A triad of attitudinal relationships is considered balanced if all three relationships are positive, or if one is positive and two are negative. Balance theory has been extended to apply to larger interpersonal groups (Situngkir & Khanafiah, 2004), perceptions of groups such as the US Supreme Court (Pilialoha & Brewer, 2006), matchmaking (Chapdelaine, Kenny, & LaFontana, 1994), the connection between voters and their political parties (Ray, 1999), bargaining (Kette, 1986), and developing a comprehensive theory of self-esteem, self-concept, implicit attitudes and stereotyping (Greenwald, Banaji, Rudman, Farnham, Nosek, & Mellot, 2002). This page describes a study that can be used to illustrate balance theory.