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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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“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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Modroño, M. D. P. (2018) · Dimensión Empresarial · doi:10.15665/dem.v17i1.1540 · Cited by 4
Partner's support during pregnancy as the mediator of women's sexual satisfaction after childbirth
Jaworski, M., Pańczyk, M., Królewicz, I., Belowska, J., Krasuski, T., & Gotlib, J. (2019) · Sexual & Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/14681994.2019.1575507 · Cited by 4
“In the triangular theory of love devised by Sternberg (1986), commitment in a relationship is one of the components of love which appears latest.”
BackgroundI’d Like to Have All the Characteristics of a Hero: A Case Study of Strength-Centered Therapy
Li, P. F. J., Wong, Y. J., & Cawthra, J. N. (2019) · Clinical Case Studies · doi:10.1177/1534650119837353 · Cited by 4
Social Media Driven Brand Love: An Investigation on Turkish Customers
Zengin, A. Y., & ALADAĞ, B. (2018) · İnternet uygulamaları ve yönetimi/internet uygulamalarý ve yönetimi · doi:10.34231/iuyd.408143 · Cited by 4
“Then Sternberg (1986) has proposed a triangular theory of love with three components: Intimacy, passion and decision/commitment.”
BackgroundHow Self-Expressive Brands Influence Brand Love and Brand Advocacy: A Study on Social Media
Septyani, S. D., & Alversia, Y. (2020) · GATR Journal of Management and Marketing Review · doi:10.35609/jmmr.2020.5.3(7 · Cited by 4
Emotions, love, and sexuality in committed relationships
Lenz, K., & Adler, M. A. (2021) · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · doi:10.4337/9781788975544.00030 · Cited by 5
Does Brand Love Last Forever? : A Study on Turkey’s Lovemarks
Ceyhan, A., & Yozgat, U. (2021) · EMAJ Emerging Markets Journal · doi:10.5195/emaj.2021.222 · Cited by 4
“Only one brand (Volkswagen) suggested the ‘intimacy’ component, which is one of the components of interpersonal love in the literature (Sternberg, 1986; Shimp and Madden, 1988; Roberts, 2004; Roy et al., 2016).”
The Role of EFL Teachers’ Praise and Love in Preventing Students’ Hopelessness
Liu, F. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.800798 · Cited by 4
“As a case in point, Sternberg (1986) proposed a tripartite theory for the construct of love including three elements of intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment.”
BackgroundA Measure of Romantic Love: The Psychometric Properties of the Love Bank Inventory
Chalmers, J. H. (2023) · Journal of Research in Psychology · doi:10.31580/jrp.v4i2.2622 · Cited by 4
Falling in love and friendship in children and adolescents
Scramaglia, R. (2000) · VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-322-92255-7_5 · Cited by 4
Love Relationship Satisfaction, Love Styles and Suicidal Ideation Among University Students
Xian, N. Y., Lee, J. C., & Shminan, A. S. (2023) · Journal of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development · doi:10.33736/jcshd.5430.2023 · Cited by 4
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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