Love p1 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Close relationships
—bring greater physical and mental health
—greater resilience
—greater wealth
—faster recovery from illness
—greater longevity
Categories of love
Hatfield— states there are two types of love: passionate love/ companionate love
can co exist
Passionate love
—state of intense longing for the union with another person— accompanied by physical arousal
—described as obsessive love/ infatuation
—includes tendency to think obsessively and to idealize the object of love
—reciprocated love— associated with fulfilment and ecstasy
—unrequited love— assosciated with anxiety, emptiness and despair
—passionate love— rollecoaster relationship
—passing of time love is often diluted
Companionate love
—affection and tenderness we feel for those with whom our lives are deeply entwined
—love developed slowly— from continuous sharing, lots of time together
—combines feelings of attachment, commitment, and intimacy
— can be in nonsexual relationship— close friendships
—sexual relationships — psychological intimacy without heat/passion
—can be seen as loyalty— but not lesser than any other form of love
Passionate/ companionate
—passionate love/ companionate— not mutually exclusiveve
—passionate may evolve into companionate over periods of time
Passionate love scale
to promote research into passionate love
hatfield further developed passionate love scale
—-wanted to measure intensity of passionate love in intimate relationships
—3 main components
Cognitive components— assesing intrusive thinking, preoccupation with partner, idealisation of other partner/ relationship
Emotional components— assesses attraction, positive/negative feelings for reciprocity, physiological (sexual) arousal
Behavioural components— actions aimed at determining the others feelings— are they doing some kind of service to their partner, maintaining physical closeness
+good psychometric properties - widely used in research
3 factor theory of love— hatfield
further came up with 3 factory theory of love
—aims to explain HOW romantic/ passionate love happens
passionate love— result of 3 variables that interact with eachother
- cultural exposure— culture provides model of what love is/ what loves means— parents/siblings/ fictional characters— idealise them help us think what love looks like
- physiological arousal— physiological symptoms we feel when are in love— fast heartbeat, butterflies etc,— same symptoms in love/ fearful situations—depends how u label it
3.appropriate love object— having someone that u find attractive/ fits concept of your ideal partner— person need to have mutual feelings/ attraction towards that person
Passionate love— cultural aspect
—studied cross culturally
—looked at 166 tribal societies
—found that passionate love is present in 147 of them
—in form of tales/songs/ folklore
—showed universal
Culture and love
—research indicates— love is quite a universal emotion
—every human feels some kind of love
—varies in the way we think about love/ define love/ experience love
—Gao 1193— passionate love viewed as more crucial in individualistic cultures compares to collectivist
—whilst companionate more valorised in collectivist
—limitation of this research: often oversimplified, people different in views of love/love differently— no single model of love
Culture
Love in marriage/ relationships
—in some cultures passionate love is a precondition— highly valued— often prioritised when selecting partner— assumption that mutual attraction shld come first— romatic r.s. comes from strong emotional/ physical attraction
—other cultures— arranged marriages— norm— love might develop after union rather than before— families etc
Expressions of love
—individualistic cultures— personal expression of love— kissing/holding hands—normal/expected
—collectivist cultures— taking care of families/needs— maintaining harmony in family rather than openly discussing feelings of love
—public displays of affection— considered inappropriate/ disrespectful in some cultures
cont
Cultural influence on passion/intimacy
—cultures with more strict views on relationships: sexual intimacy—may be reserved for marriage— guided by religious rules- grown overtime
—other cultures, greater emphasis on immediate romantic chemistry/physical attraction as central component of relationship
Cultural differences in commitment
—in some cultures— commitment may be seen as lifelong duty- strong familial expectations around staying together— cant get out— once you are committed
—other cultures— more flexible approach to relationship— commitment contingent on personal happiness, fulfilment or compatibility over time
What is love— sternbergs triangular theory
According to him there are three elements/ components of love
