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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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“One of the first studies about brand love was by Shimp and Madden [38], who established a typology of consumer-object relationships based analogously on the triangular theory of love [39].”
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“Sternberg [83] proposed that love consists of three basic ingredients: intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment.”
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Love and Attachment: The Psychobiology of Social Bonding
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“” To explain these overlapping meanings of both commitment and love, Sternberg's ( 1986 ) triangular theory of love, which includes intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment, is illustrative.”
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“Each component varies in degree from weak to strong and may change depending on the particular relationship, as well as across time within a single relationship (Sternberg, 1986, 1998, 2008).”
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“Passion is typified by romance or sexual consummation (Sternberg, 1986) and passionate love can be defined as “a state of intense longing for union with another” (Hatfield et al., 2012, p. 144). de Bloom et al. (2017) in fact found that a search of literature on love in tourism typically leads to…”
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“Sternberg (1986) proposes a triangular theory of love, which considers that love is composed of dimensions such as passion, intimacy, and commitment (e.g. Kamat & Parulekar, 2007; Keh et al., 2007).”
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“The interpersonal theory of love (Sternberg, 1986), which is also known as the”
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“The TLS (Sternberg, 1988, 1997) is a 45-item measure of three dimensions of love (i.e., intimacy, passion, and commitment) identified in the triangular theory of love (Sternberg, 1986) in people who are in a social relationship.”
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“In addition, commitment develops over time, is based on emotional attachment, and represents a couple’s desire to be sexually faithful to one another (Sternberg, 1986).”
BackgroundLoving one's job: Construct development and implications for individual well-being
Kelloway, E., Inness, M., Barling, J., Francis, L., & Turner, N. (2010) · Research in occupational stress and well being · doi:10.1108/s1479-3555(2010)0000008006 · Cited by 22
On the Alternative Five-Factor Model: Structure and Correlates
Schmitz, P. G. (2004) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-008044209-9/50006-3 · Cited by 28
The Brand Likeability Effect: Can Firms make Themselves more Likeable?
Nguyen, B., Melewar, T. C., & Chen, J. (2013) · Journal of General Management · doi:10.1177/030630701303800303 · Cited by 25
Affirming parental love in the pediatric intensive care unit
Gillis, J., & Rennick, J. E. (2006) · Pediatric Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.pcc.0000200943.25252.4f · Cited by 25
“From a psychological perspective, Sternberg (9) proposed a theory of love in which distinct components including intimacy, passion, the decision to love someone else, and commitment to that relationship interrelate and give rise to different kinds of love.”
BackgroundPerception of physical attractiveness throughout loving relationships.
Yela, C., & Sangrador, J. L. (2001) · Current research in social psychology · Cited by 25
Noack, P., & Buhl, H. M. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511499852.003 · Cited by 26
Communicating new sexual desires and the factors that influence message directness
Harris, S., Monahan, J. L., & Hovick, S. R. A. (2014) · Sexual & Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/14681994.2014.954992 · Cited by 24
“Intimacy is an emotional component of love that refers to feelings of closeness and connectedness (Sternberg, 1986), including self-disclosure in close relationships (Emmers-Sommer, 2004).”
BackgroundPaquette, V., Rapaport, M., St-Louis, A. C., & Vallerand, R. J. (2020) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-020-09821-x · Cited by 35
“…of passion as such (e.g., Fricker and Moore 2002; Hendrick and Hendrick 1989; Lee 1997; Levy and Davis 1988), those who do so do not distinguish between harmonious and obsessive types of passion (e.g., Hatfield and Rapson 1993; Madey and Rodgers 2009; Mikulincer and Erev 1991; Sternberg 1986).”
Backgroundvan Lankveld, J. J. D. M., Dewitte, M. D., Verboon, P., & van Hooren, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.665967 · Cited by 29
“An influential definition of emotional intimacy is that of Sternberg (1986).”
BackgroundCosta, J., & Azevedo, A. (2022) · Corporate Reputation Review · doi:10.1057/s41299-022-00139-7 · Cited by 24
Pabla, H., & Soch, H. (2022) · Journal of Air Transport Management · doi:10.1016/j.jairtraman.2022.102345 · Cited by 33
I Study What I Stink At: Lessons Learned from a Career in Psychology
Sternberg, R. J. (2013) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-052913-074851 · Cited by 25
Self-citationPersonal assessment of intimacy in relationships: Validity and measurement invariance across gender
Constant, E., Vallet, F., Nandrino, J., & Christophe, V. (2016) · European Review of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.erap.2016.04.008 · Cited by 25
The Power of Passion in Entrepreneurship Education: Entrepreneurial Role Models Encourage Passion?
Fellnhofer, K. (2017) · PubMed · Cited by 32
A study of the nonlinear dynamics of human behavior and its digital hardware implementation
El-Safty, A., Tolba, M. F., Said, L. A., et al. (2020) · Journal of Advanced Research · doi:10.1016/j.jare.2020.03.006 · Cited by 24
“In 1986, Sternberg defined sides of the love triangle as intimacy, commitment, and passion[40].”
BackgroundCrazy Little Thing Called Love: A Consumer-Retailer Relationship
Ortiz, M. H., & Harrison, M. P. (2015) · Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-11797-3_189 · Cited by 24
“Shimp & Madden, 1988 Applied Sternberg’s theory of love to consumer-object relationships. Found eight different consumerobject relationships: nonliking, liking, infatuation, functionalism, inhibited desire, utilitarianism, succumbed desire, and loyalty. Based on Sternberg (1986), types of love are defined as nonlove,…”
BackgroundLOVE ACTUALLY? MEASURING AND EXPLORING CONSUMERS' BRAND LOVE
Bauer, H. H., Albrecht, C., & Heinrich, D. (2012) · Cited by 24
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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