Cited by 293Attachment and Relationship DynamicsEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorNeuroendocrine regulation and behavior

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 172 of the 180 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Romantic love and sexual desire in close relationships

Gonzaga, Gian C., Turner, Rebecca A., Keltner, Dacher, Campos, Belinda, Altemus, Margaret·2006·Emotion

DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.6.2.163

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Drawing on recent claims in the study of relationships, attachment, and emotion, the authors hypothesized that romantic love serves a commitment-related function and sexual desire a reproduction-related function. Consistent with these claims, in Study 1, brief experiences of romantic love and sexual desire observed in a 3-min interaction between romantic partners were related to distinct feeling states, distinct nonverbal displays, and commitment- and reproductive-related relationship outcomes, respectively. In Study 2, the nonverbal display of romantic love was related to the release of oxytocin. Discussion focuses on the place of romantic love and sexual desire in the literature on emotion.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1037/1528-3542.6.2.163

Cites

172 of 172 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
Muller, K. E., & Cohen, J. (1989) · Technometrics · doi:10.2307/1270020 · Cited by 99,603
Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
Cohen, J. (1990) · Computers Environment and Urban Systems · doi:10.1016/0198-9715(90)90050-4 · Cited by 65,417
Emotion And Adaptation
Lazarus, R. S. (1991) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780195069945.001.0001 · Cited by 12,691
The Handbook of Social Psychology
Gravatt, A. E., Lindzey, G. E., & Aronson, F. (1969) · The Family Coordinator · doi:10.2307/582242 · Cited by 12,518
An argument for basic emotions
Ekman, P. (1992) · Cognition and Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699939208411068 · Cited by 9,646
A power primer.
Cohen, J. (1992) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.112.1.155 · Cited by 8,771
Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511 · Cited by 6,247 · cited 4×
“Both Fredrickson (1998) and Shaver (see Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Shaver et al., 1988; Shaver, Morgan, & Wu, 1996) have argued that love is an emotion with distinct evolutionary roots (see also Buck, 1999).”
BackgroundInfluential
What good are positive emotions?
Fredrickson, B. L. (1998) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.300 · Cited by 6,066
Social psychology: handbook of basic principles
Higgins, E., & Kruglanski, A. (2008) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.45-3496 · Cited by 5,535
Social psychology: handbook of basic principles
(1997) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.34-3595 · Cited by 4,970

Show all 180 references

Research works printed but not linked: 15

Berscheid, 1985, Interpersonal attraction., 413
10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155 · DOI · Paper page
Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1989, Human ethology.
Ekman, 1978, Facial Action Coding System: A technique for the measurement of facial movement.
10.1037/0278-6133.13.4.334 · DOI
10.1037/0003-066X.43.5.349 · DOI
Hatfield, 1993, Love and attachment processes., 595
Hendrick, 1992, Romantic love.
Jankowiak, 1995, Romantic passion in the People's Republic of China., 166
Keltner, 2003, Emotional expression in social interaction., 415
10.1037/0021-843X.104.4.644 · DOI
Matarazzo, 1965, Studies of interviewer speech behavior., 179
Shaver, 1988, Love as attachment: The integration of three behavioral systems., 68
Taylor, The relation of oxytocin to psychological and biological stress response in older women., Psychosomatic Medicine
Tomkins, 1984, Affect theory., 163

