Romanticism

Romanticism refers to a set of beliefs about the nature of love and romantic relationships, and more specifically about the characteristics of, or criteria for, an ideal relationship. These beliefs tend to emphasize the affective components of relationships and minimize or even discredit the importance of other components; as such, they are often characterized as overly idealistic, unrealistic, or even dysfunctional in nature. Romantic beliefs act as cognitive schema that are believed to be relatively persistent and form a frame of reference for attending to, interpreting, and responding to information and experiences in romantic relationships. Romanticism commonly involves the idealization of the partner and relationship, or the idea that in true love the relationship will be perfect and the partner will meet all of the individual's needs, and that such a relationship will be easy to maintain. A second common theme involves the idea that there is one perfect person in the world for everyone and/or that individuals have only one true love in their lives. Related to this theme is the idea that you will know this love at first sight, and that true love, as opposed to lesser forms of love, will last forever. A romantic view of love also seems to entail a belief that true love can find a way to overcome all obstacles; that obstacles such as cultural differences, financial instability, or parental opposition should not exert a significant influence on the success or stability of such relationships; and that overcoming such obstacles will help to strengthen the relationship. Romanticism also tends to involve the belief that love is the only legitimate basis for mate selection. Romantic beliefs often involve the intentional rejection of reason in terms of beliefs that love is a strange and incomprehensible phenomenon that cannot be scientifically understood or predicted, and that we should reject reason and rationality and “follow our hearts” in making these decisions. Romanticism may also involve the idea that you should experience a significant physiological response when in the presence of, or even just thinking about, the love object (e.g., heart racing, chills), and that this relationship should occupy a significant amount of your cognitive and emotional energy (e.g., through daydreaming, obsessive thoughts about the partner, or jealousy). In summary, there is a diverse constellation of beliefs associated with romanticism, many of which involve unrealistic or even dysfunctional components.

Romantic beliefs are proposed to develop through a variety of factors, both micro- and mac-rolevel. At the microlevel, romantic beliefs develop through the observation of others' romantic experiences (e.g., parents, peers, media representations) and through personal romantic experiences (e.g., romantic relationships, learning about relationships in classes). For example, individuals who watch more visual media (i.e., television and movies) tend to be more romantic, and those who take courses that teach students about the true nature of romantic relationships tend to be less romantic. The effects of these experiences on romanticism are thought to be strongly influenced by more macrolevel socializing agents, such as gender and culture. For example, consistent gender differences are found in romanticism, such that men tend to be more idealistic and romantic in their perspectives on love and relationships than women. There also appear to be cultural differences in romanticism, such that Americans tend to be more romantic than individuals in many other cultures examined (e.g., Korean, Chinese, Indian). It is proposed that these differences are the result of differences in broad cultural features such as the extent of individualism and gender-role norms.

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