How can couples fulfill their self-expansion needs?

• A. By regularly engaging in exciting, novel, and varied activities together.
• B. By avoiding new experiences to maintain stability.
• C. By limiting activities to routine chores.
• D. By focusing only on work and parenting.

Answer: (A)

Self-expansion in relationships grows when couples actively seek out new, exciting experiences together. Sharing novel activities broadens each person’s sense of self and builds the relationship by adding fresh memories, skills, and perspectives. When partners explore new hobbies, travel to unfamiliar places, or take on challenges as a team, they expand their identities through the relationship, which strengthens closeness and satisfaction. The other approaches emphasize stability, routine, or solely daily duties, which can keep life predictable but don’t fulfill the growth and novelty that self-expansion needs.