The Self-expansion theory says that when people enter a relationship they expand their "selves", because of the intense exchange. The rapid expansion can be emotionally arousing. Once the exhilaration is over and they know each other well enough, further expansion decreases. That means: with rapid self-expansion emotional arousals increase, with slow or non self-expansion it is very minimal. In a consumer-brand-relationship context that means that consumers rapidly expand their selves when a close relationship with a brand is newly formed. This relationship is then associated with strong, positive feelings, which is evident in increased arousal once the initial "big love" is over. The expansion of the self and emotional arousal decrease over the relationship span, while the inclusion of the brand into self increases and leads to a stronger bond.