Describe the reward/need satisfaction theory of relationship formation

The reward/need satisfaction of relationship formation is made up of several key points. One of these is the theory is rewards and punishments. This is the idea that we form relationships based on the principles of operant conditioning- people who make us happy we will seek out and people who make us unhappy we will avoid, as we will associate certain positive or negative feelings with them for example someone with a good sense of humour we will associate with good feelings and will be more likely to spend more time with that person and find them attractive, possibly attempting to start a relationship with them. Another element of this theory is attraction through association. This is the idea that we form relationships based on the principles of classical conditioning, in which we associate people with good feelings, and so are more likely to want to spend more time with them and start a relationship with them. For example, if two people met at a concert for their favourite band they are likely to associate each other with that positive feeling, and want to start a relationship with each other.