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The triangular theory of love.

Psychologist Robert Sternberg developed the triangular theory of love as a means of gauging and characterizing the love felt between two people.

He measured each person’s feelings for the other on three different scale :

– intimacy,

– passion and

– commitment

and gave labels to different forms of love according to the proportional importance of these three factors.

For example, he categorized a relationship based on intimacy alone as a friendship, one founded on passion as an infatuation, and one in which a couple feel commitment to each other but no passion or intimacy as “empty love”.

At the other end of the scale Sternberg described a relationship based on high levels of all three elements as “consummate love”, the most complete form of love.

However as relationships change over time of the challenge is not only to find consummate love but to sustain it.

So how are your relationships?

Take care

Chris

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