Framing love: When it hurts to think we were made for each other

• Framing love as perfect unity can hurt relationship satisfaction.
• It hurts relationship satisfaction only in conflicts, not in celebrations.
• This content dependency supports metaphorical framing, not metaphorical transfer.
• Metaphorical framing effects are limited to targets to which frames are applicable.

Love can be metaphorically framed as perfect unity between two halves made for each other or as a journey with ups and downs. Given their differential interpretations of romantic relationship, these frames have the power to change the evaluative impact of relational conflicts. We find that thinking about conflicts with one's partner hurts more with the unity (vs. journey) frame in mind, whether the frames are activated within the relational context using linguistic expressions (Study 1) or in an unrelated context using physical cues (Studies 2a & 2b). The frames only influence relationship evaluation after thinking about conflicts (but not celebrations) and require applicability to the target. These patterns support the logic of metaphorical framing as distinct from metaphorical transfer. They shed new light on how to think about love, how it matters for relationship evaluation, and fundamentally, how frames influence judgments.