number and nature of relationships necessary to fulfill ones belongingness needs varies across persons. Some indi- viduals prefer a series of relatively transient relationships that focus on sex and physical inti- macy, whereas others prefer a single, stable relationship that emphasizes emotional intimacy. As a result, intimate relationships take many different forms in adult life. One of the primary goals of this chapter is to explore the various types of sexual and romantic relationships that individuals pursue in the modern world and the degree to which they meet peoples needs. In addition, we will consider the topics of sex, love, and commitment and the role that each of these factors plays across different types of relationships. Finally, we will address both the posi- tive and negative aspects of intimate relationships and the things you can do to enhance the quality of your own personal relationships.

We begin by exploring variability in relationship type and status. We will talk first about single living and relationships that focus on casual sex and then move on to discuss loving and committed relationships.

Singlehood and Casual Relationships

Living single has become increasingly common among adults over the past few decades. In fact, census data indicate that 27% of adult Americans are currently living single, a number that has increased by two-thirds since the 1970s (United States Census Bureau,2010). On a side note, the Census Bureau defines single as someone who is unmarried and living alone. We will adopt the same definition for purposes of this chapter, meaning that singles can be involved in relation- ships, just not cohabiting or legally recognized relationships. Despite this increase in prevalence, perceptions of singles remain largely negative. There is a widely held belief that singles are lonely and that living life outside the context of a marital relationship is inherently unsatisfying (DePaulo & Morris,2006; for more on this, see the Digging Deeper8.1 box). However, this is not necessarily the case in reality. While some people find singlehood deeply depressing, there are others who enjoy the freedom and independence it provides and can meet their sexual and intimate needs through casual sex and dating. Thus, being single does not necessarily mean someone is socially detached or inherently lonely. Below we explore just how varied the nature of singlehood is.

Sexuality Among Singles

Single persons run the gamut of sexual activity, with some being fully or partially celibate (i.e., intentionally abstaining from partnered sexual activity), and others having frequent sexual con- tact with one or more partners. Believe it or not, people can be satisfied no matter where they

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Digging Deeper 8.1 Why is it Socially Stigmatized to be Single?

If yhs rl aSingl, falr nr ods aShi aelrl Saia hil hcc aShi welrl ilhigl clglbr al yhs. . . H ggm rk odhlaia m kl hinr asg aShia, yhs odSodia m rry ael wrhin nsy c rod. Aiod welrla ael fg aw rl fhr nhSin hi v c aShi ghil?

Carrie Bradshaw (lx iod ael Say)

Despite the fact that the marriage rate is in decline, most people continue to view the insti- tution positively and think of marriage as the ideal relationship state (Thornton & Young- DeMarco,2001). Just look at how much money people are willing to spend on weddings and how it remains a social custom to shower people with gifts when they get engaged or married. In con- trast, people who are single or divorced are rarely (if ever) celebrated for their relationship status.

Being single is viewed as a deficit identity (Reynolds, Wetherell, & Taylor,2007), meaning that singles are perceived as incomplete because of their lack of a relationship. As if that were not bad enough, singles are blamed for this perceived deficiency. For instance, in one survey of college undergraduates, participants were asked to identify the most common characteristics associ- ated with people who are married or single (DePaulo & Morris,2006). Whereas married people were described in a very positive light (e.g., as nice, honest, and mature), singles were typically described in very harsh and negative terms, including lonely, immature, and ugly.

As a result of these negative stereotypes, people seem to feel that singlism (the scientific term for prejudice against singles) is justified. In fact, people think it is more legitimate to discriminate against singles than it is to discriminate against people based upon other personal characteris- tics (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation). Consistent with this idea, in one study, participants were asked to evaluate a set of property rental applications and to select the applicant they

Figure 8.1 Single people are typically viewed and treated quite negatively in modern society. joseelias/ 123RF.COM.

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fall on this spectrum. I know some of you may be asking yourselves how someone can really be happy without sex, but this idea is not as far-fetched as it may sound. For instance, in chapter6, we discussed the notion of asexuality, a sexual orientation in which an individual simply has no desire for sexual contact with others. Approximately 1% of the population is thought to be asexual (Bogaert,2004), and for such individuals, a lack of sexual activity is not problematic at all. Likewise, for individuals who have decided to practice celibacy, some may find the lack of physical intimacy distressing; however, others may discover the experience is positive because it provides opportunities for self-reflection and development. Thus, singles do not necessarily have to be sexually active in order to be happy and they can potentially meet their belonging- ness needs through nonsexual relationships.

That said, most singles are sexually active and these individuals can pursue many different types of sexual relationships in order to meet their needs and desires. Below, we consider just a few of their relationship possibilities.

Hookups

Singles sometimes engage in hookups, or one-time sexual encounters among persons who do not know each other on a deep emotional level (Paul & Hayes,2002). Such encounters, also known as one-night stands often emerge after an evening at the bar or after a party. Indeed, research finds that hookups are strongly associated with alcohol use (Paul, McManus, & Hayes,2000). After a hookup, there is usually no expectation that any kind of relationship will develop, although it is not unheard of for casual sex to precipitate love.

People vary considerably in the frequency with which they hook-up with others. For instance, in a study of college students, the self-reported number of hookups over the course of a year ranged anywhere from 0 to 65 (Paul et al.,2000). Thus, some people hook-up far more often than others. In this same study, researchers found that 78% of male and female students had hooked up before, and among those who had done it at least once, the average number of hookups was 10.8. However, it is worth noting that hookups comprise a wide range of sexual activities and that sexual intercourse may or may not occur in a given encounter. In fact, most of the hookups reported in this study involved sexual activities other than intercourse.

Although a high percentage of both men and women report having hookups, research has found an important sex differences in how those experiences are perceived. Specifically, men (84%) are more likely to report having enjoyed their hookups than are women (54%; Campbell, 2008). Women are more inclined to report regretting their experiences, perhaps because of the sexual double standard, or the idea that women are judged more harshly than men for sex outside of a committed relationship.

