Sternberg's Theory of Love

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that psychologist Robert Sternberg proposes a theory of love consisting of a "love triangle" with the three components of passion, the drive that leads to romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation and related phenomena; intimacy, the feelings of closeness, connectedness and bondedness in loving relationships, and commitment, the decision that one loves someone else and commits to maintain that love. The author points out that these three components may be combined to characterize eight kinds of love; however, the relative emphasis of each component changes over time as an adult romantic relationship develops. The author points out that Sternberg's triangular theory of love has been criticized for its methodology and on the grounds that passion, intimacy and commitment often overlap; other scholars have found this theory to be a meaningful base for their own study of love. Includes illustration and Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale questionnaire.

From the Paper:

"Commitment is the cognitive component, which consists of knowing and perception. It can keep a marriage together way after passion is gone and intimacy is no longer possible. But commitment without one or both of the other elements leads to an empty marriage. Many older persons today despair over the younger generation's seemingly unwillingness to make commitments. Perhaps younger people, seeing what has happened with earlier generations, realize that people and relationships change and that making a commitment should go far beyond what matters to them in the short run."

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