Triangular theory of love

"[1] Sternberg says that intimacy refers to "feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness in loving relationships," passion refers to "the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation, and related phenomena in loving relationships" and decision/commitment means different things in the short and long term.

"[2] The three components of love as described in the theory are as follows: Passion can be associated with either physical arousal or emotional stimulation.

The decision to remain committed is mainly determined by the level of satisfaction that a partner derives from the relationship.

There are three ways to define commitment: "The amount of love one experiences depends on the absolute strength of these three components, and the type of love one experiences depends on their strengths relative to each other.

[6] In Sternberg's theory, he presents, like Lee, that through the combination of his three main principles, different forms of love are created.

Passionate love is important in the beginning of the relationship and typically lasts 3-12 months.

There is a chemical component to passionate love; those experiencing it enjoy an increase in the neurotransmitters phenylethylamine and oxytocin.

When a couple reaches this level of love, they feel mutual understanding and care for each other.

Intimate love felt between two people means that they each feel a sense of high regard for the other.

Sternberg predicted that intimacy levels would decline in longer relationships, but this was not borne out in a later study.

It is a way for couples to express feelings of nurture, dominance, submission, self-actualization, etc.

Sternberg believed that committed love increases in intensity as the relationship grows.

The three components, pictorially labeled on the vertices of a triangle, interact with each other and with the actions they produce so as to form seven different kinds of love experiences (nonlove is not represented).

He believes that over time this exposure helps a person determine what love is or what it should be to them.

[17] "Personal relationships that have the greatest longevity and satisfaction are those in which partners are constantly working on sustaining intimacy and reinforcing commitment to each other.

"[11] In a study done by Michele Acker and Mark Davis in 1992, Sternberg's triangular theory of love was tested for validity.

Acker and Davis point out that the stage and duration of the relationship are potentially important to the love component and explore them.

There are three perceptions of the triangular theory of love, or "the possibility of multiple triangles".

Acker and Davis announced this issue as being one of three major problems with Sternberg's theory.

[18] In a large-scale cross-cultural study published in the Journal of Sex Research in 2020, the cultural universality of the theory was supported.