—all loving relationships can be described according to three components: intimacy, passion, commitment
loving relationships can vary depending on presence/ absence of each of these components
—components can interact with eachother
—according to him you can have a love that is based entirely on one of these categories
Components
Intimacy
—emotional component
—feelings of closeness/ warmth/ sharing
—love for best friend
—share deepest feelings— trust they keep secrets
Passion
—motivational component
—innate physical attraction to someone, excitement, sexual desire, extreme longing
Commitment
—cognitive component
—choosing/ deciding to be in the relationship
Types of love
Liking: intimacy without passion/ commitment
Infatuation: passion without intimacy or commitment— happens between people with purely lustful desires/ no emotional ties
Empty love: there is commitment without passion or intimacy
—can happen with couples who are together for long period of time
—who only with eachother for common purpose like children/financial security
Romantic love: passion/ intimacy without commitment—care and desire without commitment
Companionate love: intimacy/ commitment without passion— strong trust— successful long time
Fatuous love: passion and commitment without intimacy
consummate love: combination of all components— love people are striving for
Sternbergs triangular love scale
45 item scale— measures intimacy, passiona nd commitment
—factor analysos confirmed three factor structure— corresponding to the components of theory
—however three factors highly incorrelated— unifactorial scale
studies using STLs
Wojcizke— looked at whether the three components would change as a function of relationship duration— wanted to see with the passing of time- does it change?— if you are in a longer relationship does it change— found yes it does
Sumter— do levels vary across lifetime— yes—when young looking for one thing / as u grow alters
Sorokowski et al — confimation of sternbergs theoretical construct of love validated across 45 countries— universal concept— not just cultural diff concept
Sternbergs theory
Geometry of love triangle
—dependant on diff factors:
- amount of love (size of triangle)
2.balance of love (shape of triangle)— dependant on which component is more dominant — slanted towards
Multiple triangles
—real/ ideal triangles
—self/other percived triangles
—feeling and action triangles
When love goes awry
Insufficient love— too small to sustain relationship
Mismatch between actual and ideal triangles— what u want relationship to be/ what it actually is
mismatch actual triangles between self and others
mismatch btween feeling triangle/ action triangle
relationships do change
Strengths
—allows a description of a variety of relationships— realistic— diff types/ combinations of relationships do exist
—allows for the existence of diff types of love/ does recognise that relationships may change over time— intimacy low - increase
—commitment low— increase
—passion high— drops
—after understanding this— i love you can be interpreted in different ways
Lee’s Theory
6 basic love styles
John alan lee— identified 6 different love styles/ colours of love
—identified individuals experience love in different ways
According to him— 3 different primary colours/ styles of love
—eros
—ludus
— storge
Secondary
—mania (eros + ludus)
—Pragma (Ludus + storge)
— Agape (Eros + storge)
Primary styles
Eros— erotic/ passionate love— based on physical attraction— head over heels love— under thoughts of eros— become obssesed with partner
Ludus— love is a game/ gameplaying love— dont think of one partner think of many partners— just want to have a good time— not long lasting
Storge— similar to companionate— this type of love is affectionate/ close— slowly developing love that grows over time through shared interests— matures to committed love— could start friendship
Secondary
Mania— (eros + ludus)— obsessive and intense love— typical rollercoaster relationship— driven by passion/ characterised by jealousy/ possesiveness
Pragma— (ludus + storge)— practical love— clear idea “checklist” of desired attributes— what kind of person/ characteristics- any criteria— guided by logic— wont go for people with characteristics they dont like
Agape— (eros+storge)— sacrificial/altruistic love— place welfare of loved ones before yourself— want to do a lot for them— do everything to meet needs of person— just giving— don’t expect return
Measuring 6 love styles
—6 love styles relatively independent levels of attitudes/belief systems
—typology expanded by Susan/ Clyde Hendrick
—formulated Love attitude scale
—42 or 24 (short version) item scale with good psychometric quality
—used in many psychological/social psychology studies
