So Far, So Good: Scripts for Romantic Relationship Development as Predictors of Relational Well-Being

We hypothesized that relationship well-being will be higher if: (i) individuals' relationships are developing in the way they think relationships typically should; and (ii) individuals agree with their partners on how relationships in general, as well as their own relationship, should develop. Thirty dating couples were asked to sort a set of 51 dating events based on the past and future development of their own relationship (personal relationship script), and based on their conceptions of how relationships typically develop (normative relationship script). They then completed six measures of relationship well-being. Correspondence between personal and normative scripts, and agreement between partners on personal scripts, predicted several measures of relationship well-being for both sexes. Partner agreement on normative scripts was not important in this sample.