Critically consider psychological explanations of love Essay

There ar terce psychological theories of crawl in, The Three Factor Theory of Romantic Love, Sternbergs angulate Theory of Love and Romantic Love and Attachment. The third factor possible action of romanticist grapple suggested by Hatfield and Walster, recognises deuce types of sleep with, passionate relish and friendly whop. Whilst passionate cheat can be seen as an intense physiologic arousal which involves a commodiousing for the other psyche, companionate love is much(prenominal) a feeling of affection towards those whom we feel deeply about.Hatfield and Walster propose a theory to explain passionate love based on three factors physiological arousal, appropriate love object and cultural exposure. The authors see love as a label that is placed on someone that we are physiologically aroused by. Experiencing this arousal bequeath cause a person to state it is because of love, since this is what our culture teaches us happens when we are in love. This theory receiv es gestate from research by Dutton and Aron. In this study, male participants were interviewed on a luxuriously or low suspension noseband, by an attractive female.The results supported the anticipation that those males interviewed on a high bridge felt more cozy attraction to the woman, presumably because they experienced stronger physiological arousal. The males on the lower bridge felt less physical attraction, presumably because their physiological arousal was not as strong. It is possible that this theory could explain certain experiences such as love at first sight. further, since most people seem to conciliate in love gradually, this would suggest that for the majority of individuals, the label, love, comes first rather that the physiological arousal.The theory is also more applicable to western rather so eastern or collectivist cultures. Sternberg defines love as intimacy (sharing uncouth understanding and emotional support), passion (involves physical attraction an d sexual desire) and stopping point/ inscription (involves the short-term decision that you love someone and a longer-term commitment to maintain that love). These three components of love can be combined in unalike ways to produce seven varieties of love liking, infatuation, empty love, romantic love, compassionate love, fatuous love and consummate love.These seven types of love process a triangle. Consummate love being in the center as it is the strongest form of love since it involves all three components. Sternberg believes that people have two different types of triangle. The first is based on an individuals own theory of love and is form in a cultural context from watching television, detect parents, reading books, including listening to fairy tales when young. The second triangle is based on the individuals current relationship. fit to Sternberg when two triangles are similar, relationships tend to be more successful.The theory has practical applications it is possible to measure the components in the two parties and consequently analyse the differences in the types of love shown by each partner. It helps pinpoint areas where potpourri and compromise may be necessary. However, the components are rather vague, especially commitment, and it is thence difficult to judge the basis on which one person decides to love another. Hazan and Shaver proposed that romantic relationships are bond paper relationships, and that individual differences in adult attachment style, mirror those found by psychologists who studied attachment styles such as Ainsworth.So rather than love being formed in a cultural context, Hazan and Shaver believe that love originates from a persons archaean relationship with a first caregiver. This theory developed out of two earlier pieces of research by Ainsworth and Bowlby. Ainsworths strange situation and the observation that tiddlerren have three different styles of attachment secure, insecure/anxious disgusting and insecur e/anxious avoidant. Bowlbys belief that the mothers behaviour towards the infant creates an internal operative model that leads the infant to expect the same in later relationships.According to Hazan and Shaver, later love relationships can be predicted from a childs attachment style. So therefore a secure child who had a positive image of a caring mother will have relationships in later life that are friendly, trusting and more enduring. A child classified as insecure/anxious resistant will have conflicting memories of the mother, both positive and rejecting, causing relationships in later life to consist of emotional highs and lows, with moments of jealousy and concerns whether their partners really love them.Insecure/anxious avoidant children will remember their mother as low temperature and rejecting and have relationships in later life where they fear being wet to someone and believe love is not necessary for happiness nor is it long lasting. Hazan and Shavers research rece ives support from a subjugate of studies in that there does seem to be a relationship betwixt early attachment experiences and later attitudes and behaviour to love for example Feeny and Noller 1990. However the research has all been correlational in this area, so it cannot be claimed that early attachment causes later relationships behaviour.The relationship between the two could be caused by another factor. Kagon believes this other factor to be the temperament of the child. Infants are innate(p) with certain temperaments which determine the quality of their early relationships and these innate or ancestral factors affect relationships throughout life. The three psychological theories of love provide partial explanations for this most intense of human emotion. Whilst Hatfield and Walster believe love to be a state of strong physiological arousal, Sternberg and Hazan and Shaver believe that love originates from a persons early relationships with a primary caregiver.