Abstract:
Romantic films have impacted popular culture with famous scenes and quotable lines that fuel fans’ expectations for their own relationships. With the increase of streaming services, romantic media is more accessible. Because of this, it is important to understand how idealistic or realistic romances affect romantic beliefs. Because of its effect on relationships, it is also important to examine how attachment might moderate romantic beliefs. In the current study, I examined whether viewing an idealistic or a realistic short film would affect romantic beliefs and whether attachment relates to romantic beliefs. The results show no significant difference in romantic beliefs between the two film conditions, although avoidance, but not anxiety, was a significant predictor of romantic beliefs. Overall, the results of the current study show no significant difference in romantic beliefs between the idealistic and realistic films, but there was a statistically significant correlation between avoidance attachment and romantic beliefs.
Keywords: romantic beliefs, avoidant attachment, anxious attachment, idealistic romance, realistic romance, romantic short films
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