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A triangular theory of love.
Abstract
This article presents a triangular theory of love. According the theory, has three components: (a) intimacy, which encompasses the feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness one experiences in loving relationships; (b) passion, which encompasses the drives that lead romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation; and (c) decision/commitment, which encompasses, in the short term, the decision that one loves another, and in the long term, the commitment maintain that love. The amount of one experiences depends on the absolute strength of these three components, and the kind of one experiences depends on their strengths relative each other. The three components interact with each other and with the actions that they produce and that produce them so as form a number of different kinds of loving experiences. The triangular theory of subsumes certain other theories and can account for a number of empirical findings in the research literature, as well as for a number of experiences with which many are familiar firsthand. It is proposed that the triangular theory provides a rather comprehensive basis for understanding many aspects of the that underlies close relationships. What does it mean to love someone? Does it always mean the same thing, and if not, in what ways do loves differ from each other? Why do certain loves seem last, whereas others disappear almost as quickly as they are formed? This article seeks answer these and other questions through a triangular theory of love. This tripartite theory deals both with the nature of and with loves in various kinds of relationships. The presentation of the theory will be divided into three main parts. In the first part, the main tenets of the theory will be explained and discussed, and the theory will be compared with other theories of love. In the second part, the implications of the theory for close relationships and satisfaction in them will be described. In the third part, the theory will be shown account for many of the empirical phenomena that have been observed with regard love.
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In the citing paper
“Sternberg (1986Sternberg ( , 1988) ) synthesizes previous attempts and defines love according to three constituent components: intimacy, passion, and commitment.”
From Strengthening Customer Loyalty through Intimacy and Passion: Roles of Customer–Firm Affection and Customer–Staff Relationships in Services (2008) · cites this paper as Sternberg 1986
In the citing paper
“Second, Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love and its constituent components apply to exemplary services on the transactional-relational continuum.”
From Strengthening Customer Loyalty through Intimacy and Passion: Roles of Customer–Firm Affection and Customer–Staff Relationships in Services (2008) · cites this paper as Sternberg (1986)
In the citing paper
“These three components are believed to be essential in forming and sustaining romantic relationships (Sternberg, 1986;Hatfield et al., 1988;Sternberg, 1997).”
From I love you, my AI companion! Do you? Perspectives from the Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment Theory (2026) · cites this paper as Sternberg, 1986
In the citing paper
“The Triangular Theory of Love has been widely accepted and adopted, due to its robustness and universality, across relationships of different natures (Sternberg, 1986).”
From I love you, my AI companion! Do you? Perspectives from the Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment Theory (2026) · cites this paper as Sternberg, 1986
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“Apesar dos índices de ajuste terem sido os mesmos, optou-se por utilizar o segundo modelo (Figura 1) pelo fato dele trazer estimativas sobre a relação dos três fatores previstos por Sternberg (1986) com o fator geral, dado não verificado nas análises exploratórias.”
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“If variations in intimacy, passion, and commitment are relevant to a working theory of love, as argued by Sternberg (1986), it is equally true that these variations are irrelevant to explanations of firm behavior in the global economy.”
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“Intimacy is an individual’s perception of the overall closeness and bonding to his or her relational partner (Roloff, Janiszewski, McGrath, Burns, & Manrai, 1988; Sternberg, 1986).”
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“In his triangular theory of love, Sternberg (1986, 2006) endeavored to understand the experiences of love in different types of close relationships in terms of three fundamental elements.”
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“Online Dating Intentions and Relationship Goals People’s online dating intentions and relationship goals may differ: some aim for a traditional life-lasting relationship, where intended intimacy goals may eventually develop into long-term commitment (Sternberg, 1986; Eastwick et al., 2018).”
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“He measured the intensity of each component of love in each phase, and his results were consistent with Sternberg’s [12] theoretical assumptions.”
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“Fidelity is associated to the main circuit of cerebral reward and allows great flexibility, given that it doesn’t arise from the commitment proposed by some psychological theories on love (Sternberg, 2004), but by the result of an addictive process created by natural selection to ensure biological fitness in the human…”
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Zamora, R., Winterowd, C., Koch, J. M., et al. (2013) · Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling · doi:10.1080/15538605.2013.812927 · Cited by 9
“…family members early in life, followed by the development of friendships in which love and support are offered, and then love is experienced in romantic, dating relationships, usually culminating into long-term committed love toward partners and spouses (Sternberg, 1986; Sternberg & Grajek, 1984).”
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“Commitment is thus a rather cognitive aspect of love (Sternberg, 1986).”
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“According to Sternberg ’ s (1986) triangular theory of love, a combination of intimacy, passion, and commitment de fi nes eight different types of love, such as romantic love (more intimacy, passion, and less commitment) and com-panionate love (more intimacy, commitment, and less passion).”
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“…mayor parte de las teorías sobre el amor desarrolladas en los últimos años, no debemos considerar a éste como un fenómeno único, sino más bien como un fenómeno multidimensional (ver Rubin, 1973; Lee, 1977; Sternberg, 1986; Sternberg y Barnes, 1988; Hendrick y Hendrick, 1986; Hazan y Shaver, 1987).”
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“These stages of the program are developmental in nature, and focus on the relationship developmental process from pre-relationship, through engagement, and marriage (Acevedo and Aron 2009; Lemieux and Hale 2002; Sternberg 1986).”
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“Although digital technologies can establish a “connected presence” and reconstruct geographical proximity and intimacy, intimacy is an emotional component that includes self-confessions and engendering of contact, warmth, and confidence or trust (Sternberg, 1986).”
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“…é essencial para um relacionamento duradouro e inclui a certeza de que o sentimento é especial, a disposição para simbolizar e articular esse amor de algum modo, a compreensão de que é mais do que um capricho passageiro e a decisão de investir ao longo do tempo (Sternberg, 1986; 1989; 1997; 2006).”
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“Thus, the questions were implicitly formulated based on the concepts of attachment, emotional attachment and love (e.g. Bowlby, 1969; Sternberg, 1986).”
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“According to Sternberg (1986), intimacy can be latent or manifest: while manifest intimacy depends on physical co-presence of relationship members and arises as a result of specific immediacy behaviors, latent intimacy implies the internal feeling of warmth and connectedness that does not rely on…”
BackgroundRole of Brand Love in Consumer Brand Relationships
Albert, N., & Merunka, D. R. (2015) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9781137427120_2 · Cited by 8
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“In the realm of consumer behavior, interpersonal theories (e.g., Fehr and Russell, 1991; Sternberg, 1986) suggest that consumer-object relationships exist on a relational spectrum.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Sternberg, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sternberg, Robert J.
- ORCID
- Sternberg, Robert J.
- Venue
- Psychological Review
- Published
- 1986-04
- Volume
- 93
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 119-135
- ISSN
- 0033-295X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1471
- OpenAlex
- W2034890640
- Cited by
- 2,614
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 125 · 2025: 204 · 2024: 153 · 2023: 187 · 2022: 165 · 2021: 149 · 2020: 156 · 2019: 167 · 2018: 136 · 2017: 114 · 2016: 97 · 2015: 99 · 2014: 94 · 2013: 90 · 2012: 85
- FWCI
- 16.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Review (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Sexual Relationships
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Keywords
- triangular theory of love, intimacy, passion, commitment, close relationships, romantic love, relationship satisfaction, theory of love
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