Sorted by citations

Items 101–200 of 293

Beyond Emotion: Love as an Encounter of Myth and Drive
Lamy, L. (2016) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073915594431 · Cited by 38
“One possible answer is that love is twofold, with a long-standing, dispositional form being opposed to the more emotional, short-lived surge of love (Gonzaga et al., 2006; Shaver et al., 1996).”
Background
Finding a family: A categorization of enjoyable emotions
Graham, L. E., Thomson, A. L., Nakamura, J., Brandt, I. A., & Siegel, J. T. (2017) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2017.1402074 · Cited by 30
Examining the link between emotional childhood abuse and social relationships in midlife: The moderating role of the oxytocin receptor gene
Ebbert, A. M., Infurna, F. J., Luthar, S. S., Lemery‐Chalfant, K., & Corbin, W. R. (2019) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104151 · Cited by 27
A Provisional Taxonomy of Subjectively Experienced Positive Emotions
Weidman, A. C., & Tracy, J. L. (2020) · Affective Science · doi:10.1007/s42761-020-00009-7 · Cited by 33
Embodiment, Context-Sensitivity, and Discrete Emotions: A Response to Moors
Eickers, G., Loaiza, J. R., & PRINZ, J. J. (2017) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2017.1255492 · Cited by 26
“desire (Gonzaga et al., 2006), and sensory pleasure (Wehrle et al.”
Background
Understanding multimodal emotional expressions: recent advances in basic emotino theory
Keltner, D. J., & Cordaro, D. T. (2017) · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Cited by 25
Predictors of How Often and When People Fall in Love
Galperin, A., & Haselton, M. G. (2010) · Evolutionary Psychology · doi:10.1177/147470491000800102 · Cited by 25
“For instance, love promotes pair-bonding with a specific individual, whereas sexual desire motivates sexual approach-related behaviors ( Gonzaga, Turner, Keltner, Campos, and Altemus, 2006 ).”
Background
Oxytocin and interpersonal relationships
Patin, A., Scheele, D., & Hurlemann, R. (2017) · Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2017_22 · Cited by 32
“Increasingly, OT has been shown to have a facilitative effect on interpersonal relationships, correlating with nonverbal affection (Gonzaga et al. 2006) and increasing empathy (Schneiderman et al. 2014a; Hurlemann et al. 2010) and trust (Kosfeld et al. 2005; Baumgartner et al. 2008; Krueger et al.…”
Background
Rose-colored glasses gone too far? Mania symptoms predict biased emotion experience and perception in couples
Dutra, S. J., West, T. V., Impett, E. A., Oveis, C., Kogan, A., Keltner, D. J., & Gruber, J. (2013) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-013-9363-4 · Cited by 24
Ethnic differences in display rules are mediated by perceived relationship commitment.
Hwang, H. C., & Matsumoto, D. (2011) · Asian American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0026627 · Cited by 24
“Interestingly, Gonzaga et al. (2006) reported that there were no ethnic differences across Asian, Caucasian, or Latino couples.”
Background
Passionate Love
Feybesse, C., & Hatfield, E. C. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108658225.010 · Cited by 23
The Association between Oxytocin and Social Capital
Fujiwara, T., Kubzansky, L. D., Matsumoto, K., & Kawachi, I. I. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052018 · Cited by 22
“Also, momentary experiences of romantic love were associated with pulsatile increases in OT levels among heterosexual romantic couples [9].”
Background
The Role of Sexual Selection in the Evolution of Facial Displays in Male Non-human Primates and Men
Petersen, R. M., & Higham, J. P. (2020) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-020-00139-z · Cited by 23
The Vices and Virtues of Consensual Non-Monogamy:A Relational Dimension Investigation
Brooks, T. R., Shaw, J. E., Reysen, S., & Henley, T. B. (2021) · Psychology and Sexuality · doi:10.1080/19419899.2021.1897034 · Cited by 28
Discussions and perspectives regarding oxytocin as a biomarker in human investigations
Mera, J. C. C., Molano, M. A. C., López, C. C. G., Triana, C. A., & Cotrina, J. M. (2021) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08289 · Cited by 25
The Multimodal Performance of Conversational Humor
Gironzetti, E. (2022) · Figurative thought and language · doi:10.1075/ftl.13 · Cited by 22
