Abstract

Depue & Morrone-Strupinsky's (D&M-S's) implicit assumption appears to be that affiliative bonding is either strengthened or maintained with time; however, it is more realistic that it can also be weakened or destroyed by conflictive interpersonal interactions. Without specifying the mechanisms by which antagonistic stimuli deteriorate affiliative bonding, the model is incapable of accounting for the dynamics associated with this complex phenomenon.