Theories of Love

Communal Relationships

Relationships where individuals look out for each other and feel mutual responsibility, focusing on need rather than strict fairness.

Exchange Relationships

Relationships based on equity and reciprocity, where giving and receiving are tracked for fairness.

Natural Selection

Charles Darwin's process that favors traits enhancing survival and reproduction.

Social Exchange Theory

Theory suggesting relationships function like cost-benefit analyses, where people maximize rewards and minimize costs.

Oxytocin

Known as the 'love hormone,' it promotes trust and bonding, released during physical affection and childbirth.

Attachment Theory

John Bowlby's theory that early attachments between infants and caregivers form the foundation for future relationships.

Secure Base

The concept that a caregiver provides safety, allowing an infant to explore their environment.

Strange Situation

Mary Ainsworth's experiment that identified different attachment styles through child-caregiver interactions.

Comfort and Emotional Security

Key factors demonstrated by Harry Harlow's studies on infant rhesus monkeys showing that these are more important than food.

Passionate Love

An intense emotion characterized by sexual attraction and idealization of a partner.

Companionate Love

A type of love defined by deep affection, trust, and long-term commitment.

Triangular Theory of Love

Robert Sternberg's theory that love consists of intimacy, passion, and commitment.

The Four Horsemen

Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling; predictors of relationship breakdown according to John Gottman.