Digging Deeper 8.1 (Continued)

would prefer to have as a tenant (Morris, Sinclair, & DePaulo,2007). Participants overwhelmingly chose married couples over single people and stated that they based their decision largely upon the applicants marital status. Thus, people do not even feel ashamed or embarrassed to admit holding this bias. This may stem, in part, from the fact that this kind of discrimination is legal in many parts of the United States and a number of other countries.

In short, as long as people continue to put marriage and other long-term, committed rela- tionships on a pedestal, we can expect that those who are unattached will continue to be sin- gled out.

Note: Reprinted with permission from lx iod Paycehghny (www.lehmiller.com).

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While much has been said and written about so-called college student hookup culture in the United States, it is important to note that college students today actually appear to be hav- ing less sex and fewer partners compared to generations past (Monto & Carey,2014). Students today are somewhat more likely to report having had casual sex, but the change is modest and the overall trend we see is that students are not having as much sex. Thus, the hookup culture claims would appear to be overblown.

Friends with Benefits

In contrast to the one-time nature of most hookups, singles also have the option of pursu- ing an ongoing sexual relationship with the same person. This can take many different forms, including booty calls, fuck buddies (by the way, that is a scientific term), and friends with benefits (FWBs) (Wentland & Reissing,2011); however, that last one appears to be especially common. FWBs are usually defined as people who have a rather typical friendship, aside from the fact that they occasionally have sex (e.g., Bisson & Levine,2009). However, research indi- cates that the term friends with benefits does not mean just one thing. In fact, there may be as many as seven distinct types of FWBs depending upon the motivations and intentions of the partners involved. See the Digging Deeper8.2 box for more on this.

Studies of college students have reliably found that approximately half of the participants sampled reported having had one or more FWBs in the past (Bisson & Levine,2009). Fur- thermore, these relationships appear to be on the rise. Whereas 55.7% of U.S. college students reported having had sex with a friend in the late 1980s and early 1990s, that number jumped to 71% by 2012 (Monto & Carey,2014). Also, like hookups, there is an association between alcohol consumption and sexual contact with a FWB (Owen & Fincham,2011). However, these relationships are by no means limited to the college crowd. In fact, Internet studies have found that adults in their 50s and 60s have these relationships too and, furthermore, that FWBs span a wide range of demographic groups (Lehmiller, VanderDrift, & Kelly,2011).

It should come as no surprise that the most commonly reported reason for beginning a FWB relationship is regular access to sex. However, according to a study by Lehmiller and colleagues (2011), men are more likely than women to cite sex as their primary motivation for having a FWB, whereas women are more likely than men to cite emotional connection as their primary motivation. The sexes also diverged when it came to how they hoped their relationship would develop over time. By and large, men wanted to remain FWBs as long as possible, whereas most women hoped their relationship would ultimately revert back to a friendship or evolve into a romance. In fact, 43.3% of women in FWBs expressed hope that their FWB would eventually turn into a real relationship (by comparison, only 23.7% of men desired the same outcome). Thus, men are more likely to see FWBs as a relationship end-state, whereas women are more likely to see them as a means of beginning an interdependent and committed type of relation- ship (VanderDrift, Lehmiller, & Kelly,2012). Do such relationship transitions ever happen? Yes, and perhaps more often than you might think. A study of college student dating relationships revealed that approximately 1 in 5 participants reported being FWBs before they became roman- tic partners (Owen & Fincham,2012). This study found that whereas partners who were FWBs before they became lovers were somewhat less satisfied with their relationships, they were no more likely to break up over time than were romantic partners without prior FWB experience.

Singles Sexual Outcomes

Hookups and FWBs are just two of the potential relationship options available to singles. Beyond this, singles may also be actively dating or pursuing a committed relationship. Dat- ing relationships can either be exclusive (i.e., monogamous) or nonexclusive (i.e., consensually

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non-monogamous). Persons who pursue a pattern of entering and exiting sexually exclusive relationships are known as serial monogamists. It is worth noting that whereas some singles may only pursue one type of relationship at a time (e.g., hookups or dating), others may pursue multiple types of relationships simultaneously (e.g., dating someone but having a FWB at the same time). Consequently, the sex lives of singles are highly variable.

Digging Deeper 8.2 Are There Different Types of Friends With Benefits?

Friends with Benefits (FWBs) are usually thought of as relationships in which two good friends decide to become sexually involved. This is how they are most often depicted in the popular media, such as in the films Nh arSina Aaa celod and FrSlioda wSae BlilfSaa. However, research sug- gests that FWBs are much more complicated than this and do not necessarily represent just one thing. In fact, according to a study by Mongeau and colleagues (2013) there may be as many as seven distinct types of FWBs!

In this study, 177 heterosexual college students were asked to define what a friends with ben- efits relationship means to them in their own words. Researchers analyzed the content of these definitions and uncovered the following varieties of FWBs:

1) True Friends This most closely matches what people think of as a traditional FWB (i.e., close friends who happen to have an ongoing sexual relationship). This was the single most com- mon type of FWB participants reported having personal experience with.

2) Just Sex This one is exactly what it sounds like: a sexual relationship that offers little more than the occasional sexual fling. There is no true friendship in this caseit is all about the benefits.

3) Network Opportunism In this setup, the partners share a common network of friends and hang out sometimes. However, they are not necessarily good friends and mostly hang out in situations where alcohol is being consumed. The partners tend to serve as safeties or back- ups for each other on occasions when neither person has found another sexual partner for the evening.

4) Successful Transition In These are cases where people reported intentionally using a FWB as a way of starting a true romance and succeeded in making the switch.

5) Unintentional Transition In These are cases where people reported accidentally or uninten- tionally going from being FWBs to romantic partners. Whoops! This is how things often seem to end up in the movies: media depictions suggest that FWBs can only go on so long before people start having romantic feelings for each other.

