Motivation's Involvement In Romantic Relationships

Introduction. Motivation is an underlying factor in every aspect of an individual’s life. One aspect that is of interest to researchers is motivation’s involvement in romantic relationships. In a study conducted by Blais, Sabourin, Boucher, and Vallerand (1990), the concept of self-determination theory and a newly constructed motivational model approach were examined to determine couples’ relationship satisfaction. The basic assumption of the researchers was that motivation in relationships affects the choice of partner, the quality of the relationship, and both how the relationship develops and comes to an end. The two main goals were to examine links between three major components of the motivational model, which were defined as motivational styles, perception, and happiness; and to perform an empirical test to assess the validity and generalizability of self-determination theory.
Hypotheses. There were four hypotheses that the researchers explored in this study. It was predicted that the greater the self-determination to maintain the relationship, the greater the individual’s perceptions of behavior would be. This prediction links to the second hypothesis, which was that these increased perceptions of behavior would result in greater couple happiness. Additionally, it was predicted that the six types of motivation, as defined by …show more content…
The researcher’s question of whether or not each individual’s motivation style has an impact on relationship satisfaction is a question that resonated with me for a few reasons. In an intimate relationship, each individual brings their own unique point of view, experiences, and also a way of approaching the relationship. For any type of relationship, there is either some kind of motivation to maintain the relationship, or to end it. By further understanding how motivations are connected to relationships, researchers can delve deeper into the functions of a relationship and ways to help couples in a clinical