Endorphins, oxytocin, sexuality and romantic relationships: An understudied area
Khajehei, M., & Behroozpour, E. (2018) · World Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology · doi:10.5317/wjog.v7.i2.17 · Cited by 22
From an Unknown Other to an Attachment Figure: How Do Mental Representations Change as Attachments Form?
Zayas, V., Günaydın, G., & Shoda, Y. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-9622-9_8 · Cited by 21
“For example, participants who reported having discussed marriage with their partner expressed greater love and less sexual desire for their partner than those who reported not having discussed marriage (Gonzaga et al. 2006), suggesting that considering serious commitment is a turning point indicative of clearcut attac…”
Background
Love is a physiological motivation (like hunger, thirst, sleep or sex)
Burunat, E. (2019) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2019.05.011 · Cited by 25
“they consider emotions, love is typically near the top of that list [25,30], in [26].”
BackgroundInfluential
Experimental elicitations of awe: A meta-analysis
Pérez, K. A., Lench, H. C., Thompson, C. G., & North, S. (2023) · Cognition and Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2022.2140126 · Cited by 20
“However, the majority of these studies have focused on states such as happiness (e.g. Ekman, 1992; Izard, 1992; 1977), love (e.g. Gonzaga et al., 2006), and pride (e.g. Tracy & Robins, 2008).”
Background
Does Sexual Desire Fluctuate More Among Women than Men?
Harris, E. A., Hornsey, M. J., Hofmann, W., Jern, P., Murphy, S. C., Hedenborg, F., & Barlow, F. K. (2023) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-022-02525-y · Cited by 20
“The assumption that women have a weaker and more sensitive sex drive than men has been echoed in social, evolutionary, clinical, neuro-, and relationships psychology (e.g., Birnbaum et al., 2016; Diamond, 2003; Everaerd et al., 2006; Gonzaga et al., 2006).”
Background
If you work it, flaunt it: Conspicuous displays of exercise efforts increase mate value
Vandenbroele, J., Kerckhove, A. V., & Geuens, M. (2019) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.01.030 · Cited by 21
National income inequality predicts cultural variation in mouth to mouth kissing
Watkins, C. D., Leongómez, J. D., Bovet, J., Żelaźniewicz, A., Korbmacher, M., Varella, M. A. C., Fernández, A. M., Wagstaff, D., & Bolgan, S. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-43267-7 · Cited by 21
Transition novelty moderates daters' cortisol responses when talking about marriage
Loving, T. J., Gleason, M. E. J., & Pope, M. T. (2009) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2009.01218.x · Cited by 20
Romantic love, pair-bonding, and the dopaminergic reward system.
Acevedo, B. P., & Aron, A. P. (2013) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/14250-004 · Cited by 20
Nonverbal expressions of positive emotions
Sauter, D. A., McDonald, N. M., Gangi, D. N., & Messinger, D. S. (2014) · Cited by 19
Do People Agree on What Makes One Feel Loved? A Cognitive Psychometric Approach to the Consensus on Felt Love
Oravecz, Z., Muth, C., & Vandekerckhove, J. (2016) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152803 · Cited by 19
Endogenous Oxytocin Release Eliminates In-Group Bias in Monetary Transfers With Perspective-Taking
Terris, E. T., Beavin, L. E., Barraza, J. A., Schloss, J., & Zak, P. J. (2018) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00035 · Cited by 19
“Studies that examine endogenous OT release have only reported prosocial effects in psychologically healthy populations (Zak et al., 2005; Gonzaga et al., 2006; Morhenn et al., 2008; Barraza and Zak, 2009; Israel et al., 2009; Hurlemann et al., 2010; Crockford et al., 2014).”
Background
Behold, I am Coming Soon! A Study on the Conceptualization of Sexual Orgasm in 27 Languages
Chiang, A. Y., & Chiang, W.-Y. (2016) · Metaphor and Symbol · doi:10.1080/10926488.2016.1187043 · Cited by 18
“These studies suggested that studying sexual desire as an emotion can be beneficial and fruitful when inspecting the cognitive processing and behavioral reactions in a sexual experience (Everaerd, 1989; Gonzaga et al., 2006).”
Background
The evolution of love and long-term bonds.
