Sociology

Sociology

Chapter: 12

Define and distinguish between romantic love, affectionate love, and friendship

Romantic love is the feeling when the chemicals of a person's brain pops up and the feelings of high emotion, passion, elation and exhilaration increases in the situations when the lover is with you. The definition of romantic love falls purely under the old sayings of blind love. One of the aspects of romantic love is the infatuation. Romantic love is the love that has the characteristics of intensity in it. In romantic love, a person has the experiences of intense emotional and sexual desires, passion and pleasure (Adler 1981). The other common experiences of the romantic love are jealousy, longing, frustration and loneliness after the end of the relationship.

On the other hand, affectionate love is somehow different from the romantic love. Affectionate love is not a state of passion and exhilaration; rather, it is an expression in which the two people of a couple feel the security, closeness and passion. Affection is a condition in which one person takes care of the needs of the other person and makes all the efforts to meet these needs. The main results of affection are anticipation, intimacy, marital contentment and anticipation. Affectionate love is that kind of love that increases the feelings of being safe, cared and close.

However, friendship is totally different from these above two defined concepts. Friendship is the relationship between two people having the combined affection for each other. Friendship is a feeling that includes the sympathy and empathy in it. The feeling of friendship also includes trust, honesty, mutual understanding and compassion for each other. Thus, it can be simply said that the essence of friendship is totally different from romantic and affectionate love.

How would you explain Sternberg's Triarchic theory of love to a friend?

The Triarchic theory of love has been presented by a reputable figure named Robert Sternberg. According to his theory, there can be three main factors to define a relationship including commitment, passion and intimacy. These three components can be developed in seven different combinations that ultimately represent a relationship. According to Sternberg, these three components are the three sides of a triangle. Passion is considered to be a base with the intimacy on right and the factor of commitment on the left (Sternberg, 1996). These three components can be combined for the purpose of developing seven conceptualizations of love relationships. Sternberg has defined seven types of love in his theories which are as followed:

Liking: Intimacy Alone

This is a feeling which is related to closeness, connectivity and a closer bond with two persons who are in love with each other. Sternberg has described the feeling of the best friend in this.

Empty Love: Commitment Alone

This is the decision made by a person by himself without the consent of the other person. In this kind of love, a person makes decision of sharing achievements and plans and living with someone. The example of this love is the bad arranged ...