MODELING CONTROL IN RELATIONSHIPS

Recent research has identified control in interaction as an important theoretical construct in understanding relationships. This research expands on this notion by building a theoretical model of control over one's partner while dating. It is suggested that control can be understood as a compensatory process where people are most likely to control their partners when control over their environment is challenged, as it is when low mastery, low trust, or high conflict occurs in relationships. For individuals, controlling their partners serves to compensate for their perceived lack of control. Using a broad sample of college daters, the results support the idea of a compensatory process of control.