Cognitive and neural mechanisms of close relationship maintenance: Interactive relationships between active and automatic regulation systems

Abstract

In human societies, close monogamous relationships are prevalent, whereas clandestine extra-pair relationships are also frequently observed. The successful regulation of amorous temptation toward alternative partners could have a crucial role in stable relationship maintenance. Researchers in the fields of anthropology, social psychology, and evolutionary psychology have suggested models to describe the processes of close relationship building and maintenance. Such an intimate relationship is deeply correlated with successful species survival; thus, specific cognitive and neural mechanisms are expected to support the suppression of amorous temptation. Cognitive science researchers following this prediction have focused on active regulation and automatic regulation processes. Since the 2000s, functional magnetic resonance imaging has also been widely utilized to investigate neural mechanisms. However, the interactive relationships between the two regulation systems remain unclear. In this paper, I review the regulative processes of amorous temptation and present a hypothesis that the two regulation systems could interact to suppress temptation, depending on factors such as an alternative partner’s attractiveness and the relationship stage. Empirical approaches could enable scientists to reveal individuals’ internal cognitive processes, which has remained unclear in other fields.