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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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“Consumer-brand relationships involve emotions that range from non-intense feelings to passionate love culminating in addictive obsession (e.g., Fehr & Russel, 1991; Sternberg, 1986; Fournier, 1998 ) (see Table 1 for definitions of these various concepts within consumer-brand relationships).”
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“Love was measured by means of the Triangular Love Scale (TLS; Sternberg, 1997). According to Sternberg’s (1986) so called ‘triangular theory of love’ three different ingredients combine to form the experience of love, that is, intimacy, passion, and commitment.”
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Rodríguez-Castro, Y., Lameiras-Fernández, M., Carrera-Fernández, M.-V., & Vallejo-Medina, P. (2013) · International Journal of Social Psychology: Revista de Psicología Social · doi:10.1174/021347413806196708 · Cited by 85
“…que destacan el amor desde una perspectiva multidimensional, como son la teoría de los estilos de amor de Lee (1977, 1988), la teoría del amor de Sternberg (1986) y Sternberg y Barnes (1988) y la teoría del Apego que partiendo de las aportaciones de Bowlby (1969), considera el amor como un…”
BackgroundThe Relationship Between Dimensions of Love, Personality, and Relationship Length
Ahmetoglu, G., Swami, V., & Chamorro‐Premuzic, T. (2009) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9515-5 · Cited by 84
“More recently, Sternberg (1986, 1998) proposed an alternative conceptualization of love comprising three dimensions, namely intimacy, passion, and commitment.”
BackgroundPhysical distance and interpersonal characteristics in college students’romantic relationships
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“…there has been substantial research on how individuals develop intimate relationships and, in particular, how love develops over time (Sher, 1996; Sternberg, 1986), few researchers have examined cross-cultural differences in such marital factors as love, intimacy, happiness, and satisfaction…”
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“Research on individual perceptions of love has mainly focused on adults (e.g. Berscheid, 2010; Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Hendrick & Hendrick, 1986; Langeslag, Muris, & Franken, 2012; Neto, 2012; Rubin, 1970; Sternberg, 1986).”
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“Key aspects of intimacy include emotional bonding and mutual trust (Reis & Shaver, 1988; Sternberg, 1986).”
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“Moreover, the findings support our assumption that many entitlement issues are uniquely expressed in romantic relationships, since these dyadic relationships are characterized by high levels of intimacy, passion, and commitment (Sternberg, 1986), which naturally generate entitlementrelated wishes, needs, and expectati…”
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“According to Sternberg (1986), the client responds to a romantic relationship with a close relationship (Sternberg, 1986).”
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Love Styles: A Cross-Cultural Study of British, Indian, and Portuguese College Students
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“Commitment to one’s romantic relationship is a key construct in explaining relationship functioning (e.g., M. Johnson, 1991; Lund, 1985; Lydon, 1996; Rusbult, 1980; Sternberg, 1986).”
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Astakhova, M. N., Swimberghe, K., & Wooldridge, B. R. (2017) · Journal of Consumer Marketing · doi:10.1108/jcm-10-2016-1985 · Cited by 70
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“By contrast, in the established relationship stage, once the affectional bonding between partners has been consolidated, sexual desire may lose some of its importance as a binding force as other nonsexual processes, such as love and commitment, become more influential [42–44].”
BackgroundSomething to Talk About: Romantic Relationships M Organizational Settings
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Longitudinal Changes in Marital Relationships: The Role of Offspring’s Pubertal Development
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“Thus, for example, although several studies have developed and tested hypotheses regarding honeymoon (Kovacs, 1983; Sternberg, 1986) and 7-year itch effects (Kovacs), we know almost nothing about how marriages change when they persist into a second decade (for exceptions, see Huston, Caughlin, Houts, Smith, & George,…”
BackgroundAffectionate Communication in Close Relationships
Floyd, K. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108653510 · Cited by 69
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“In later phases of relationship development, processes related to the provision of mutual support, warmth, responsiveness, and interdependence may make a greater contribution to relationship maintenance than sexual desire does (Kotler, 1985; Reedy, Birren, & Schaie, 1981; Sternberg, 1986).”
BackgroundMate Value Discrepancy as Predictor of Forgiveness and Jealousy in Romantic Relationships
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“Commitment may also play a role with MVD; generally commitment is very low early on in a relationship and then increases dramatically if the relationship becomes a long-term one (Sternberg, 1986).”
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Communicating love: Comparisons between American and East Asian university students
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Kołodziejczak, K., Rosada, A., Drewelies, J., Düzel, S., Eibich, P., Tegeler, C., Wagner, G. G., Beier, K. M., Ram, N., Demuth, I., et al. (2019) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/pag0000347 · Cited by 78
Attachment Processes and Commitment to Romantic Relationships
Morgan, H. J., & Shaver, P. R. (1999) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-4773-0_6 · Cited by 67
Nature of brand love: examining its variable effect on engagement and well-being
Junaid, M. R., Hussain, K., Basit, A., & Hou, F. (2019) · Journal of Brand Management · doi:10.1057/s41262-019-00179-1 · Cited by 66
Empirical tests of aspects of a theory of love as a story
Sternberg, R. J., Hojjat, M., & Barnes, M. L. (2001) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/per.405 · Cited by 66
Self-citationMeasuring the Love Feeling for a Brand using Interpersonal Love Items
Albert, N., & Valette‐Florence, P. (2010) · Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness · Cited by 67
Effect of Cognitive Engagement on the Development of Brand Love in a Hotel Context
Shin, M., & Back, K. (2019) · Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research · doi:10.1177/1096348019890055 · Cited by 74
“Brand love is composed of affective and conative brand loyalty components, such as passion, intimacy, and commitment (Sarkar, 2013; Sternberg, 1986).”
BackgroundFarley, S. D., Hughes, S. M., & LaFayette, J. N. (2013) · Journal of Nonverbal Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10919-013-0151-3 · Cited by 65
“Intense romantic love may yield a unique pattern of vocal modification, especially during the initial phases of a relationship when passion is a focal component (Fisher 2000; Hatfield and Rapson 1993; Sternberg 1986).”
BackgroundTravellers' mindsets and theory of planned behaviour
Japutra, A., Loureiro, S. M. C., Molinillo, S., & Ekinci, Y. (2019) · Tourism Management Perspectives · doi:10.1016/j.tmp.2019.02.011 · Cited by 66
Gender and personality differences in conceptions of love: An interpersonal theory analysis
Fehr, B., & Broughton, R. (2001) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2001.tb00031.x · Cited by 64
ROMANCING WITH A BRAND: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF ROMANTIC CONSUMER-BRAND RELATIONSHIP
Sarkar, A. (2011) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 65
The Differential Influence of Identification on Ethical Judgment: The Role of Brand Love
Dalman, M. D., Buche, M. W., & Min, J. (2017) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3774-1 · Cited by 78
The Close Relationship Context and HIV/AIDS Risk Reduction Among Mexican Americans
Castañeda, D. M. (2000) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1023/a:1007095221993 · Cited by 64
“Commitment has been defined as the decision to maintain a relationship ( Sternberg, 1986, 1988 ) and those with a greater sense of commitment are more likely to remain in a relationship.”
BackgroundInfluentialJaakko Aspara, A., & Tikkanen, H. (2010) · Journal of Behavioral Finance · doi:10.1080/15427560.2010.482880 · Cited by 63
Understanding the brand and website effects of online loyalty: a mediation perspective
Wong, A., & Haque, M. (2021) · Journal of Marketing Management · doi:10.1080/0267257x.2021.1949378 · Cited by 70
“The concept of brand love is derived from theories of interpersonal love (Shimp & Madden, 1988), including the triangular theory of love (Sternberg, 1986).”
BackgroundSingh, D., Bajpai, N., & Kulshreshtha, K. (2020) · Journal of Relationship Marketing · doi:10.1080/15332667.2020.1715179 · Cited by 63
Sternberg, R. J. (1996) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.1996.tb00104.x · Cited by 63
Self-citationSangrador, J. L., & García, C. Y. (2000) · Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal · doi:10.2224/sbp.2000.28.3.207 · Cited by 67
Burke, R. J., Astakhova, M. N., & Hang, H. (2017) · Journal of Business and Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10869-017-9500-2 · Cited by 63
Love-related changes in the brain: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Song, H., Zou, Z., Kou, J., Liu, Y., Yang, L., Zilverstand, A., Uquillas, F. D., & Zhang, X. (2015) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00071 · Cited by 64
“Romantic love is thus a complex sentiment, involving emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components (Sternberg, 1986; Hazan and Shaver, 1987).”
BackgroundYin, L. C., Loreman, T., Majid, R. A., & Alias, A. (2019) · Teaching and Teacher Education · doi:10.1016/j.tate.2019.102884 · Cited by 62
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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