Gonzaga, G. C., & Haselton, M. G. (2008) · Cited by 18
Sex, Drugs, and Violence: Neuromodulation of Attachment and Conflict in Voles
Gobrogge, K. L. (2013) · Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · doi:10.1007/7854_2013_264 · Cited by 16
“AVP, OT, and DA are all involved in many human behaviors including social bonding (Bartels and Zeki 2004; Gonzaga et al. 2006; Marazziti et al. 2006), autism (Kendrick 2004), physical aggression (Pedersen 2004), and parenting (Swain et al.”
An investigation among dreams with sexual imagery, romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction
Clarke, J., DeCicco, T. L., & Navara, G. (2010) · International journal of dream research · doi:10.11588/ijodr.2010.1.472 · Cited by 17
Endogenous oxytocin and human social interactions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Burenkova, O. V., Dolgorukova, T. A., An, I., Kustova, T. A., Podturkin, A. A., Shurdova, E. M., Talantseva, O. I., Zhukova, M., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2023) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000402 · Cited by 17
Looking beyond the static face in emotion recognition: The informative case of interest
Dukes, D., Clément, F., Audrin, C., & Mortillaro, M. (2017) · Visual Cognition · doi:10.1080/13506285.2017.1341441 · Cited by 15
Daily Implications of Felt Love for Sleep Quality
Dickens, C. N., Gray, A. L., Heshmati, S., Oravecz, Z., & Brick, T. R. (2021) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.5406/amerjpsyc.134.4.0463 · Cited by 15
Regulating connection: Implicit self-esteem predicts positive non-verbal behavior during romantic relationship-threat
Peterson, J. L., & DeHart, T. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.07.013 · Cited by 17
“For example, research has revealed that not only does romantic love have its own unique, nonverbal correlates (Gonzaga, Turner, Keltner, Campos, & Altemus, 2006), but positive nonverbal communication predicts meaningful relationship outcomes, such as commitment, satisfaction (Gonzaga, Keltner,…”
Endocrine factors of pair bonding.
Stárka, L. (2007) · PubMed · Cited by 15
Measuring Sexual Intelligence for Evaluating Sexual Health
Husain, W., Kiran, A., Qasim, U., Gul, S., & Iftikhar, J. (2023) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941231152388 · Cited by 15
“…behaviors (Motofei, 2009), reproduction, pleasure, romance (Seidman et al., 2016), subjective perceptions (Offman & Matheson, 2005) and expectations (McClelland, 2010), relational factors (Laan & Both, 2011), and sociocultural motivators for sexual behaviors (Gonzaga et al., 2006; Levine, 2003).”
Partners’ Daily Love and Desire as Predictors of Engagement in and Enjoyment of Sexual Activity
Vowels, L. M., & Mark, K. P. (2020) · Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy · doi:10.1080/0092623x.2019.1711274 · Cited by 14
“While romantic partners often feel romantic love and sexual desire throughout their relationship, the levels may shift over time and partners may also feel momentary surges of emotional experiences of romantic love and sexual desire (Gonzaga et al., 2006).”
Background
I hear but I don't see you: Interacting over phone reduces the accuracy of perceiving affiliation in the other
Sadikaj, G., & Moskowitz, D. S. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.08.004 · Cited by 13
The Desire for Porn and Partner?: Investigating the Role of Scripts in Affectionate Communication, Sexual Desire, and Pornography Consumption and Guilt in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships
Bennett‐Brown, M., LoPresti, B. J., McGloin, R., & Denes, A. (2019) · Western Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/10570314.2018.1564934 · Cited by 13
Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Visual Interest and Appraisals: Multimodal Analysis and Automatic Recognition
Soleymani, M., & Mortillaro, M. (2018) · Frontiers in ICT · doi:10.3389/fict.2018.00017 · Cited by 14
“The body may indeed play a special role in communicating specific positive emotions (Tracy and Robins, 2004; Gonzaga et al., 2006; Dukes et al., 2017; Mortillaro and Dukes, 2018).”
Background
The choreography of human attraction: physiological synchrony in a blind date settingPreprint
Prochazkova, E., Sjak-Shie, E., Behrens, F., Lindh, D., & Kret, M. E. (2019) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/748707 · Cited by 13
