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Why do peoplefall in love?
And why are some forms of love long-lasting while others are so fleeting?
Love is a basic human emotion, but understanding how and why it happens is not necessarily easy.
Anthony Harvie / Stone / Getty Images
Still, many have tried to learn more about this feel-good emotion.
Here are five of the major theories proposed to explain the psychology of love and otheremotional attachments.
We enjoy spending time with a person and want to be around them.
This is “liking,” according to Rubin, and doesn’t necessarily qualify as love.
Love is much deeper, more intense, and includes a strong desire for physical intimacy and contact.
He found that scales ranging from liking to loving provided support for his conception of love.
So, in 1977, Lee expanded the list of love styles.
Sternberg uses the termconsummate loveto describe combining intimacy, passion, and commitment.
This same basic style then continues into adulthood, where it becomes part of their romantic relationships.
This is followed by the avoidant attachment style, then anxious/ambivalent attachment.
This love is transitory, according to Hatfield, usually lasting between 6 and 30 months.
Ideally, passionate love leads to compassionate love, which is far more enduring.
Summary
Many theories of love exist, hoping to provide insight into how love forms and evolves.
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2015;22(3):403-413. doi:10.4473/TPM22.3.6
Sternberg RJ.A triangular theory of love.Psychol Rev.
2016;11(8):e0161087.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0161087
Hazan C, Shaver P.Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.J Personal Social Psychol.
1987;52(3):511-524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511
Hatfield E.Passionate and compassionate love.The Psychology of Love.
2017;8:1940. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01940
Leonti M, Casu L.Ethnopharmacology of love.Front Pharmacol.
A cognitive psychometric approach to the consensus on felt love.PLoS One.
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