while(self++) { #93 } // Loss Aversion

I read about an interesting post today about raising children through an analysis via loss aversion theory. According to Wikipedia:

[L]oss aversion refers to people’s tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it’s better to not lose $5 than to find $5.

There may be an evolutionary reason for it — losing food could mean death, whereas gaining an equivalent amount of extra food simply means more stability. This makes me think about how loss aversion relates to our relationships with other people. The principle may relate to economics, but I wonder what that means for our emotions. Would we rather not bear the loss of a relationship over the gain of a relationship? There’s something to be said for that.