“Figure 3b-c shows that the more couples’ skin conductance levels synchronized (F (9, 314) = 8.”
Background
Body maps of loves
Rinne, P., Tavast, M., Glerean, E., & Sams, M. E. (2023) · Philosophical Psychology · doi:10.1080/09515089.2023.2252464 · Cited by 12
“Other psychological accounts focus on, for example, measuring romantic love (Rubin, 1970), distinguishing romantic love from sexual desire (Gonzaga et al., 2006; Horikawa et al., 2020) or on analyzing couple-relationships on the axis of romantic love and companionate love through the concepts of…”
An evidence-based approach to an ancient pursuit: systematic review on converting online contact into a first date
Khan, K. S., & Chaudhry, S. (2015) · BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine · doi:10.1136/ebmed-2014-110101 · Cited by 15
Alcohol-Influenced Nonverbal Behaviors During Discussions About a Relationship Problem
Samp, J. A., & Monahan, J. L. (2009) · Journal of Nonverbal Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10919-009-0069-y · Cited by 12
“Research suggests that nonverbal behaviors are particularly revealing of relational perceptions when communicators are dealing with conflictual, problematic, or distressing situations within their relationships (e.g., Canary et al. 1995; Gonzaga et al. 2006 ) and since alcohol has been argued to primarily affect behav…”
Background
Romantic Love for a Reason
Brogaard, B. “. (2020) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199395729.013.3 · Cited by 11
Love Is Not an Emotion
Burunat, E. (2016) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2016.714173 · Cited by 14
Cognitive control in romantic love: the roles of infatuation and attachment in interference and adaptive cognitive control
Langeslag, S. J. E., & van Steenbergen, H. (2019) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2019.1627291 · Cited by 14
“Because attachment, more than infatuation, has been associated with positive affect (Fisher, 1998; Gonzaga et al., 2006), opioids (Machin & Dunbar, 2011), and buffering against painful and stressful events (Bourassa, Ruiz, & Sbarra, 2019; Coan, Schaefer, & Davidson, 2006), we predicted that…”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Nurturant Love and Caregiving Emotions
O’Neil, M. J., Danvers, A. F., & Shiota, M. N. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-77619-4_9 · Cited by 10
Sexual Desire Mediates the Relationship-Promoting Effects of Perceived Partner Mate Value
Birnbaum, G. E., Kanat‐Maymon, Y., Slotter, E. B., & Luchies, L. B. (2021) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02060-2 · Cited by 10
Relación entre satisfacción sexual, ansiedad y prácticas sexuales
Rodríguez-Jiménez, O. R. (2010) · Pensamiento Psicológico · doi:10.11144/130 · Cited by 10
“…se han producido en una década pueden dar razón de esta diferencia; igual se considera que el tema del papel del amor en las relaciones sexuales y su relación con la satisfacción debe ser motivo de una investigación en sí misma, tal y como lo reporta el estudio realizado por Gonzaga et al. (2006).”
Background
The Physiology of Feeling Hurt
Loving, T. J., Le, B., & Crockett, E. E. (2009) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511770548.018 · Cited by 10
#FOMO: How the Fear of Missing Out Drives Consumer Purchase Decisions
van Solt, M. (2019) · doi:10.25148/etd.fidc007765 · Cited by 10
Considering distinct positive emotions in psychedelic science
Goldy, S. P., Hendricks, P. S., Keltner, D. J., & Yaden, D. B. (2024) · International Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.1080/09540261.2024.2394221 · Cited by 9
“…emotions, such as love, sexual desire, and compassion or sympathy, facilitate and arise in close relationships (Edelstein & Chin, 2018; Gonzaga et al., 2006); how pride stems from success and signals status and group strength (Tracy & Matsumoto, 2008; Tracy & Robins, 2008); how joy…”
Affectionate communication, health, and relationships
Floyd, K., Debrot, A., Horan, S. M., Hesse, C., & Woo, N. T. (2022) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/pere.12444 · Cited by 10
Seeds of love: Positivity bias mediates between passionate love and prorelationship behavior in romantic couples
