This article explores the narratives that individuals construct about their romantic partners. The authors believe that individuals weave stories that encapsulate or defuse negativity, such as evidence of an intimate's faults. Such storytelling essentially masks feelings of uncertainty engendered by the specter of negativity and thus bolsters felt confidence. The paradigm used for examining narrative construction is described and the postulates or principles guiding the storytelling process are outlined. A discussion follows of how individuals integrate and defuse negativity within positive stories about their partners. The article concludes by exploring the content and structure of confidence-instilling narratives.
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