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Passionate and companionate love

"Passionate love" redirects here. For the South Korean TV series, see Passionate Love (TV series).
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In the psychological literature, a distinction is often made between two types of love.[1][2] Elaine Hatfield & G. William Walster define them as:[1]

  • passionate love, "a state of intense longing for union with another. Reciprocated love (union with the other) is associated with fulfillment and ecstasy; unrequited love (separation) is associated with emptiness, anxiety, or despair."[1][3]
  • companionate love, "the affection we feel for those with whom our lives are deeply entwined."[1][3]

Passionate love is also called "romantic love" in some literature,[1][4][5][2] especially fields of biology,[6] but the term "passionate love" is most common in psychology.[6] Other terms compared to passionate love are being "in love",[4][1][5] having a crush,[1] obsessive love,[1][4][5] infatuation,[7][1][8] limerence[1][9][5] and Eros.[4]

Companionate love is commonly called "attachment"[7][10][6] (sometimes in relation to attachment theory,[11] but not all authors agree)[4] or compared to strong liking,[4] friendship love[4] or Storge.[4]

Passionate love feelings are most commonly measured with a psychometric instrument (a questionnaire) called the Passionate Love Scale (PLS);[12] however, a study by Sandra Langeslag and colleagues found that the PLS has some questions which actually measure companionate love.[8] This led the team to develop the Infatuation and Attachment Scales (IAS), measuring what they call:[8]

  • infatuation (similar to passionate love), "the overwhelming, amorous feeling for one individual that is typically most intense during the early stage of love (i.e., when individuals are not (yet) in a relationship with their beloved or are in a new relationship)."[10]
  • attachment (similar to companionate love), "the comforting feeling of emotional bonding with another individual that takes some time to develop, often in the context of a romantic relationship."[10]

The IAS is designed for more refined measurements than the PLS,[8] but infatuation and attachment can otherwise be considered synonymous as a concept with passionate and companionate love.[8][10]

Evolutionary theories of passionate and companionate love suggest these two types of love exist for different purposes and thus follow different mechanics.[5][6] Passionate love is said to usually only be present in the early stage of a relationship[7] with companionate love often following after;[2][9] however, in a phenomenon called long-term romantic love, intense attraction can remain much longer than is typical for passionate love, but without obsessional elements.[13][14]

Both passionate and companionate love contribute to relationship satisfaction.[4][13] Passionate love is associated more with satisfaction in the early stage of a relationship.[13] Companionate love is associated with satisfaction in the long-term more than the short-term.[13]

Passionate and companionate love can also be further distinguished from a third important type of love, compassionate love, which is love focused on caring about others.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hatfield, Elaine (1988). The Psychology of Love. Yale University Press. pp. 191–217. ISBN 9780300045895. Archived from the original on 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  2. ^ a b c Bode, Adam; Kushnick, Geoff (11 April 2021). "Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives on Romantic Love". Frontiers in Psychology. 12. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.573123. PMC 8074860. PMID 33912094.
  3. ^ a b Hatfield & Walster, p. 9
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Berscheid, Ellen (2010). "Love in the Fourth Dimension". Annual Review of Psychology. 61: 1–25. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100318. PMID 19575626.
  5. ^ a b c d e Fisher, Helen (October 2002). "Defining the Brain Systems of Lust, Romantic Attraction, and Attachment". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 31 (5): 413–419. doi:10.1023/A:1019888024255. PMID 12238608. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Bode, Adam (16 October 2023). "Romantic love evolved by co-opting mother-infant bonding". Frontiers in Psychology. 14. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1176067. PMC 10616966. PMID 37915523.
  7. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference loveorinfatuation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c d e Langeslag, Sandra; Muris, Peter; Franken, Ingmar (25 Oct 2012). "Measuring Romantic Love: Psychometric Properties of the Infatuation and Attachment Scales". The Journal of Sex Research. 50 (8): 739–747. doi:10.1080/00224499.2012.714011. PMID 23098269.
  9. ^ a b Lehr, Nick (10 October 2016). "Limerence: The potent grip of obsessive love" (web). CNN. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d Langeslag, Sandra (2024). "Refuting Six Misconceptions about Romantic Love". Behavioral Sciences. 14 (5): 383. doi:10.3390/bs14050383. PMC 11117554. PMID 38785874.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference diamond2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Bode, Adam; Kowal, Marta (3 May 2023). "Toward consistent reporting of sample characteristics in studies investigating the biological mechanisms of romantic love". Frontiers in Psychology. 14. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.983419.
  13. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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