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Going beyond significance quest in interpersonal relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2026

Amanda Szczesniak Open the ORCID record for Amanda Szczesniak [Opens in a new window] ,
Jason Roberson  and
Catalina Kopetz
Amanda Szczesniak*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA aszcze@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/ga0457 fx0231@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/fx0231 catalina.kopetz@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/fk0862
Jason Roberson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA aszcze@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/ga0457 fx0231@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/fx0231 catalina.kopetz@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/fk0862
Catalina Kopetz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA aszcze@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/ga0457 fx0231@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/fx0231 catalina.kopetz@wayne.edu https://clasprofiles.wayne.edu/profile/fk0862
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

The tri-factorial model of love attempts to explain the motivational underpinnings of romantic love. Given how the components are defined, the model has limited falsifiability and generalizability. We argue that a broader variety of interpersonal phenomena can be better explained with a framework that considers others’ instrumentality to various goals that dynamically shift in importance.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e17
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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