Psychology Facts

▲ Love ▲

》What is love?

The American Psychological Association (APA) provides a psychodynamic explanation of love, defining it as a multifaceted emotion that encompasses:

Affection toward another individual.

A sense of tenderness.

Sensitivity to their responses

Experiencing pleasure due to another individual.
Devotion.

It is this mix of emotions that make up the multi-layered and, at times, life-altering experience that is love.

》The APA also references psychologist Robert Sternberg's "triangle of love" theory. According to Sternberg, all types of love consist of differing degrees of the following fundamental components:

Intimacy: This aspect of love causes individuals to feel close to one another, and involves feelings of warmth, and connectedness.

Passion: Both raw and tender, passion involves both romance, sexual attraction, and sexual relations.

Commitment: Describing the considered wish to stay together, commitment involves feelings of perseverance, maintaining a relationship, and weathering its storms.

》Those three components are able to create seven distinct forms of love:

Liking: "True friendship," whose main attribute is a greater sense of intimacy.

Infatuation: Characterizing instances of love at first sight, this form of love is prone to be short-lived, as it prioritizes only passion.

Empty Love: This form of love emphasizes commitment and describes either relationships that begin through a more cerebral understanding of its benefits (such as arranged marriages), or a relationship whose passion and intimacy have since run out.

Romantic Love: A combination of heightened intimacy and passion, romantic love refers to feelings of mutual appreciation, desire, and excitement, together with a wish for physical proximity.

Companionate Love: Relationships where both intimacy and commitment are their defining features. These can be older romantic relationships, where there is no longer a great deal of passion, but still a fondness and an appreciation between partners.

Fatuous Love: Often characterized by impulsivity and drama, fatuous love describes a connection where the partners' strong commitment to the relationship is based largely on their attraction to one another, without necessarily getting to know their partner, or finding common ground with them.

Consummate Love: Stable, satisfying, but not easily achieved, consummate love holds a beneficial, though not necessarily long-lasting, balance between intimacy, passion, and commitment. With all three elements acknowledged and tended to, this form of love includes real admiration for one another through deep familiarity, a vital sense of attraction, and the mutual agreement that this relationship is worthwhile.

》Maintaining a healthy social connection with someone significant is vital for both mental and physical well-being. Prolonged isolation can have adverse effects and may contribute to conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

》Within milliseconds of seeing someone we love, the brain releases chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine, which work together to evoke a profound sense of happiness and well-being.

》Love is a universal experience, extending beyond romantic or sexual attraction. It fulfills a fundamental human need and can manifest in various forms, such as receiving hugs from close friends, the affectionate lick of a dog, or supportive words from a coworker or boss.

》Studies suggest that the intense euphoria, dependence, sweaty palms, and butterflies associated with romantic love typically endure for approximately a year. Following this initial phase, couples often transition into the "committed love" stage. This shift is accompanied by increased levels of neurotrophin proteins in newly formed relationships.

》Certain individuals who report never experiencing romantic love may be affected by hypopituitarism, a rare condition that prevents them from experiencing the euphoria of love.

》Certain psychologists suggest that we often develop romantic feelings for individuals who resemble the parent with whom we have unresolved childhood issues. Unconsciously, we may be attempting to reconcile these unresolved childhood relationships in adulthood.

》Symmetry plays a significant role in how our brains perceive beauty.

Men with symmetrical faces tend to initiate sexual activity at an earlier age, have more sexual partners, engage in more affairs, and attract more lovers compared to those with asymmetrical facial features. Additionally, women are more likely to experience orgasms with men who have symmetrical faces.

》Romantic love shares biochemical similarities with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, making them biochemically indistinguishable from each other.

》Love leads to the deactivation of the amygdala in the brain, responsible for regulating fear. Consequently, when in love, individuals experience decreased fear of outcomes and consequences. This results in a sense of fearlessness and bravery that is typically not felt in other circumstances.