Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Principle of Least Interest
I found the theory of the principle of least interest very thought provoking. I began to consider my own relationship and find examples that verify this idea. One such example is with socializing. I am very much a social person. I enjoy spending time with large groups of people and like having as many people around as possible. The more the merrier. However, my boyfriend is intimidated by large groups. He would much rather be in a group of 3 or 4. This causes conflicts on weekend nights when we are deciding to go out. Since he is more hesitant and has less interest in hanging out with large groups he has more power when it comes to deciding whether or not we will. This also ties in with the six sources of influence we talked about. Since I opt out of the large group setting out of respect for him I would be using referent influence. Sometimes when I really want him to just take the plunge I use the reward influence like, “If we decide on going, then you get to decide when we leave, even if we are only there for 10 minutes.” This has been an ongoing conflict in our relationship. Although we enjoy spending time together, we decided that sometimes I will just have to go to the large social gatherings without him. However, I have noticed when I give him a heads up about wanting to go and allow him to think about it for a day or two he is more willing to go along than when it is more spontaneous. As I am continually learning about relationships in this course one thing seems to stick out, it is not the content that is important, it is the process. Conflict will arise, sometimes about a reoccurring issue and sometimes a completely new one. The most important aspect is how you deal with it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment