title: Optimizing assurance: the risk regulation system in relationships.
abstract: A model of risk regulation is proposed to explain how people balance the goal of seeking closeness to a romantic partner against the opposing goal of minimizing the likelihood and pain of rejection. The central premise is that confidence in a partner's positive regard and caring allows people to risk seeking dependence and connectedness. The risk regulation system consists of 3 interconnected "if--then" contingency rules, 1 cognitive, 1 affective, and 1 behavioral. The authors describe how general perceptions of a partner's regard structure the sensitivity of these 3 "if--then" rules in risky relationship situations. The authors then describe the consequences of such situated "if--then" rules for relationship well-being and conclude by integrating other theoretical perspectives and outlining future research directions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260-4110, USA. smurray@buffalo.edu
authors.forename: Sandra L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior