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Can You Get the Magic Back? The Moderating Effect of Passion Decay Beliefs on Relationship Commitment

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Abstract

The present research introduces the construct of a decay theory of passion—a lay belief that romantic passion decline is irreversible—and investigates how this construct interacts with existing levels of passion for one’s romantic partner to predict lower relationship commitment and greater pursuit of romantic alternatives. Across three studies employing experimental and nonexperimental procedures—and a set of meta-analytic syntheses including additional studies—results generally supported the hypotheses that, although low passion is linked to lower commitment and greater pursuit of romantic alternatives, such effects are stronger when adherence to decay beliefs is high rather than low. These effects tended to be independent of effects of destiny and growth theories (Knee, 1998), a related set of lay theories in the domain of relationships. Mediated moderation analyses revealed that the moderating effect of decay theories on relationship commitment mediates the moderating effect of decay theories on the link between low passion and the pursuit of romantic alternatives. Discussion addresses the possibility that changing one’s beliefs surrounding the nature of romantic passion may be an important, but previously overlooked, means for preventing one from prematurely abandoning an otherwise satisfying relationship.
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS AND GROUP PROCESSES
Can You Get the Magic Back? The Moderating Effect of Passion Decay
Beliefs on Relationship Commitment
Kathleen L. Carswell and Eli J. Finkel
Northwestern University
The present research introduces the construct of a decay theory of passion—a lay belief that romantic passion
decline is irreversible—and investigates how this construct interacts with existing levels of passion for one’s
romantic partner to predict lower relationship commitment and greater pursuit of romantic alternatives. Across
three studies employing experimental and nonexperimental procedures—and a set of meta-analytic syntheses
including additional studies—results generally supported the hypotheses that, although low passion is linked
to lower commitment and greater pursuit of romantic alternatives, such effects are stronger when adherence
to decay beliefs is high rather than low. These effects tended to be independent of effects of destiny and growth
theories (Knee, 1998), a related set of lay theories in the domain of relationships. Mediated moderation
analyses revealed that the moderating effect of decay theories on relationship commitment mediates the
moderating effect of decay theories on the link between low passion and the pursuit of romantic alternatives.
Discussion addresses the possibility that changing one’s beliefs surrounding the nature of romantic passion
may be an important, but previously overlooked, means for preventing one from prematurely abandoning an
otherwise satisfying relationship.
Keywords: alternatives, commitment, implicit theories, lay beliefs, passion
Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000147.supp
“There lives within the very flame of love / A kind of wick or snuff
that will abate it.”
—Hamlet, 4.7.112–113
Can romantic passion, once lost, recover? Depending on your
answer to this question, you might envision very different futures
for a relationship that has lost some of its initial fire. Passion for
one’s partner is an important predictor of commitment and deci-
sions to marry and divorce, and it is negatively linked to pursuit of
romantic alternatives (Allgeier & Wiederman, 1991;Drigotas,
Safstrom, & Gentilia, 1999;Gigy & Kelly, 1993;Gonzaga, Kelt-
ner, Londahl, & Smith, 2001;Hendrick & Hendrick, 2002;Le-
wandowski & Ackerman, 2006;Simpson, Campbell, & Berscheid,
1986). Given the cultural importance placed on the experience of
passion in major relationship decisions (Hatfield, Rapson, & Mar-
tel, 2007), experiencing a lack of romantic passion may be a
harbinger of relationship doom in contemporary Western cultures,
especially if this lack of passion is not expected to improve.
Not everybody should be equally vulnerable to the adverse
relationship effects of experiencing low passion, however. In the
present research, we test the hypothesis that believing that a
decline in passion for one’s partner is irreversible, which we refer
to as a decay belief (or decay lay theory) of passion, moderates the
commitment-eroding effects of low passion. We also test the
hypothesis that this moderating effect of decay beliefs on commit-
ment predicts an increased likelihood of pursuing alternative rela-
tionships to compensate for the lack of passion.
The Associations of Romantic Passion With Relationship
Commitment and (Reduced) Pursuit of Alternatives
Romantic passion refers to “an intense longing for union with
the other” (Hatfield & Walster, 1978, p. 9). Both cultural and
evolutionary perspectives suggest that passionate love is positively
linked to relationship commitment and negatively linked to pursuit
of romantic alternatives. In Western cultures, passion for a roman-
Editor’s Note. Jeffry A. Simpson served as the action editor for this
article. —KK
This article was published Online First September 20, 2018.
Kathleen L. Carswell and Eli J. Finkel, Department of Psychology, and
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
This research was supported in part by a fellowship from the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a Graduate
Research Grant from Northwestern University to Kathleen L. Carswell.
The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the SSHRC. The authors thank
Christine Daly, Alyssa Rodriguez, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Jamie Ramsey,
Mark Fishman, Priscilla Chan, Rachel Traisman, and Serena Patel for their
assistance with data collection.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kathleen
L. Carswell, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Swift Hall
Room 405, Evanston, IL 60208-2710. E-mail: Kathleen-Carswell@u
.northwestern.edu
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology:
Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes
© 2018 American Psychological Association 2018, Vol. 115, No. 6, 1002–1033
0022-3514/18/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000147
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