Abstract
Previous research has shown that romantic relationships can lead to the cognitive inclusion of a romantic partner into one’s own self-representation, resulting in blurred boundaries between self and intimate other. Recent work suggests that this self-other integration process encompasses the two dimensions of the self–the conceptual and the bodily self. In line with this, it has been proposed that romantic love is associated with cognitive states that blur or reduce the saliency of self-boundaries in the bodily domain. The present study tested this hypothesis by investigating the influence of the self-other integration process in romantic love on passability judgments of door-like apertures, an action-anticipation task that rests on the representation of bodily boundaries. Romantically involved and single participants estimated whether they could pass through apertures of different widths. Moreover, inclusion of romantic partner in the self was assessed using the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) scale. The pattern of correlation and the ratio between participants’ shoulder width and aperture judgments did not differ between romantically involved participants and singles. However, our results revealed that in romantically involved participants, the relationship between individuals’ shoulder width and aperture judgements was moderated by IOS scores. A greater inclusion of romantic partner in the self was associated with a weaker prediction of aperture judgment by participants’ shoulder width. A similar moderating effect of the intensity of romantic feelings (as measured by the passionate love scale) on shoulder width-aperture judgment relationship was found. IOS scores, but not romantic feelings, also moderated aperture judgments made for another individual (third person perspective). Together, these findings are consistent with the view that inclusion of romantic partner in the self triggers cognitive states affecting self-boundaries in the bodily domain.
Highlights
Romantic love, defined as a “state of intense longing for union with another” [1, p.5], is a fundamental drive associated with specific behavioral and psychological traits that differentiate it from other types of love such as companionate love or maternal love [2,3,4,5]
It is assumed that a major opportunity for self-expansion is provided by romantic relationships in which the self expands through the cognitive inclusion of the romantic partner in the self, such that the partner’s resources, perspectives, and identities, are to some extent experienced as one’s own [7,11,15,16]
There is accumulating evidence that romantic love blurs self-partner boundaries in the bodily domain [30,48,54]. Completing this view, it has been proposed that romantically involved individuals show a reduced saliency of self-boundaries in the bodily domain, in a way that is compatible with self-other integration [52]
Summary
Romantic (passionate) love, defined as a “state of intense longing for union with another” [1, p.5], is a fundamental drive associated with specific behavioral and psychological traits that differentiate it from other types of love such as companionate love or maternal love [2,3,4,5]. Central to the current research is the “including the other in the self” approach to close relationships, which suggests that individuals incorporate aspects of their romantic partner into their own self-representation, creating overlapping cognitive structures of self and partner [7,10,11,12]. This approach first rests on the premise that individuals have a fundamental motivation to expand their sense of self in order to increase their potential efficacy, so that they seek opportunities to acquire new perspectives, resources, and identities [13,14]. Romantic love would involve the successful inclusion of the other in the self [12]
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