Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Love is one of the most basic human emotions. Many have written about love experiences, both in popular writing and in more scholarly publications, especially as they apply to romantic relationships. As these writings indicate, there are many ways of thinking about love. Some of the types of love identified by researchers are reviewed below. Research about how people fall in love and why they choose one person over another to date or to marry also provides information about love. Much of the research on love and partner choice focuses on dating and the initial stages of relationships. Love and feelings about the partner are only one of many determinants of commitment to that partner. Factors predicting commitment are also reviewed below. Much of the research on relationship commitment examines marital partners. One of the first modern scientific analyses of types of love was proposed by Lee (1977) . Different types of love were derived from a concept analysis of fictional writing in Europe and the US since ancient Roman times. The forms of love that were identified were given names that related them to ancient Greek conceptions of love. The first type of love identified was called Eros . Eros is an erotic, passionate love. The physical appearance of the beloved is an important part of eros. Eros love can be love at first sight. Having feelings of eros toward someone is a very ... log in or subscribe to read full text