Mizrahi, M., Lemay, E. P., Maniaci, M. R., & Reis, H. T. (2022) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075221076002 · Cited by 10
“…factor that facilitates adjustments to the demands of committed relationships, by reward mechanisms that motivate partners to prefer their existing relationship over extra-dyadic alternatives, benefit their partners, and sustain the relationship over time (e.g., Gonzaga et al., 2001, 2006, 2008).”
Background
Automatic Inattention to Attractive Alternative Partners Helps Male Heterosexual Chinese College Students Maintain Romantic Relationships
Ma, Y.-D., Xue, W.-F., & 涂燊 (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01687 · Cited by 7
“Thus, for mated individuals, romantic love functions as a commitment device that can promote longterm commitment, sustain long-term bonds (Gonzaga et al., 2006) and arouse relationship motivation, which could help to reduce attention to attractive alternatives (Maner et al.”
Background
“Just knowing you found the person that you're ready to spend your life with”: Love, romance and intimate relationships
Groenewald, C. R. (2013) · Agenda · doi:10.1080/10130950.2013.809922 · Cited by 7
Love and marital satisfaction among urban Malays: comparing three groups length of marriage
Hoesni, S. M., Kadir, N. B. A., Sulaiman, W. S. W., & Hafidz, S. W. M. (2016) · JURNAL PSIKOLOGI MALAYSIA · Cited by 7
Increasing Love Feelings, Marital Satisfaction, and Motivated Attention to the Spouse
Langeslag, S. J. E., & Surti, K. (2022) · Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1027/0269-8803/a000294 · Cited by 7
When First Comes Love (or Lust): How Romantic and Sexual Cues Bias First Impressions in Online Social Networking
Carpentier, F. R. D., Parrott, M. S., & Northup, C. T. (2014) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2014.933158 · Cited by 7
“However, perhaps romantic cues can curb sexual permissiveness, as romance relates to goals of love and relationship commitment rather than casual sex (Gonzaga et al., 2006; see also Carter et al., 1999).”
Background
Sexual intimacy challenges as markers of relational turbulence in couples with depression
Delaney, A. L. (2018) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407518809488 · Cited by 8
Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) links to marital quality via social support behavior and perceived partner responsiveness.
Mattson, R. E., Cameron, N. M., Middleton, F. A., Starr, L. R., Davila, J., & Johnson, M. D. (2018) · Journal of Family Psychology · doi:10.1037/fam0000474 · Cited by 8
Predicción del ajuste diádico en una muestra nuevoleonesa
de la Rubia, J. M. (2008) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Cited by 7
Comparative Cognition and Neuroscience
Snowdon, C. T., & Cronin, K. A. (2009) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9780470478509.neubb001004 · Cited by 7
“(1999), Gonzaga et al. (2006) reported that women engaging in affiliation signals with a romantic partner had a significant positive correlation between the amount of positive signaling and serum oxytocin. Grewen, Girdler, Amico, and Light (2005) reported higher plasma oxytocin in both men and women in relationships w…”
Background
EmotionPrism: a design tool that communicates 25 pleasurable human-product interactions
Yoon, J., Pohlmeyer, A. E., & Desmet, P. (2017) · J of Design Research · doi:10.1504/jdr.2017.10011043 · Cited by 15
Shakespeare in Love: A Fictional Transliteration of the Grammar of Heterosexual Mating
Basili, L. L., & Sacco, P. L. (2019) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/2158244018822376 · Cited by 6
Dyadic Experiences of Love in Late-Life Repartnering Relationships
Koren, C. (2021) · Journal of Family Issues · doi:10.1177/0192513x211031520 · Cited by 6
“This coincides with love as an emotion (Gonzaga et al., 2006) and with the existential, phenomenological, emotional cycle in which love cannot constantly be felt.”
Background
Romantic Love and Sexual Frequency: Challenging Beliefs
Bode, A., Kowal, M., Aghedu, F. C., & Kavanagh, P. S. (2024) · Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy · doi:10.1080/0092623x.2024.2394670 · Cited by 9
“Some studies (e.g., Gonzaga et al., 2006; Vowels & Mark, 2020) have empirically investigated love, sexual desire, and sexual activity, but they have not explicitly investigated romantic love.”
Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Interactions in Affiliation
Snowdon, C. T. (2011) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9520-9_18 · Cited by 6
“When engaging in affiliative cues, but not sexual cues, with their partners women had correlated increases in oxytocin levels ( Gonzaga et al., 2006 ).”
Background
The price of love: an investigation into the relationship between romantic love and the expression of obsessive–compulsive disorder
McLauchlan, J., Thompson, E. M., Ferrão, Y. A., Miguel, E. C., Albertella, L., Marazziti, D., & Fontenelle, L. F. (2021) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852921000444 · Cited by 7
The Relational Aboutness of Emotions in Interpersonal Contexts
Knothe, J. M., & Walle, E. A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-32968-6_5 · Cited by 5
How feeling loved inspires the purchase of green foods
Tang, D., Chen, J., Jiang, Q., Huang, H., & Zheng, M. (2025) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102523 · Cited by 6
Effect of Gender and Life-Stage on Love Styles in the Indian Context
Sharma, S., & Khandelwal, K. A. (2013) · Psychological Studies · doi:10.1007/s12646-013-0213-y · Cited by 5
Assessing Implicit Mate Preferences among Chinese and Japanese Women by Providing Love, Sex, or Money Cues
Jin, Z., Shiomura, K., & Jiang, L. (2015) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/21.pr0.116k11w6 · Cited by 5
Passionate love and sexual desire: Multidisciplinary perspectives.
Hatfield, E. C., & Rapson, R. L. (2008) · Cited by 5
Perceived ability to regulate love
Surti, K., & Langeslag, S. J. E. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216523 · Cited by 6
The influence of biological factors on students’ sexual behaviour at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Mutinta, G., Govender, K., George, G., & Gow, J. (2014) · African Journal of AIDS Research · doi:10.2989/16085906.2014.961938 · Cited by 8
Exploring Mate Value across Two Studies: From Perceptions to Enhancement
Sidelinger, R. J., & McMullen, A. L. (2008) · Cited by 5
Loving God and Loving Others: Learning About Love From Psychological Science and Pentecostal Perspectives
Sutton, G. W., & Mittelstadt, M. W. (2012) · Cited by 5
Toward a new theory of couple functioning: a short overview of “Love and Rejection Messages Theory” (LRMT)
Marici, M. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1646458 · Cited by 5
“Romantic relationships also provide a context for sexual fulﬁllment (Gonzaga et al., 2001), which strengthens emotional and physical bonds (Hatﬁeld and Rapson, 1993), and oﬀer the context for developing a multifaceted intimacy (Turliuc, 2004).”
Dialing up desire and dampening disinterest: regulating sexual desire in the bedroom and sexual and relationship well-being
Horne, R. M., Raposo, S., Muise, A., Harasymchuk, C., & Impett, E. A. (2021) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075211054781 · Cited by 4
“Sexual desire is generally defined as a motivation to seek out and engage in sexual experiences, but it has also been classified as an emotional state and overlaps with definitions of affection (Gonzaga et al., 2006, 2008).”
Background
Mediating the Damaging Effects of Hurtful Teasing: Interpersonal Solidarity and Nonverbal Immediacy as Mediators of Teasing in Romantic Relationships
Sidelinger, R. J., Frisby, B. N., & McMullen, A. L. (2012) · Atlantic Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/15456870.2012.665344 · Cited by 4
Experimental Induction of Emotional and Sexual Intimacy: Exploring the Validity of the German Fast Friends Procedure in Individuals with and without Childhood Maltreatment
Weilenmann, S., von Luckner, A., Peyk, P., Huber, C., Schnyder, U., & Pfaltz, M. C. (2021) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02081-x · Cited by 4
Factors that Help and Hinder the Relationship between Veterans and their Partners: The Partners' Perspective
Papile, C. (2009) · UVic’s Research and Learning Repository (University of Victoria) · Cited by 4
Universals and Cultural Variations in Emotional Expression
Cordaro, D. T. (2014) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 4
Love and Commitment in Romantic Relationships
Campbell, L., & Loving, T. J. (2015) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119125563.evpsych118 · Cited by 4
