Sternberg's Triangle Of Love Essay

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Interpersonal relationships can take many forms and develop from multiple different factors. For example, Pat Solitano and Tiffany Maxwell, two characters from the movie Silver Linings Playbook, seem to have developed consummate love – a combination of all three factors in Sternberg’s triangle of love theory, which are passion, intimacy, and commitment (Aronson, p. 390-91). Their relationship developed over the course of the movie, starting from a little passion or physical attractiveness, growing into a somewhat dysfunctional form of an exchange relationship with hints of jealousy as well as self-disclosure, into the consummate love that is seen at the end of the movie. The two characters start to develop intimacy, passion, and commitment …show more content…

Pat ends up asking Tiffany on what seemed to be a date after she expressed her desire to be friends, where the two engage in mutual self-disclosure, and Tiffany ends up offering to take Nikki, Pat’s wife, a letter. However, this soon ends when Tiffany concludes that Pat is saying that she is crazier than him. Their openness and mutual self-disclosure deteriorates, she retracts the offer to help, and trashes the diner table before storming out. She also shows jealousy towards Nikki, both in her cold demeanor while discussing the letter and during the dance competition when she begins drinking with another guy upon realizing Nikki was there and when she runs out of the building after seeing Pat whisper into Nikki’s ear. However, their relationship continues to develop in a more positive way despite these …show more content…

They begin to spend more time together while practicing for the dance competition, and commitment – one of the three factors in the triangle of love theory- begins to develop (Aronson, p. 391). Pat tries to reach a compromise with his father once he realizes that a football game lands on the same day he and Tiffany planned to practice a big dance move. While practicing the dance move, Pat reads the first letter from Nikki, which Tiffany actually wrote. In it is how Tiffany feels about Pat, and Tiffany says that the “something” the letter was referring to could be their romantic dance move, and that it could be for Nikki. However, since Tiffany actually wrote this letter, she was implying that it could be for herself or them, not for Nikki. Once Pat realizes Tiffany deceived him and was the one to write the letter he does not get mad, surprisingly. This could indicate a change of heart, and that he has developed romantic feelings for Tiffany that are now obvious to the viewer. While walking into the dance competition, the two of them begin to hold hands; both thought the other initiated it, and continued to hold hands, showing the continuously developing intimacy and passion between

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