Romantic Media Exposure’s Effect On Relationship Beliefs And Expectations

In modern American societies, media exposure has been increasing over time, imposing possible negative side effects (Crone & Konijn, 2018). Exposure to romantic movie media may be influential to persuading a person's beliefs as well as their relationship satisfaction (Vannier & O’Sullivan, 2017). Inconsistencies regarding interpersonal relationships when compared to romantic movie media may lead to levels of dissatisfaction (Gala & Ghadivali, 2020). Due to previous findings, romantic movie media may enforce unrealistic and idealized beliefs (Hefner et al, 2017; Hefner & Kretz, 2021). Exposure to portrayals of relationships in movies could reinforce ideals such as “love as the key to happiness” (Hefner et al., 2017; Timmermans & Coenen, 2019). Using experimental methods, this study works towards expanding upon previous research focusing on romantic Disney film exposures to assess the effect on someone's romantic belief and satisfaction levels.