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Review
. 2019 Jan 11:12:526.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00526. eCollection 2018.

Improving Relationships by Elevating Positive Illusion and the Underlying Psychological and Neural Mechanisms

Hongwen Song  1 , Yongjun Zhang  2   3 , Lin Zuo  4 , Xueli Chen  4 , Gui Cao  5 , Federico d'Oleire Uquillas  6 , Xiaochu Zhang  1   3   4   7
Affiliations
Review

Improving Relationships by Elevating Positive Illusion and the Underlying Psychological and Neural Mechanisms

Hongwen Song et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

Romantic relationships are difficult to maintain novel and exciting for long periods of time, and individuals in love are known to engage in a variety of efforts to protect and maintain their romantic relationship. How to protect and maintain these relationships more effectively has, however, plagued people, psychologists, and therapists. Intimate partners typically perceive their relationship and their partners in a positive light or bias, a phenomenon called positive illusion. Interestingly, higher levels of positive illusion between partners have been associated with a decreased risk for relationship dissolution, as well as higher satisfaction, and less conflict or doubt in relationships. These findings indicate that elevating positive illusion amongst romantic partners may be of benefit and improve romantic relationships. In the present article, we discuss solving the paradox of positive illusion. As positive illusion may have relationship-enhancing attributes, we discuss the psychological and neural mechanisms that may underlie positive illusion. By elucidating the mechanisms underlying positive illusion, we shine a spotlight on potential future directions for research that aims to improve positive illusion and thus enhance the satisfaction and longevity of romantic relationships.

Keywords: commitment; positive illusion; relationship satisfaction; relationships; romantic love.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Brain areas related to positive illusion. This image is an original schematic diagram, and the brain areas referred to previous studies (Meyer et al., ; Hughes and Beer, 2012). Definitions: dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; dMPFC, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex; vLPFC, ventrolateral prefrontal cortical regions; OFC, the orbitofrontal cortex; vACC, ventral anterior cingulate cortex.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Theoretical schematic diagram of signal processing during generation of positive illusions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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