It requires an emotional commitment and engenders a sense of identity.

Below, Dr. Romanoff explains some of the characteristics of loyalty.

Loyalty involves accepting and loving someone for who they are and notthreatening to leavewhen things become challenging.

Two Young Latina Women Leaning Together, Smiling and Happy

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People display loyalty by weathering storms together, providing support, and sticking them out.

Loyalty also involves consistently treating the other person with kindness, fairness, and generosity of spirit.

It engenders trust and closeness in relationships.

Young man comforting and supporting a sad woman

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This is true for romantic, work, family, and social relationships.

Some people remain in relationships that no longer serve them.

In these instances, their sense of loyalty can cause them to become exploited or abused.

Close up of a young female couple shopping and exploring the city while navigating using their smart phone

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Although loyalty is an important trait, it should never be used against someone.

Someone who is loyal can have difficulty recognizing when someone they love ismanipulatingthem.

How to Build Loyalty

Dr. Romanoff suggests these tipsand some timeto help build loyalty.

Being honest, supportive, respectful, and appreciative fortifies this all-important building block of a committed relationship.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Loyalty.

Hong JW, Hong AJ, Kim SR.Exploring implicit and explicit attitudes of employees authentic organizational loyalty.Front Psychol.

2017;9(9):5212-5222. doi:10.19082/5212