need to belong theory - Answers a theory that says each of us is born with a fundamental drive to seek,
form, maintain & protect strong relationships
commitment - Answers a desire to stay in a relationship
emotional commitment - Answers a sense of responsibility for each other's feelings and emotional well-
being
social commitment - Answers which motivates us to spend time together, to compromise, to be
generous with praise, and to avoid petty conflict
legal & financial commitments - Answers more formal expressions of people's obligations to each other
interdependence - Answers a state in which each person's behaviors affect everyone else in the
relationship
investment - Answers the commitment of resources in our relationships
dialectical tensions - Answers conflicts between two important but opposing needs or desires
autonomy - Answers the feeling of wanting to be one's own person
connection - Answers the desire to be close to others
openness - Answers the desire for disclosure and honesty
closedness - Answers the desire to keep certain facts, thoughts, or ideas to oneself
predictability - Answers the desire for consistency and stability
novelty - Answers the desire for fresh, new experiences
denial - Answers this strategy involves responding to only one side of the tension and ignoring the other
disorientation - Answers this strategy involves escaping the tension entirely by ending the relationship
alternation - Answers going back and forth between two sides of a tension
segmentation - Answers this strategy involves dealing with one side of a tension in some aspects, or
segments, of one's relationship, and dealing with the other side of the tension using other segments
balance - Answers people who use balance as a strategy try to compromise, or find a middle ground,
between the two opposing forces of a tension
integration - Answers in this strategy, people try to develop behaviors that will satisfy both sides of a
tension simultaneously
, recalibration - Answers adopting this strategy means "reframing" a tension so that the contradiction
between opposing needs disappears
reaffirmation - Answers embracing dialectical tensions as a normal part of life
interpersonal attraction - Answers any force that draws people together to form a relationship
physical attraction - Answers attraction to someone's physical appearance
social attraction - Answers attraction to someone's personality
task attraction - Answers attraction to someone's abilities and dependability
complementary - Answers people who are different from ourselves can be as beneficial to ourselves
because they provide a quality we lack
uncertainty reduction theory - Answers a theory suggesting that people are motivated to reduce their
uncertainty about others
predicted outcome theory - Answers a theory predicting that we form relationships when we think the
effort will be worth it
approach behaviors - Answers communication behaviors that signal one's interest in getting to know
someone
avoidance behaviors - Answers communication behaviors that signal one's lack of interest in getting to
know someone
social exchange theory - Answers a theory predicting that people seek to form and maintain
relationships in which the benefits outweigh the costs
comparison level - Answers a person's realistic expectation of what the person wants and thinks he or
she deserves from a relationship
comparison level for alternatives - Answers a person's assessment of how good or bad his or her current
relationship is, compared with other options
over-benefited - Answers the state in which one's relational rewards exceed one's relational costs
under-benefited - Answers the state in which one's relational costs exceed one's relational rewards
equity theory - Answers a theory predicting that a good relationship is one in which a person's ratio of
costs and rewards is equal to that of the person's partner
relational maintenance behaviors - Answers behaviors used to maintain and strengthen personal
relationships