6) Failed Transition In This is a situation in which people reported that either one or both part- ners wanted to turn their FWB into a true romance, but failed to make a successful conversion.

7) Transition Out In these cases, people reported that they broke up with a romantic partner, but then became FWBs for at least a while afterward (i.e., they had ex-sex).

As you probably noticed when reading about these different types of FWBs, there is only one thing they all have in common: sex. Other than that, they are quite distinct in terms of the amount of emphasis placed on the friendship, frequency of interaction, and what the partners want.

Please keep in mind that this research is limited in that it primarily examined heterosexual col- lege students. Thus, we do not know whether the same variation in FWBs exists among people of different sexual orientations and ages. Although we still have much to learn about FWBs, it seems safe to conclude that this type of relationship is much more complicated than many of us ever thought!

Note: Reprinted with permission from lx iod Paycehghny (www.lehmiller.com).

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Although being single comprises a wide range of relationship states, one thing is clear from the research: on average, singles tend to be less sexually satisfied than people who are mar- ried or involved in more committed relationships. Despite the glamorous nature of singlehood depicted in television shows such as Sex in the City, singles report less frequent sexual activ- ity and lower levels of sexual satisfaction compared to their married counterparts (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels,1994). In addition, single women are less likely to reach orgasm with casual partners than with committed partners. As some evidence of this, one survey of over 14,000 female college students found that just 11% of women reported orgasming during their most recent hookup if they had no previous sexual experience with that partner (Armstrong, England, & Fogarty, 2012). Among women in romantic relationships of at least six months duration, that number was 67%. What accounts for this orgasm gap? One reason is because sexual activities that increase the odds of female orgasm (e.g., cunnilingus) are more likely to occur in committed relationships than in casual encounters. In addition, long-term partners learn how to please each other better. Some have also argued that there is a sexual script that values male pleasure over female pleasure in the context of hookups.

Beyond this, research has found that FWBs tend to be less satisfied and have lower lev- els of sexual communication than people involved in committed romantic relationships (Lehmiller, VanderDrift, & Kelly,2013). However, all of this should not be taken to mean that singles are inherently dissatisfied with the sex they are having or with the quality of their relationships; rather, it appears that singles are satisfied overall, but just not quite as satisfied as people in more committed relationships. Moreover, for those singles who do have an unsatisfying sex life, getting married is not necessarily the solution because sexless marriages certainly exist. In fact, according to the National Health and Social Life Survey, approximately 1 in 7 married adults report having had little to no sex in the past

Figure 8.2 Friends with benefits frequently try to maintain an intimate and sexual relationship without developing romantic feelings; however, they are not always successful in doing so. vgstudio/123RF.COM.

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year (Laumann et al.,1994). Maintaining high levels of sexual activity and satisfaction in marriage requires work, a topic we will return to at the end of this chapter.

One final note about singles is that some of their sexual behaviors pose important health risks. In particular, research finds that people who engage in hookups (Paul et al.,2000) and FWBs (Lehmiller et al.,2013) have far from perfect condom use and seem to have a higher than average number of sexual partners. Such behavior, coupled with increased alcohol use and (potentially) impaired decision-making (Owen & Fincham,2011; Paul et al.,2000), poses a significant risk in terms of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections and could potentially result in unintended pregnancies. Serial monogamists face a similar risk because they often hold the mistaken belief that monogamous people do not need to use protection (Misovich, Fisher, & Fisher,1997). The issue here is that serial monogamists often jump from one relationship to the next (sometimes very quickly) without being tested for infections in between, and while they may use condoms at first, this behavior rapidly drops off in a new relationship as the partners come to trust each other (Critelli & Suire,1998), thereby creating infection vulnerability. Thus, it is important for singles of all stripes to recognize the need for consistency in safer-sex practices and to avoid falling prey to false feelings of security.

Love and Committed Relationships

At the other end of the relationship spectrum, we have loving and committed relationships. These are relationships where there is usually some sexual component, but also a very deep emotional and intimate aspect to the relationship. Let us begin by defining what psychologists mean by the terms love and commitment and consider some of the major theoretical per- spectives. These theories will provide the necessary backdrop for understanding when and why relationships succeed or fail. After we describe these theories, we will discuss just how diverse loving and committed relationships can be.

The Nature of Love

Everyone thinks they know what love is, but in actuality, it is difficult to pinpoint a singular definition of this concept that all of us would agree with because love is very subjective and means different things to different people. For instance, some people view love as an emotion and describe it in terms of how they feel when they are around someone else. In contrast, other people define love as a behavior and describe it in terms of the things they would do or the sacrifices they would make for another person. Given this variability in definition and mean- ing, we will define love very broadly for purposes of this chapter as a special set of cognitions, emotions, and behaviors observed in an intimate relationship. Thus, love is something that influences how we think, act, and feel toward another person.

Psychologists typically discuss love as consisting of two distinct subtypes: passionate and companionate (Hendrick & Hendrick,2003). Each type of love encompasses a unique set of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Passionate Love Passionate love is an all-consuming psychological and physiological state. At the cognitive level, it is characterized by an almost obsessive preoccupation with the other person (i.e., you cannot stop thinking about your loved one), as well as an overly idealized view of your partner in which you fail to recognize and acknowledge that persons flaws. Emotionally, it is character- ized by an intense sexual attraction, as well as frequent feelings of excitement and ecstasy in the partners presence; however, when separated, feelings of sadness can be extremely intense. In

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addition, at the physical level, it is characterized by elevated heart rate, sweating, butterflies in the stomach, blushing, and other general signs of heightened arousal. While all of these feelings may be very strong in the early stages of a loving relationship, their intensity tends to decrease over time.

As you may have found in your own life, passionate love is something that usually devel- ops before you know your partner very well. During this time, potential warning flags might emerge, but because our feelings for the other person are so intense, they lead us to overlook the other persons faults and to ignore potential relationship problems. As a result, this type of love has very little in the way of logic behind it. It is partly for this reason that passionate love tends to be a rather brief, transitory state that may only last for a period of weeks or months.

One of the keys to relationship success is to recognize that those early butterflies usually do not go on forever, which means it is generally advisable to avoid getting swept away and rushing into marriage because those initial feelings of passion do not guarantee long-term relationship success. Such relationships work out sometimes, but they often do not. As a personal example, from the day my parents met until they got married was less than six months and they are still together today; however, I have a close relative who followed an almost identical path to marriage and was divorced within a year. Some amount of disillusionment inevitably sets in as passion begins to subside, which forces couples to shift the foundation of their relationship to something more stable. The quote below from the book Captain Corellis Mandolin captures this idea far more eloquently than I possibly can.

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulga- tion of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.

Companionate Love Companionate love is much deeper and is not nearly as intense as passionate love. Compan- ionate love is characterized by a strong emotional attachment and commitment to another per- son. Unlike passionate love, companionate love is based on the full knowledge and appreciation of another persons character. Thus, rather than overlook your partners faults, you consciously recognize that your partner is imperfect (as we all are) and learn to tolerate any shortcomings. Companionate love is also characterized by a desire to make the relationship work despite any difficulties that might arise, as well as a willingness to sacrifice self-interest for the betterment of the relationship.

People who experience companionate love can and do still have sex, although it may not be as frequent or as intense as it is in a passionate love relationship. However, higher levels of trust and mutual concern for one anothers needs could potentially improve sexual communication and satisfaction and allow partners to explore their sexual fantasies.

Companionate love obviously does not build up overnight; rather, it develops gradually as you get to know each other. As a result, it tends to be much more enduring. This is the type of love that can last for decades.

Relationships often begin with passionate love, and then either dissolve or transition into companionate love. There is no exact timetable for when this occurs, but the usual time course is somewhere between 6 and 30 months after the start of the relationship (Hatfield & Walster,1978); however, it is important to mention that passion does not necessarily decline or disappear in all relationships. Some long-term couples (who have been together 3 years or

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longer) report enduring passion and claim to feel as passionate today as they did when their relationship first began (Frederick, Lever, Gillespie, & Garcia,2017). Later in this chapter, we will consider some of the factors associated with enduring passion. On a side note, whereas the typical pattern is to go from passionate to companionate, the reverse can happen as well (i.e., when good friends become lovers), but this is far less common.

Robert Sternbergs Triangular Theory This distinction between passionate and companionate love and the transition that occurs between them was expanded upon in one of the most well-known theories of love,

Figure 8.3 Passionate love is characterized by high levels of sexual desire and activity. bezikus/Shutterstock.

Figure 8.4 Companionate love reflects a deep emotional connection that tends to be enduring. MilanMarkovic78/Shutterstock.

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Robert Sternbergs (1986) Triangular Theory. The idea behind this theory is that love con- sists of three distinct components. First, we have passion, the motivational dimension. Passion encompasses physical attraction and sexual desire, and it is what distinguishes romantic love from the love that we might feel toward our family and friends. Second is intimacy, the emo- tional dimension. Intimacy refers to our sense of bondedness and emotional connection with another person. Please note that in the context of this theory, intimacy does not refer to phys- ical closeness; rather, it refers to emotional closeness (e.g., sharing personal information, giving and receiving support). Finally, we have commitment, the cognitive dimension. Commitment refers to our conscious decision to maintain a relationship over time, for better or for worse.

Consistent with our previous discussion of passionate love, Sternberg believes that passion tends to build up quickly, reach a peak, and then gradually decline. To compensate for the loss of passion, intimacy and commitment may come in, and when they do, the relationship is likely to survive. If no such compensation occurs, however, the relationship will dissolve rather quickly.

The Triangular Theory posits that passion, intimacy, and commitment exist to varying degrees in a given relationship. Depending upon the unique combination of components, we can experience a number of different forms of love. Specifically, this theory specifies eight varieties of love, which can be seen in Table8.1. One of the nice things about this theory is that it helps to explain why there is so much variability in how people define love. In addition, it provides a conceptual basis for distinguishing between the kinds of love we feel for romantic partners and for other people in our lives (e.g., friends and family). In this theory, the ideal form of romantic love is known as consummate love, in which passion, intimacy, and commitment are present simultaneously. This is the kind of love most of us dream of, but it is extremely dif- ficult to achieve and maintain.

Sternbergs theory is called the Triangular Theory for a reason. Specifically, Sternberg views each person as having a unique love triangle (and no, this is not the type of love triangle you might see on a soap opera where three people are in love but not all of those feelings are recip- rocated). Your love triangle (see Figure8.5) is the relative amount of passion, intimacy, and commitment you have in your relationship. However, within a given relationship, the partners triangles may or may not overlap very well because the overall size of the triangle and each of the angles may be different (e.g., one person may be more committed or passionate than the other). The better the match between two peoples triangles, the more satisfied they are likely to be together.

Table 8.1 Sternbergs eight varieties of love.

Type of love Passion? Intimacy? Commitment? Example

Nonlove No No No Acquaintances Liking No Yes No Close friends Infatuation Yes No No Crushes Empty love No No Yes Some arranged marriages Fatuous love Yes No Yes Long-distance relationships Romantic love Yes Yes No Friends with benefits Companionate love No Yes Yes Long-term, happy couples Consummate love Yes Yes Yes Epic romances

Source: Sternberg (1988).

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John Lees Styles of Loving An alternative perspective on love was provided by John Lee (1977). Whereas Sternberg focused on describing certain types of love, Lees emphasis was on individual differences in how people approach love. Specifically, Lee argues that people can have one of six love styles:

1) The Romantic love style is characterized by being hopelessly romantic (as depicted in films such as Pretty Woman and The Notebook). These are people who have a tendency to take great pleasure in their partners physical appearance and often fall in love at first sight.

2) The Altruistic love style is characterized by selflessness and unconditional love. Such per- sons are generous, self-sacrificing, and faithful.

3) The Pragmatic love style refers to a very rational and practical approach to love, in which people look for partners who are likely to be compatible. Sometimes known as the shopping list love style, the emphasis here is not on finding passion so much as the best life partner.

4) The Game-Playing love style emphasizes a more casual and uncommitted approach to love. Game players take great delight in the act of seduction and view marriage as the ultimate trap. Such individuals may not be fazed by a break-up, and they may not think twice about committing infidelity.

5) The Companionate love style is an approach to love that begins with friendship and even- tually transitions into a very peaceful, affectionate, and enduring form of love. These are people who want their lover to be their best friend.

6) The Possessive love style (or as I call it, the Fatal Attraction approach) is characterized by very intense, obsessive love relationships in which it is very easy to reach emotional highs and lows. Such individuals can be insecure, jealous, and unstable, and they tend to see sex as a form of emotional reassurance.

In Lees view, no single love style is better or worse than any of the others. Instead, what matters when it comes to relationship success is the match between the partners approaches. As you might imagine, major mismatches (e.g., game-players paired with possessives) are unlikely to be successful. Research has revealed sex differences in love styles (Hendrick & Hendrick, 1986). College-age men are more likely to adopt the game-playing and romantic approaches, whereas women are more likely to adopt the pragmatic, possessive, and compan- ionate styles. Such findings could be interpreted as evidence of evolutionary theorists conten- tion that men tend to be more focused on looks and casual relationships, whereas women are more focused on finding a long-term, reliable partner. What is your love style? Visit the Your Sexuality8.1 box to find out.

Passion Commitment

Intimacy

Figure 8.5 Robert Sternberg (1988) theorizes that the triangle of love is composed of passion, intimacy, and commitment.

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The Nature of Commitment

As discussed in the context of the Triangular Theory, commitment is often defined as an individuals conscious decision to stick with a given partner over time. However, whereas Sternberg conceptualized commitment as a subcomponent of love, other psychologists have defined commitment as a separate, but overlapping construct. This makes sense because while love and commitment do have a lot in common, it remains possible to have one without the other. Another major distinction is that whereas love is a multi-faceted concept that has cogni- tive, emotional, and behavioral components, commitment is often viewed as a unitary cogni- tive construct. As a result, it is useful to consider love and commitment separately.

In this section, we will discuss commitment in the context of the Investment Model (Rusbult,1980), which is one of the most well-known and widely utilized theories of relation- ship commitment in the field of psychology. This model is based heavily on the principles of exchange theory (see Chapter1).

The Investment Model From the perspective of the Investment Model, commitment is usually measured as ones intention to persist in a given relationship over time (Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew,1998). This intention is viewed as a product of three related factors: satisfaction level, quality of alterna- tives, and investment size. Satisfaction refers to an individuals subjective evaluation of a rela- tionship. Are things going well, or are they going poorly? In order to make this determination, we consider the overall ratio of good to bad things in the relationship and evaluate it relative to some comparison level that can help to establish whether we are getting what we think we deserve. That is, we might think about whether our relationship outcomes are better or worse than those we have received in past relationships or those that our friends are receiving in their relationships. To the extent that we can make downward social comparisons (i.e., comparing ourselves to people who are worse off ), the more satisfied we are, and the more committed we tend to be.

Quality of alternatives refers to your perception of how desirable all of the other people in your dating pool currently are. Thus, we also have a comparison level for alternatives, in which we compare the outcomes in our current relationship to those we think we could be getting with someone else (e.g., could you be having more or better sex with another person?). Quality of alternatives also encompasses different relationship states with your current partner, mean- ing that we might also consider whether it would be more desirable to be friends or FWBs with our current partner rather than romantic lovers. The more desirable these other options appear, the less committed we are.

Finally, investments refer to everything we have put into our relationship over time that would be lost or decreased in value were our current relationship to end. Investments can be tangible (e.g., material objects, money) or intangible (e.g., shared memories, time and effort) in nature. As more investments are made, couples become tied together because starting a new relationship could mean losing certain things (e.g., homes, cars, custody of children) and deal- ing with a number of complications (e.g., figuring out which friends you get to keep). Thus, the more invested a couple is, the more committed they tend to be.

There is a vast amount of research showing that people are most committed when they are highly satisfied, perceive few alternatives, and have many investments (Le & Agnew,2003). In addition, commitment strengthens a relationship by encouraging pro-relationship behavior (e.g., willingness to sacrifice your own interest for the sake of your partner; Van Lange et al.,1997). This, in turn, makes it more likely that the relationship will remain intact over time.

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Your Sexuality 8.1 What is Your Love Style?

How do you typically approach love? To figure out your own love style, please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements while thinking about your current romantic relationship or the most recent person with whom you were romantically involved. Please use a response scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).

Love Style A _____ My partner and I were attracted to each other immediately after we first met. _____ My partner fits my ideal standards for physical beauty/handsomeness. _____ My partner and I have the right physical chemistry between us.

Love Style B _____ I try to keep my partner a little uncertain about my commitment to him/her. _____ I believe that what my partner does not know about me wont hurt him/her. _____ When my partner gets too dependent on me, I want to back off a little.

Love Style C _____ I expect to always be friends with my partner. _____ Our love is really a deep friendship, not a mysterious, mystical emotion. _____ Our friendship merged gradually into love over time.

Love Style D _____ I considered what my partner was going to become in life before I committed myself to

him/her. _____ In choosing my partner, I believe it was best to love someone with a similar background. _____ A main consideration in choosing my partner was how he/she would reflect on my family.

Love Style E _____ When things are not right with my partner and me, my stomach gets upset. _____ Sometimes I get so excited about being in love with my partner that I cannot sleep. _____ I cannot relax if I suspect that my partner is with someone else.

Love Style F _____ I would rather suffer myself than let my partner suffer. _____ Whatever I own is my partners to use as he/she chooses. _____ I am usually willing to sacrifice my own wishes to let my partner achieve his/hers.

