Professional Documents
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Positive Psychology
Positive Psychology
LOVE
Exploring the various researches done on love
Submitted by:
Tanya Singh
IILM/UG/2018/L117
Kirti Manaktala
IILM/UG/2018/L118
BA PSYCHOLOGY 4th Sem
INDEX:
Sr. no. Contents Page no.
1. Introduction 1
2. Paper1- Love: A Biological, Philosophical and Psychological Study 2-4
3. Paper2- The Social Psychology of Love and Attraction 5
4. Paper3- Role of Love in Relationship Satisfaction 5-7
5. Paper4- Cognitive control in romantic love 7-8
8. Conclusion 11
9. Bibliography 12
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Introduction:
“Love is an endless mystery for it has nothing else to explain it” -Rabindranath Tagore
Love has been a widely debated topic across centuries. Books, movies, shows and all other
sorts of media have always romanticized the idea of love, but our understanding of love
often lacks due to trying to find the basis of love less in research and more in literature often
cheesy and exaggerated.
Barbara Frederickson explains that love is an emotion, a momentary state that arises to
infuse your mind and body alike. Love, like all emotions, surfaces like a distinct and fast-
moving weather pattern, a subtle and ever-shifting force. As for all positive emotions, the
inner feeling love brings you is inherently and exquisitely pleasant — it feels extraordinarily
good, the way a long, cool drink of water feels when you’re parched on a hot day. Yet far
beyond feeling good, a micro-moment of love, like other positive emotions, literally changes
your mind. It expands your awareness of your surroundings, even your sense of self. The
boundaries between you and not-you — what lies beyond your skin — relax and become
more permeable. While infused with love you see fewer distinctions between you and
others. Love can even give you a palpable sense of oneness and connection, a
transcendence that makes you feel part of something far larger than yourself.
She explains that Love, as it turns out, nourishes your body the way the right balance of
sunlight, nutrient-rich soil, and water nourishes plants and allows them to flourish. The
more you experience it, the more you open up and grow, becoming wiser and more
attuned, more resilient and effective, happier and healthier. You grow spiritually as well,
better able to see, feel, and appreciate the deep interconnections that inexplicably tie you
to others, that embed you within the grand fabric of life. Love unfolds and reverberates
between and among people — within interpersonal transactions — and thereby belong to
all parties involved, and to the metaphorical connective tissue that binds them together,
albeit temporarily.
She isn’t talking about the cultural assumptions of a romantic relationship or familial love or
even love between best friends. Instead, she is defining it as a moment-to-moment
experience of warm, mutual caring that we can feel with any person—even strangers—in
everyday interactions, something she refers to as “shared positivity.” According to
Fredrickson, love is primarily about connection, and it is important to our health and
happiness, affecting our brains and bodies at the cellular level. We were born to love, she
writes, and the evidence comes from research that shows how our brains and nervous
system were designed to enhance our chances of experiencing it.
Margaret Atwood quoted: “The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was
important to them: there ought to be as many for love.”
There is a need to study love for what it is through research-based understanding. The
following literature review explores 6 different research papers written on love throughout
time so as to explore this key positive emotion from various different aspects.
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PAPER 1- Love: A Biological, Psychological and Philosophical Study.
“The heart has reasons that reason cannot Know” – Pascal.
The following paper examines the biological, psychological and philosophical aspects of
love. The paper for research purposes studied heterosexual couples and interviewed
different members of the academic community at the University of Rhode Island.
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systems. Chances of survival of offspring increases when one picks a
partner with drastically different MHC as it leads to a stronger immune
system. Cuddling also helps detect pheromones.
c. Brain structures:
Upon taking the FMRI of people who reported being ‘madly in love’ it was
noticed that when given the photos of their loved one’s people researches saw a
GLOW in the Ventral Tegmental area, nucleus accumbens and medial caudate
nucleus. This is due to the dopamine being released by the VTA to caudate
nucleus and nucleus accumbens leading to a feel-good sensation.
Thus, unlike media portrayals of love people actually fall in love with their brains
and not as what media portrays or society tells us to find attractive.
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person we are meant to be with comes from Plato. This concept is known as
SOULMATES. It circulates the idea that there is someone out there for everyone,
that love is real, our soulmates are out there, and ultimately, we will find the one
who will make us whole and complete.
b. Michael Boylan:
He states that love is an action, and the concept leads us to grow and change as
human beings. He also quotes “love is a powerful motivator for being good” and
concludes that “the essence of love is not only to find your soulmate but also
allowing oneself to be good”
c. Robert Rowland Smith:
He explained how love and sex are entangled, and quoted “love is nothing but
sex misspelled”
Adrenaline
Endorphines
Neurotransmitters Oxytocin
Brain
Vasopressin
Structures
Freud
Skinner
Plato
Philosphy Boylan
Smith
The following research paper after examining 3 different ideas of love concludes that “in the
beginning, the most important part is biology, then, as love matures, psychology becomes
the most important. Love is the most important emotion for humans (philosophy). The
paper also states that love is the most powerful force in the entire world, but we have to
start with ourselves.
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Paper 2: The Social Psychology of Love and Attraction.
This paper focuses on what characteristics draw people towards their partner or person of
interest. Thus, focusing on the modern idea of love, “what do you look for in your partner”.
In order to form a relationship, there must be some type of attraction, either physically or
on a personality level. Initial attraction to a potential mate is highly associated with physical
attractiveness. Many researchers have found this physical trait to be a major determinant in
the dating and relationship process. Berscheid, and Glick (1985) showed evidence that high
self-monitors showed more interest in the physical appearance of their potential mates .
There are a multitude of other factors that contribute to love and attraction besides physical
attraction, including physiology and similarity.
The following paper was based on the hypothesis that physical attractiveness and similarity
would be the strongest predictors of attraction, in that order. Personality is developed
through a person’s identity, which is shaped by his/her perspectives on life, so we expect
two people who share ideologies will have similar personalities. Similarity is also measured
through demographic information about the participants and the person they fell in love
with.
The method of study included 206 university students at least 18 years of age who filled a
love at first sight survey. The results concluded that the hypothesis thar physical
attractiveness and similarity would be most influential in producing attraction, was partially
supported by the frequencies of attracting a potential mate. However, physical
attractiveness was not the most sought-after trait for the person of interest as
hypothesized, but rather it was only second to personality, which was reported to be most
desirable. Everyone takes notice when there is an attractive person in his/her midst, but
mature individuals are aware of the fact that simply being attractive is not sufficient to
sustain a satisfactory relationship. The time spent together allows intimacy to develop,
deepening the attraction the individuals share. In other words, while the personality is not
necessary for initial physical attraction, it has the power to promote strong feelings of
attraction, and it can only enhance the potential for a relationship. The overall most desired
trait was the personality. When falling in love, the personality is associated with a long-term
relationship, while lust that is highly driven by physical attractiveness .
Thus, overall from the paper it can be concluded that though the idea of ideal types is
governed through both physical attractiveness and personality in the long run the idea of
ideal types is fuelled by the desirable personality traits of partner such as “I want my partner
to be understanding, loyal, etc”
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1. Lee colour wheel:
In 1973, Lee proposed the Typology Love Theory which consists of six such love
styles, divided into the category of primary and secondary love styles. The primary
love style consists of:
Eros (the passionate love)
Ludus (the game playing love)
Storage (the friendship love).
The following research paper studied the relationship between components of love and
relationship satisfaction of adolescent males and females, the difference in boys and girls
regarding their types of love and difference in boys and girls regarding their relationship
satisfaction.
With the hypotheses that: there will be a relationship between Intimacy and Relationship
Satisfaction of adolescent males and females, there will be a relationship between Passion and
Relationship Satisfaction of adolescent males and females, there will be a relationship between
Commitment and Relationship Satisfaction of adolescent males and females, there will be no
difference in boys and girls regarding their Intimacy, there will be no difference in boys and girls
regarding their Passion, there will be no difference in boys and girls regarding their Commitment and
there will be no difference in boys and girls regarding their Relationship Satisfaction.
The research was done on 100 participants who were involved in a romantic relationship for at least
3 months. The age of the participants ranged from 18-22 years. The sample included 50 males and
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50 females. They were assessed on Triangular Love Scale (TLS) by Sternberg R.J. (1997) and
Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) by Hendrick, S. S. (1988).
The result concluded that a significant positive relationship exists between Intimacy and Relationship
Satisfaction of adolescent’s males and females. There is a significant positive relationship between
passion and relationship satisfaction of adolescent males and females. The components of love
namely Intimacy, Passion and Commitment strongly relate to Relationship Satisfaction, as
hypothesized by Sternberg (1986). A strong support was provided that Intimacy, Passion and
Commitment correlate with Relationship Satisfaction. No gender differences exist in adolescents
regarding their Intimacy. No gender differences exist in adolescent’s passion. Gender differences
exist in adolescents in their way of expressing commitment and no gender differences exist in the
adolescents regarding their satisfaction from the relationship.
In conclusion the present research found that gender stereotypes do not exist. Other aspects of a
relationship like closeness, understanding, concern for the partner, avoiding criticism, building a
positive atmosphere are also important and need to be focused upon. Self-disclosure is very
essential for a relationship as it helps to increase the understanding and commitment in a
relationship. Self-disclosure can only be there if there is trust between both the partners, which is
the most important requirement in a relationship according to the respondents.
Romantic love is accompanied by physiological changes, behavioural changes, and affective changes
along with cognitive changes e.g. enhanced attention and memory for beloved-related information.
As romantic love is not a unitary construct, its influence on cognitive control could be driven by
different aspects, such as infatuation and attachment. One previous study on effect of romantic love
on interference control concluded that a higher score on the Passionate Love Scale (PLS) in young
adults was associated with reduced interference control in Stroop and flanker tasks. But people in
love could still have impaired cognitive control even when their feelings are not boosted by the
procedure.
The reduction in adaptive cognitive control by positive states may be driven by a dampening of the
aversive quality of conflict and errors and may be driven by neurochemicals such as opioids Because
attachment, more than infatuation, has been associated with positive affect opioids and buffering
against painful and stressful events the study also concludes that attachment level is negatively
associated with adaptive cognitive control in response to conflict and errors.
Cognitive control has been studied using conflict tasks such as Stroop and flanker tasks.
The method of study included one hundred three young adults who were in love by self-report
volunteered to participate. The inclusion criteria were: 18–28 years old, no psychiatric history, native
Dutch speaker, not colour blind, love duration of nine months. Ultimately, 83 participants yielded
useable data. The scores obtained indicate that each participant experienced at least some level of
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infatuation and attachment and confirmed that the sample displayed a wide range of infatuation and
attachment levels. Moreover, the IAS infatuation and attachment scores were not correlated, which
confirms that these scales tap into distinct constructs. Finally, 50 participants were in a relationship
with their beloved and 33 were not.
To conclude, the research proposes that reduced interference control with love might only happen
when people are actively thinking about their beloved. In addition, there is only weak evidence for
prediction that attachment level is associated with reduced conflict adaption. This study also shows
that attachment level is associated with less post-error slowing reflecting reduced adaptive cognitive
control after errors. These findings extend earlier findings showing that attachment to a romantic
partner buffers against painful and aversive events.
The following paper examines the possibility that romantic love can exist in long-term relationships.
Romantic love is deemed as important part of marriage in west culture. It has come to be viewed as
a source of expression and self-fulfilment. Reik (1944) showed evidences that love fades and that at
it best evolves into a “warm afterglow”. The following paper argues that romantic love—with
intensity, engagement, and sexual interest—can last. It also suggests that romantic love in its later
and early stages can share the qualities of intensity, engagement, and sexual liveliness.
Taxonomies
1. Berscheid and Hatfield proposed two major types of love— passionate and companionate.
1.Passionate love referred to as being in love, infatuation, limerence and includes an obsessive
element.
2. Companionate love, less intense than passionate love, combines attachment, commitment, and
intimacy.
There is a linear passage of passionate love into companionate love.
2.Lee (1977) and Hendrick & Hendrick (1986) proposed love styles:
a) Eros or romantic love
b) Mania or obsessive love
c) Storage or friendship love
Theoretical Perspectives
Many models of love imply that over time romantic love inevitably declines and, at best, evolves into
some kind of friendship or companionate love. Social science models emphasis habituation and
familiarity, unavoidable interdependence conflicts, and the like.
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Burscheid’s interruption model predicts that temporary interruptions mat reignites latent passionate
love. The self-expansion model by Aron & Aron proposes that there are natural mechanisms that
may promote long-term romantic love. Baumeister & Bratslavsky, 1999 suggests that if couples have
opportunities to increase intimacy at a rapid pace, it may also increase passion. recent evolutionary
models propose that long-term romantic love may be an adaptation that promotes continued pair-
bonding. Other evolutionary work suggests that in general, romantic attraction fades, but may exist
in some cases.
Research
qualitative studies suggest that romantic love may be experienced for a long-term partner. Cuber
and Haroff (1965) distinguished between intrinsic couples and “utilitarian” couples. Tennov
observed that many older people in happy marriages replied affirmatively to being in love. There
have also been a number of relevant quantitative surveys that lead to the same conclusion.
The review suggests that romantic love, without obsession, does exist in long term marriages.
The factor analysis, meta -analysis and correlations support the notion that Romantic love is
positively associated with relationship satisfaction, but the obsessive aspect is negatively associated
with it. The researcher used cross-sectional and longitudinal studies for the research purpose. The
results showed associations between romantic love and satisfaction were similar for both short and
long-term groups. Companionate love correlations with satisfaction were moderate and were
significantly greater for the long-term than the short-term samples, highlighting the greater
relevance of a calm, friendship-type, attachment to the success of long-term relation- ships.
Passionate love had large correlations there were slightly larger for the short-term group. This
suggests that passionate love is closely tied with relationship satisfaction at all phases, but
somewhat more so in the early stages. Finally, obsessive love’s correlation with satisfaction was
small but positive for short-term and small but negative for long-term.
To conclude, long-term romantic love appears to be a real phenomenon that may be enhancing to
individuals’ lives and is positively associated with marital satisfaction, mental health, and overall
well-being and that a long- term marriage does not necessarily kill the romance in one’s relationship.
Couples don’t perceive relationships as time limited. The study provides research evidence on how
do couples understand long term relationships. Survey data indicates that it is parenthood which
shapes perceptions of relationship quality. Gender is an important factor and the absence–presence
of children is crucial. Fathers are less positive than childless men and mothers are more negative
about their relationships. However, mothers are significantly happier, from this it could be inferred
that children are the primary source of happiness for women. Survey data also suggest that parents
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engage in less relationship maintenance than childless participants and hence LGBQ participants are
more generally positive and happier with the quality of their relationship. Good communication is
crucial and making time is highly valued. Women often experience their partners’ unwillingness or
inability to express their feelings as adversely impacting on the emotional dynamics of their
relationship.
Arguments and poor communication around money issues are often linked to anxieties and
difficulties. Money also features as one of the reasons why couples who live apart are unable to
share as much time together, conversely, for unemployed couples they get too few opportunities to
spend time apart. There are inevitable differences in relationship experiences across the life course
and these can affect relationship satisfaction. For younger couples’ relationships can be ‘an
adventure’; for those in midlife, responsibilities can often overwhelm; in later life there may be
tensions between opportunities and obligations. According to survey, younger and older men tend
to score higher on relationship satisfaction than men in midlife. Younger women score significantly
higher than women in the older age categories. Stressors often appear to consolidate the
relationship with couples pulling together and being there for each other. Surviving adversities,
together, can make a relationship stronger. The findings indicate that ‘what doesn’t break you, can
make you. According to sex and intimacy factor childless men and women are 50% more likely than
parents to perceive physical affection as a sign of appreciation. Dissatisfaction with sexual frequency
did not undermine overall relationship/partner satisfaction. As such sex has no uniform meaning or
sentiment. It is everything, or nothing, or something in between. Couples relish opportunities to
spend time together. The arrival ‘home’ after time spent apart is often framed as a highly cherished
moment. Yet couples appreciate personal space as it allows a sense of independence and agency.
The research formulated a multifaceted approach to ‘relationship work’, taking into account
relationship diversity, including age, cultural norms, parenthood, sexuality, economic and social
resources. It includes four key forms of ‘relationship practice’:
Nurturing the relationship: includes activities which combine to feed the relationship.
Embracing the relationship: to overcome the rough patches, key to acceptance.
Investments in the relationship: emotional and practical work is perceived as crucial to keep
relationships alive.
Marking the relationship: to mark special occasions that have personal meaning to them.
The implication of research includes unsettling coupledom i.e., the couple relationships are typically
multidimensional in form. It also includes relationship practices and multi-sensory methods. Finally,
love is a slippery concept. The act of saying ‘I love you’ is identified as important by women and men
alike, but a loving gesture is far more highly valued.
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Conclusion:
Love is a complex emotion. Researches done to identify, label and explain this
complex abstract phenomenon are yet to reach their epitome. Even though
there are a lot of researches done in the area we need to further the research
to provide better explanations of this complex emotion which Barbara
Fredrickson very rightly termed as the ‘Ultimate Emotion’.
From the following 6 papers reviewed above we can conclude that love is an
interplay of biology as well as the psychology of a person. Humans are
inherently capable of loving. Even though the paper studies 3 different schools
when it comes to defining love it still lacks a concrete explanation of what love
actually is.
The idea of ideal types prevalent in the society is often linked to physical
experiences the paper above dismantles the idea of physical appearances and
explains how personality and similarity play a crucial role when it comes to
what love is in terms of building relationships. It also talks about self-disclosure
but fails to establish how people perceive similarity and personality when it
comes to love whilst holistically explaining the foundations of a relationship.
Next paper explored the key themes of intimacy and love through inventories
and built upon the idea of relationship satisfaction. It considered broad
psychological theories on love but focused just on the romantic relationships.
This pattern can be explored throughout all the 6 papers studied. A major loop
hole in researches done on love is the fact that they are limited to romantic
relationships between couples but often overlook the idea of love between
families, strangers, animals, pets, etc.
The papers also discussed key ideas such as infatuation, lust and the transient
nature of love again in terms of couple relationships. Though these papers give
an idea of what love is and how it can be sustained there is no concrete
definition of what the entire idea of love is.
Considering that the researches lack in concretely explaining the entire idea of
love and limit love to just romantic relationships further, holistic research in
terms of love is required. We need to explore areas other than relationships
between couples.
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Bibliography
Acevedo, Bianca P.; Aron Arthur., “Does Long Term relationship kill love?”
BarbaraFredrickson:WhatIsLove.(2019,November12).Retrievedfromhttps://fs.blog/
2014/02/barbara-fredrickson-love/
Braxton- Davis, Princess (2010) “The Social Psychology of Love and Attraction”
Chapman, Heather M., "Love: A Biological, Psychological and Philosophical Study" (2011).
Gabb, Jacqui; fink, Janet., “enduring love? Couple relationships in 21st century
Langeslag, Sandra J; Steenberg, Henk Van (2019) “Cognitive Control in Romantic Love”
Sharma, Daisy., (2015) “Role of Love in Relationship Satisfaction”
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