Contrary to popular belief, watching romantic-comedy movies may not necessarily cause young people to develop unrealistic expectations about love and relationships, a new study has found.
US researchers found that exposure to romantic-comedy films is not a major source for developing unrealistic expectations about relationships in young adults.
A survey of 335 undergraduate students in the Midwestern United States found no significant relationship between reporting watching romantic comedies often and belief in the ideals "love conquers all," "one and only" love (soul mate) and "love at first sight."
"These findings discredit the popular assumption that exposure to romantic comedies is a major source leading to unrealistic relational expectations among young people," said the study's principal investigator, Veronica Hefner, assistant professor of communication studies at Chapman University, Orange, California.
Hefner conducted the online questionnaire survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Barbara J Wilson.
The authors did find, however, that those viewers of romantic comedies who reported watching with the motivation to learn about relationships were slightly more likely to endorse romantic ideals overall and, in particular, the belief in "idealisation of partner."
Idealising one's partner includes believing that the partner should be flawless or will be completely accepting, loving, and understanding, according to Hefner.
Compared with exposure to romantic comedies, a stronger influence on viewers' beliefs about relationships was the reason that young people watch these popular movies, Hefner said.
"College students who reported watching romantic comedies to learn about love and relationships were more likely to endorse idealistic romantic beliefs than those who watch for other reasons. What really matters is not what you watch, but why you watch," she said.
These students were more likely to believe in idealising their partners than in romantic beliefs such as love at first sight, but Hefner pointed out that this idealisation could have a positive social influence.
Students in the study ranged in age from 18 to 26 years. Of the 335 respondents, 71 per cent were female and 29 per cent were male. The researchers found no differences in responses about romantic beliefs between men and women who responded to the survey.
The lack of a sex difference in the findings disputes another popular belief that women are the ones who are most idealistic and most influenced by romantic comedies, Hefner said.
The study was published in the National Communication Association's journal Communication Monographs.
