Expanding me, loving us: self-expansion preferences, experiences, and romantic relationship commitment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Self-expansion is a process through which people increase the size of their self-concept by incorporating novel content into their sense of identity. Greater self-expansion predicts positive outcomes for individuals and romantic relationships. However, there are individual differences in the motivation to self-expand. In the present research, we predicted that the experience of relational self-expansion would be associated with relationship commitment most strongly for people who were more motivated to self-expand. We found support for this hypothesis across three studies (total N = 686), with an online sample of individuals in relationships and two dyadic samples, using both cross-sectional and longitudinal methods. This research suggests that those who are motivated by personal self-expansion and experience self-expansion in their relationships are especially romantically committed.