The Self-Expansion Model of Cognition and Emotion in Close Relationships: Implications for New Understandings of Romantic Love and Intergroup Attitudes
The self-expansion model encompasses two key ideas: 1. Self-expansion motivation: people seek to expand their ability to accomplish goals 2. Inclusion of close others in the self: a major way people seek to expand is through close relationships, in which they include an other’s resources, perspectives, and identities. Relationship research from the first idea focuses on interpersonal attraction, self-concept changes from forming or dissolving relationships, processes that support relationship engagement, and the neural correlates of romantic love. Relationship research from the inclusion idea focuses on cognitive and neural underpinnings of self-other overlap. Intergroup relations work based on the model focuses on positive desires for outgroup contact and theory and practical applications for reducing prejudice through direct and vicarious intimate intergroup contact.
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