Let's get serious: Communicating commitment in romantic relationships
Ackerman, J. M., Griskevicius, V., & Li, N. P. (2009) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e615882011-144 · Cited by 4
Childhood maltreatment, sexual desire and sexual distress in couples: the role of touch aversion
Sansoucy, F., Kotiuga, J., Daspe, M., Bigras, N., & Vaillancourt‐Morel, M. (2025) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107460 · Cited by 7
“The System Sweeps it Under the Rug”: Educational Staff’s Perspectives on Romantic Relationships Among Autistic Adolescents
Shpigelman, C., & Hassan, G. H. (2025) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-025-06872-2 · Cited by 3
“They include three main components of varying degrees: intimacy, commitment, and sexual desire (Bowling et al., 2022; Connolly & McIsaac, 2011; Gonzaga et al., 2006).”
A Psychological Guide to Lower Face Botulinum Toxin Injections: Baseline Emotional Functions of Facial Expressions
Hopf, A. G. M., Buchheim, A., Hopf, M., & Eilert, D. W. (2026) · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology · doi:10.1111/jocd.70833 · Cited by 3
Development and validation of the sexual distress scale: results from a collectivistic culture
Husain, W., & Jahrami, H. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-02443-3 · Cited by 3
Exploring Expressions of Marital Love Prototype among Married Urban Malays
Hoesni, S. M., Hashim, I. H. M., & Sarah, W. M. H. (2013) · Asian Social Science · doi:10.5539/ass.v9n2p245 · Cited by 3
Predicción de la satisfacción sexual en mujeres y hombres casados
León, U. A. D. N., & de la Rubia, J. M. (2011) · Revista Mexicana de Investigación en Psicología · doi:10.32870/rmip.v3i1.497 · Cited by 3
Language Genesis
Burunat, E. (2015) · Advances in Anthropology · doi:10.4236/aa.2015.52008 · Cited by 3
Models of Romantic Love
Karandashev, V. N. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05343-6_6 · Cited by 3
Did you get the joke? Physiological, subjective and behavioral responses to mirth
Ruiz‐Padial, E., Padilla, M. M., & del Paso, G. A. R. (2023) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.14292 · Cited by 3
Wives with long and high-quality hair have more frequent sex
Cheon, J. E., Kim, J. J., & Kim, Y.-H. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1294660 · Cited by 3
Sexual Desire is not Partner-Specific
Peters, S. D., Maner, J. K., & Meltzer, A. L. (2024) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-024-09478-2 · Cited by 5
“…to as the pair-bonding system ) and another involved in solving challenges associated with finding and procuring sexual partners (henceforth referred to as the sexual behavior system ; Diamond, 2004; Fisher, 1998; Gonzaga et al., 2006; Hendrickson et al., 2024; Kenrick et al., 2010 ; Maner, 2019).”

Authors: Gonzaga, G. C., Turner, R. A., Keltner, D., Campos, B., & Altemus, M.
Affiliations: University of California, Los Angeles (US)
ORCID: Turner, Rebecca A.
Keltner, Dacher
Campos, Belinda
Altemus, Margaret
Venue: Emotion
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2006-05
Volume: 6
Issue: 2
Pages: 163-179
ISSN: 1528-3542 (ISSN-L)
1931-1516
DOI: 10.1037/1528-3542.6.2.163
OpenAlex: W2152410293
Cited by: 292
References: 180
Citations by year: 2026: 5 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 13
FWCI: 16.83
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Emotion (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (5T32MH15750-22)
US Public Health Service (5 MO1 RR-00079)
California School of Professional Psychology
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
Keywords: romantic love, sexual desire, close relationships, romantic partners, relationship commitment, reproduction, oxytocin, attachment
MeSH terms: Adult, Affect, Attitude, Cues, Demography, Ethnicity, Facial Expression, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Libido, Love, Male, Nonverbal Communication, Object Attachment, Oxytocin, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sexual Behavior, Sexual Partners, Social Desirability, Biomarkers, Expressed Emotion

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Romantic love and sexual desire in close relationships

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks