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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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BackgroundThe romantic experience of adolescents in satisfying love relationships
Levesque, R. J. R. (1993) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/bf01537790 · Cited by 105
“The latest to operationalize love, Sternberg (1986) , identified three components: intimacy, commitment, and passion.”
BackgroundA lovable personality: The effect of brand personality on brand love
Roy, P., Khandeparkar, K., & Motiani, M. (2016) · Journal of Brand Management · doi:10.1057/s41262-016-0005-5 · Cited by 110
“Shimp and Madden (1988) performed a conceptual research on consumer-object love by basing their study on the work of Sternberg (1986) on interpersonal love.”
BackgroundInfluentialBrand addiction in the contexts of luxury and fast-fashion brands
Mrad, M., Majdalani, J. F., Cui, C. C., & Khansa, Z. E. (2020) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102089 · Cited by 110
“4 passionate love to culmination of an addictive obsession (Fehr and Russel, 1991; Sternberg, 1986).”
BackgroundBrand love in emerging market: a qualitative investigation
Sarkar, A. (2014) · Qualitative Market Research An International Journal · doi:10.1108/qmr-03-2013-0015 · Cited by 116
Human Sex Differences in Sexual Psychology and Behavior
Okami, P., & Shackelford, T. K. (2001) · Annual Review of Sex Research · doi:10.1080/10532528.2001.10559798 · Cited by 103
Stalking and Psychological Abuse: Common Factors and Relationship-Specific Characteristics
Dye, M. L., & Davis, K. E. (2003) · Violence and Victims · doi:10.1891/vivi.2003.18.2.163 · Cited by 101
Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives on Romantic Love
Bode, A., & Kushnick, G. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.573123 · Cited by 114
“Sternberg (1986) provides a description of romantic love based on three components of love in close relationships: intimacy, passion and commitment.”
BackgroundInfluentialCrowell, J. A., Treboux, D., & Waters, E. (1999) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.1999.tb00208.x · Cited by 103
Brand hate: a literature review and future research agenda
Aziz, R., & Rahman, Z. (2022) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-03-2021-0189 · Cited by 123
Global and local brand stereotypes: formation, content transfer, and impact
Davvetas, V., & HALKIAS, G. T. (2019) · International Marketing Review · doi:10.1108/imr-01-2018-0017 · Cited by 101
Birnbaum, G. E. (2010) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407509360902 · Cited by 114
“Previous research suggests that sex may promote the development of a relationship early on, whereas mutual support, warmth, responsiveness, and interdependence may make more of a difference later in a relationship (Reedy, Birren, & Schaie, 1981; Sternberg, 1986).”
BackgroundThe subjective experience of intimacy, passion, and commitment in heterosexual loving relationships
Marston, P. J., Hecht, M. L., MANKE, M. L., et al. (1998) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.1998.tb00157.x · Cited by 101
The role of attributions in the development of dating relationships.
Fletcher, G. J. O., Fincham, F. D., Cramer, L., & Heron, N. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.53.3.481 · Cited by 140
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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