Which pattern (rigid complementarity, competitive symmetry, or submissive symmetry) do you think would be the most difficult to change? Why? Which would be the most damaging to a relationship? Which would be the most potentially damaging to the self-esteem of the individuals involved? 


It seems that all of these patterns would be equally difficult to change. I have a friend who was in a four year relationship, that recently ended basically because of rigid complementarity. She was tired of being the one down person and so she broke things off with her boyfriend. They are still friends, and talk but she moved out of the house. Now when i see them together, the roles have reversed she seems to be the one up person. I feel like this is a tactic to win her back, in her ex boyfriends mind. I think that he is just a dominant person and so I think that it would be difficult to change that in him forever. Obviously this example of rigid complementarity is an example of how the relationship was damaged, and I think that this form of dysfunctional pattern is also damaging to the people involved probably more so than the other two patterns mentioned. I know for my friend it was damaging to her self esteem because she felt belittled and frustrated that she always had to be the submissive person.