Now go through and tally your scores for each section. Please note that love style A = romantic, B = game-playing, C = companionate, D = pragmatic, E = possessive, and F = altruistic. Which scores are your highest and lowest? Is this consistent with how you have approached romantic and sexual relationships in general, or do you tend to act differently with different partners? Please keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers to any of the above questions and that no single love style is better than another.

Source of love style statements: Hendrick, Hendrick, & Dicke. Jhsri g hf hcS g iod Plrahi g lg aShiaeSia, 15, 147 159, 1998 by Clyde Hendrick, Susan S. Hendrick, and Amy Dicke. Reprinted by Permission of SAGE.

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This model has been used to explain commitment across many types of relationships, includ- ing same-sex and different-sex couples (Le & Agnew, 2003; Lehmiller 2010), but also more casual types of relationships, such as FWBs (VanderDrift et al.,2012). One final note about the Investment Model is that, in general, satisfaction tends to be the strongest predictor of commitment (Le & Agnew,2003). However, some factors may be more or less important in certain relationships. For instance, women in abusive relationships often report being com- mitted to their partners not because they are satisfied, but because they do not believe they have anywhere else to go (i.e., they may have very poor alternatives; Rusbult & Martz,1995). Likewise, people in sexless marriages may be highly dissatisfied with their sex lives, yet remain in their relationships because they are raising children together, have financial security, and share a long history with many great memories (i.e., they are highly highly invested; Donnelly & Burgess,2008). Thus, this model is particularly valuable from the standpoint that it can help us to understand why people remain in both good and bad relationships.

Varieties of Loving and Committed Relationships

When asked to generate a real-life example of a loving and committed relationship, more often than not, people will point to some heterosexual married couple they know. The reason for this is because heterosexuality (Herek, 2000), monogamy (Conley, Moors, Matsick, & Zie- gler,2013), and marriage (Thornton & Young-DeMarco,2001) tend to be held up as the ideal relationship characteristics in most societies around the world. However, relationships are far more diverse than this. Below, we consider just a few dimensions on which loving and commit- ted relationships vary and explore some of the characteristics associated with those relation- ships. Specifically, we will consider relationships that differ in terms of sexual orientation, views on monogamy, and decision to cohabit or get married.

Figure 8.6 Making comparisons to couples that appear to be worse off (e.g., couples who fight all of the time) can make you feel better about your own relationship. Cathy Yeulet/123RF.COM.

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Different-Sex vs. Same-Sex Although same-sex couples can be found in most cultures and societies throughout the world, acceptance of these relationships varies considerably. Some cultures are more tolerant and offer government-sanctioned relationship recognition to same-sex partners; however, the legal name applied to such relationships (marriage, civil union, or domestic partnership) and the rights that go along with those relationship labels differ. Currently, relatively few societies offer full marriage equality to people of all sexualities, but this has changed dra- matically in recent years. For a list of countries that recognize same-sex marriage nationwide, see Table8.2.

There are a number of common myths and misconceptions about same-sex couples. For instance, as noted in Chapter 6, same-sex couples do not typically adopt strict roles of husband and wife; rather, they are more inclined to establish equality and power-sharing (Kurdek,1998). There is also a common assumption that same- and different-sex relationships operate in fundamentally different ways, but the reality is that they are far more similar than they are different (Kurdek,2004). Moreover, same-sex couples tend to be just as satisfied with and committed to their partners as different-sex couples, which indicates that overall relation- ship health and quality is similar across sexualities (Lehmiller & Agnew,2006). That said, some research has found that same-sex couples tend to break up more frequently than different-sex couples (Kurdek, 1998); however, part of the reason for this likely stems from the fact that same-sex couples are less likely to have the option of legal marriage (Lehmiller,2010). The lack of institutional and social support for same-sex relationships coupled with a less complicated exit strategy (i.e., no need for a messy divorce) would appear to be plausible explanations for the higher breakup rate.

Figure 8.7 The degree to which same-sex relationships are socially accepted varies substantially across cultures. dmbaker/123RF.COM.

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Monogamous vs. Non-monogamous In the modern Western world, monogamous relationships are the norm, and they tend to be viewed very positively. In fact, research has found that a halo effect surrounds monogamy, with people perceiving that this practice promotes not only strong commitment, but also health and other benefits; in contrast, non-monogamy of all types (consensual and nonconsenseual) is socially stigmatized, and people who practice it are viewed in a very negative light (Conley et al.,2013). Survey data utilizing online convenience samples has found that about 5% of par- ticipants say that they are currently practicing some form of consensual non-monogamy (i.e., they have an explicit agreement with their partner that the pursuit of sexual and/or romantic relationships with other people is acceptable; Rubin et al., 2014); however, far more people appear to have tried it before. In a national US survey in which participants were asked whether they had ever been in any kind of sexually open relationship, approximately 21% reported that they had (Haupert et al.,2016). Please note that consensual non-monogamy is distinct from infidelity, and that people who practice consensual non-monogamy do not necessarily endorse or approve of cheating. In fact, consensual non-monogamy is sometimes referred to as ethical non-monogamy, because the people who practice it are usually strong proponents of being open and honest with all parties involved.

Table 8.2 Countries that recognize same-sex marriage nationwide and year of legalization.

Same-sex marriage performed nationwide Year of legalization

Argentina 2010 Belgium 2003 Brazil 2013 Canada 2005 Colombia 2016 Denmark 2012 England and Wales 2013 Finland 2015 France 2013 Greenland 2015 Iceland 2010 Ireland 2015 Luxembourg 2014 The Netherlands 2000 New Zealand 2013 Norway 2009 Portugal 2010 Scotland 2014 South Africa 2006 Spain 2005 Sweden 2009 United States 2015 Uruguay 2013

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Consensual non-monogamy can take many forms, including open relationships, swinging, polygamy, and polyamory. Open relationships refer to couples who have a relational home base with one another, but have the ability to pursue other intimate relationships at the same time. The way open relationships work varies. Some couples require full disclosure of any out- side sexual activities, and others adopt a dont ask, dont tell policy. Some couples only play together (e.g., by having the occasional threesome or fourgy), while others may pursue out- side relationships on their own, which may be one-time sexual encounters, ongoing FWBs, or perhaps something even more intimate. Related to this is swinging (formerly known as wife swapping), a sexual practice in which married couples swap partners for an afternoon or even- ing. This may occur in sex clubs, at private parties, or through online arrangements.

Polygamy refers to a form of marriage featuring multiple spouses. Scientists have reported that polygamy is permissible in 84% of human cultures; in most of those cultures, however, only a small minority of individuals practice it (Fisher,1992). There are two variants of polygamy: polygyny, an arrangement in which one man has multiple wives, and polyandry, an arrange- ment in which one woman has multiple husbands. Polygyny tends to be the more common variation, although both forms are explicitly outlawed in the United States and in a number of other countries. Both polygyny and polyandry have been argued to be evolutionarily adaptive practices at times. In polygyny, the potential evolutionary benefits for men are obvious: multi- ple female partners ensure a greater number of offspring carrying a mans genes. In polyandry, the proposed evolutionary benefits include protection against having just one partner who could potentially have a gene defect, as well as promoting sperm competition (i.e., survival of the fittest) in the fertilization of ova (for a review of these and other theories, see Cornell & Tregenza,2007).

Finally, we have polyamory, which refers to the practice of having multiple sexual and/or romantic partners simultaneously. It is distinct from polygamy in the sense that someone who is polyamorous may or may not be married. It is also distinct from swinging and open relation- ships in the sense that within polyamory, the emphasis is generally not on recreational sex so

Figure 8.8 An infinity symbol encased within a heart is often used to symbolize polyamory, or the idea that it is possible to love multiple persons simultaneously. Ratatosk (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 Germany (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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much as on building intimate relationships. Polyamory is a term that means different things to different people. Some people consider it to be a type of relationship, whereas others categorize it as a relationship orientation (kind of like a sexual orientation). The one thing that is clear across all of the different definitions and views of polyamory is that being polyamorous means believing that exclusivity of both an intimate and sexual nature is not a necessary precursor to love and commitment.

Consensual non-monogamy and its various permutations have been largely overlooked in psychological research. As a result, relatively little is known about them and how they compare to monogamous relationships. What little research exists suggests that people in consensually non-monogamous relationships tend to have levels of relationship quality similar to monoga- mists (Rubel & Bogaert,2015), with some studies reporting that people in non-monogamous relationships are happier in certain ways. For instance, a national US survey of 1,092 swingers found that they reported being happier in their marriages than couples in traditional marriages (Bergstrand & Blevins Williams,2000). This same study revealed that the majority of swing- ers (62.2%) said that swinging improved their relationships; the remainder said it had no effect (35.6%) or that it made them less happy (1.7%). Of course, this is not to say that swinging would necessarily be good for all couples, and it could be that there was a major selection effect in this study (e.g., perhaps people who swing are less jealous than average, or perhaps when swinging has a negative effect it leads to a speedy divorce). However, one theoretical reason that could potentially account for why persons in consensually non-monogamous relationships might be happier in certain respects is the so-called Coolidge Effect. The basic idea here is that as we become more familiar with a given sexual stimulus, our arousal habituates or lessens. For example, when someone has sex with the same partner in the same way over and over again, their interest in sex tends to decline. However, sexual desire can be reawakened through nov- elty in the form of new sexual activities and/or partners. Consensual non-monogamy is there- fore one way of fending off the habituation of desire because introducing new sexual partners helps to keep things fresh and interesting. In case you are wondering where the Coolidge Effect got its name, it comes from a humorous anecdote about a visit to a chicken farm by former US President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace:

Mrs. Coolidge, observing the vigor with which one particularly prominent rooster covered hen after hen, asked the guide to make certain that the President took note of the roosters behavior. When President Coolidge got to the hen yard, the rooster was pointed out and his exploits recounted by the guide, who added that Mrs. Coolidge had requested that the President be made aware of the roosters prowess. The president reflected for a moment and replied, Tell Mrs. Coolidge that there is more than one hen. (Hatfield & Walster, 1978)

Although many people argue that monogamy is inherently safe and non-monogamy is unsafe, this may not be accurate. Yes, non-monogamous individuals typically report a greater number of lifetime sexual partners, and studies suggest that more partners usually means a higher risk of sexual infections (Levinson, Jaccard, & Beamer,1995). However, the sexual health disparity between monogamous and non-monogamous individuals may not be as wide as it first seems. In fact, in a study comparing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) between people who had made monogamy agreements with a partner and those who had not, no dif- ference was found in reports of having ever had an STI (Lehmiller,2015)! What accounts for this counterintuitive finding? For one thing, it appears that people who are consensually non- monogamous take more sexual precautions. In this study, they had higher rates of condom use, engaged in more sexual communication, and were more likely to have been tested for STIs com- pared to persons who had made monogamy agreements. It is also important to note that a lot of

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the folks who had made monogamy agreements ended up cheating. As we will see later in this chapter, such behavior is not rare. Moreover, people who cheat are not usually practicing safe sex with any of their partners and they tend to keep their indiscretions secret, thereby creating an opportunity to spread infections to an unknowing partner. In light of these results, it seem that while monogamy is safe in theory, it may not be as safe as it is assumed to be in practice.

Married vs. Cohabiting One other dimension on which loving and committed relationships vary is in the partners decision to get married or to live together without a formal legal bond (i.e., to cohabit). Mar- riage is an institution that exists in most, but not all societies to serve purposes ranging from the practical (e.g., defining inheritance rights) to the romantic (e.g., achieving personal happi- ness and fulfillment). However, the precise function of marriage differs widely across cultures. For instance, in some Eastern cultures (e.g., India and China), the practice of arranged mar- riage is common, in which two sets of parents will join their children for pragmatic reasons (e.g., shared religion, reputation, consolidation of wealth). The children may have no or only limited say in who their partner will be. In contrast, the more individualistic cultures of the West consider marriage more a matter of individual choice, and religion may or may not factor into it at all. Interestingly, in a study comparing the marital satisfaction of persons from India who were in arranged marriages to persons from the United States who were in marriages of personal choice, no differences in satisfaction were found (Myers, Madathil, & Tingle,2005). Thus, it is not necessarily the case that being able to select the partner of your choosing ensures a happier relationship.

Worldwide, the marriage rate has declined in recent years, whereas the number of couples who cohabit or seek to define their relationships in other ways has increased (Cohn, Passel,

Figure 8.9 In collectivistic cultures such as India, the practice of arranged marriage is common: the needs of the family and community are given greater weight than the needs of the individual. Deborah Kolb/123RF. COM.

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Wang, & Livingston,2011). Part of the reason for this is because marriage is no longer viewed as a permanent (i.e., till death do us part) institution. Given the high divorce rate and the fact that dissolving a marriage can be unpleasant, expensive, and time-consuming, people are increasingly opting to cohabit before marriage as a trial period or because they wish to create legal bonds that are more easily broken in the event the relationship crumbles. For instance, many heterosexual couples in France are opting for civil unions over marriages because civil unions (originally designed for Frances same-sex couples) offer many of the same rights and privileges of full marriage, but can be entered and exited far more easily (Sayare & de la Baume,2010).

Is the trend away from marriage and toward cohabitation and less restrictive legal arrange- ments a good thing? It depends which outcome variables you consider because each relation- ship type has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. For instances, different-sex couples who cohabit tend to have more equality in their relationships and are less likely to subscribe to the traditional gender role beliefs of male breadwinners and female housewives compared to those who are married (Blackwell & Lichter,2000). Cohabitation also makes it easier to end the relationship because no divorce is typically required (unless you live in a state or country that offers common-law marriage, in which a couple that lives together for a set amount of time is automatically viewed as married in the eyes of the government; however, this is rare). Of course, the downside of cohabitation is that it offers fewer legal rights and protections to the partners (e.g., if one partner passes away, the surviving partner is not necessarily entitled to the entire estate and, even if it is inherited, a steep tax bill may be due, unlike married couples). In addition, couples who cohabit before marriage report lower marital quality (Jose, OLeary, & Moyer,2010). Although it was previously thought that cohabiting with someone before mar- riage increased risk of divorce, it now appears that a higher likelihood of divorce only occurs among individuals who have had prior experience moving in and out with multiple partners. This makes sense because if someone has dissolved several marital-like relationships in the past, they will likely have fewer hesitations about ending an actual marriage.

Regardless of whether a couple cohabits or gets married, one advantage offered by both rela- tionship arrangements is enhanced health. Specifically, research has found that people who are in long-term relationships tend to have better physical and psychological health than those who are single (Musick & Bumpass,2012). It was originally thought that these health benefits were unique to marriage, but more recent studies have found that the effects extend to cohab- iting partners as well. The one caveat to this is that the health effects of being partnered are typically much greater for men than they are for women (Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton,2001). We cannot say exactly why, but it likely has something to do with the fact that women typically have many sources of social and emotional support outside of their primary romantic relationship whereas men often do not.

Why Do Some Relationships Succeed While Others Fail?

To round out this chapter, we will discuss some of the characteristics associated with good relationships, and those that are linked to relationship difficulties.

Characteristics of Good Relationships

What can you do to enhance the quality of your own sexual and romantic relationships? Psy- chologists have identified several features of high-functioning relationships. Attempting to model these attributes in your own relationship may enhance satisfaction for both you and your partner(s).

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Positive Communication Psychologist John Gottman has studied married couples extensively and has found that the way couples communicate during conflict situations is a potent predictor of relationship success. In one of his most well-known studies, Gottman (1994) videotaped hundreds of married couples discussing a problem area in their relationship. These couples were then tracked over time to see which ones stayed together. The strongest predictor of whether a given relationship suc- ceeded or failed was the ratio of positive to negative comments that emerged during the inter- action. Specifically, those couples who expressed at least five positive comments for every one negative comment were the most likely to survive; couples who expressed negative comments more frequently often headed to an early divorce. This research revealed a few other important communication patterns. For instance, breakup rates were higher among couples who engaged in more defensive behaviors (e.g., making excuses or failing to take responsibility) and when male partners engaged in stone-walling (i.e., appearing indifferent or showing no emotional response to their female partners concerns). Although this research focused on married het- erosexual couples, Gottmans work on same-sex couples has yielded similar findings about the importance of positive communication (Gottman et al.,2003).

Healthy Sexuality Positive communication during conflict is one important factor in relationship health, but it is just as important for that positive communication to carry over into the bedroom, because partners who communicate more about sex in general and during the act itself tend to be more sexually satisfied (Babin,2013). This is not particularly surprising, because people who are comfortable talking about sex are more likely to give their partners direction, discuss their sexual fantasies, and inquire about their partners needs. The keys to effective sexual com- munication are (1) listening to your partners needs and concerns (perhaps even by repeating their concerns back in your own words or asking clarifying questions to ensure that you have understood), (2) expressing your own needs and concerns in very clear and unambiguous lan- guage (i.e., do not leave any room for guesswork), and (3) keeping the conversation positive

Figure 8.10 Communicating about sex appears to enhance sexual satisfaction. Dmitriy Shironosov/123RF. COM.

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We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment Help Service Works

1. Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2. Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3. Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4. Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

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What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

What if I don’t like the paper?

Reasons being:

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

What if the paper is plagiarized?

When will I get my paper?

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

How our Assignment Help Service Works

1. Place an order

2. Pay for the order

3. Track the progress

4. Download the paper

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