Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Love

  • Chapter
Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

Love is a topic of considerable import and fascination in virtually every society. In Western cultures, love is claimed as the grounds for mating and dating and as the basis for family bonding. On a cultural level, love is one of the most frequently discussed literary topics. It is the repeated focus of philosophers, poets, novelists, musicians, artists, playwrights, and screen writers; there is no question that love preoccupies us as a society. For at least two decades, social scientists also have been adding to the burgeoning cornucopia that represents the production of knowledge on love. Research on the topic of love has expanded at an impressive pace, and there is no slowdown in sight. Yet, as we will see, despite the near-universal attraction of the subject of love, scholars rarely agree on first principles or stray beyond their disciplinary boundaries.

We express appreciation to Scott Gartner, Liz Sweet, and Richard Novak for their comments on our work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Acevedo, Bianca, and Arthur Aron. 2004. “On the Emotional Categorization of Love and Beyond.” Paper presented at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference, Madison, WI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aron, Arthur, and Elaine N. Aron. 1991. “Love and Sexuality.” Pp. 25–48 in Sexuality in Close Relationships, edited by K. McKinney and S. Sprecher. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aron, Elaine N., and Arthur Aron. 1996. “Love and Expansion of the Self: The State of the Model.” Personal Relationships 3: 45–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aron, Arthur, Helen E. Fisher, and Greg Strong. 2006. “Romantic Love.” Pp. 595–614 in The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships, edited by A. Vangelisti and D. Perlman. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aron, Arthur, Meg Paris, and Elaine N. Aron. 1995. “Falling in Love: Prospective Studies of Self-Concept Change.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69: 1102–1112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Averill, James R. 1985. “The Social Construction of Emotion: With Special Reference to Love.” Pp. 89–109 in The Social Construction of the Person, edited by K. J. Gergen and K. E. Davis. New York: Springer-Velag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartels, Andreas, and Semir Zeki. 2000. “The Neural Basis of Romantic Love.” NeuroReport 11: 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 2004. “The Neural Correlates of Maternal and Romantic Love.” Neurolmage 21: 1155–1166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, Kim. 1990. “Avoidance of Intimacy: An Attachment Perspective.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 7: 147–178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, Roy F., Sara R. Wotman, and Arlene M. Stillwell. 1993. “Unrequited Love: On Heartbreak, Anger, Guilt, Scriptlessness, and Humilitation.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64: 377–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellah, Robert N., Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton. 1985. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berscheid, Ellen. 1985. “Interpersonal Attraction.” Pp. 413–484 in The Handbook of Social Psychology, edited by G. Lindzey and E. Aronson. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berscheid, Ellen, and Elaine H. Walster. 1974. “A Little Bit about Love.” Pp. 355–381 in Foundations of Interpersonal Attraction, edited by T. L. Huston. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1978. Interpersonal Attraction. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, John. 1973. Attachment and Loss. Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and Anger. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braiker, Harriet B., and Harold H. Kelley. 1979. “Conflict in the Development of Close Relationships.” Pp. 135–168 in Social Exchange in Developing Relationships, edited by R. L. Burgess and T. L. Huston. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buss, David M.. 1988. “Love Acts: The Evolutionary Biology of Love.” Pp. 100–117 in The Psychology of Love, edited by R. J. Sternberg and M. L. Barnes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1995. “Evolutionary Psychology: A New Paradigm for Psychological Science.” Psychological Inquiry 6: 1–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, Donn. 1971. The Attraction Paradigm. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1997. “An Overview (and Underview) of Research and Theory within the Attraction Paradigm.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 14: 417–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cancian, Francesca. 1987. Love in America: Gender and Self-Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cancian, Francesca M., and Steven L. Gordon. 1988. “Changing Emotion Norms in Marriage: Love and Anger in U.S. Women’s Magazines since 1900.” Gender and Society 2: 308–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contreras, Raquel, Susan S. Hendrick, and Clyde Hendrick. 1996. “Perspectives on Marital Love and Satisfaction in Mexican American and Anglo Couples.” Journal of Counseling and Development 74: 408–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, Richard, Keith E. Davis, and Milton E. Lipetz. 1972. “Parental Interference and Romantic Love: The Romeo and Juliet Effect.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 24: 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, Donald G., and Arthur P. Aron. 1974. “Some Evidence for Heightened Sexual Attraction under Conditions of High Anxiety.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 30: 510–517.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenreich, Barbara. 1983. The Hearts of Men. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, Paul. 1992. “An Argument for Basic Emotions.” Cognition and Emotion 6: 169–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, Seymour. 1984. “Controversial Issues in Emotion Theory.” Pp. 64–88 in Review of Personality and Social Psychology, edited by P. Shaver. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feeney, Judith A., Patricia Noller, and Nigel Roberts. 2000. “Attachment and Close Relationships.” Pp. 185–201 in Close Relationships: A Sourcebook, edited by C. Hendrick and S. S. Hendrick. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, Beverley. 1988. “Prototype Analysis of the Concepts of Love and Commitment.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 55: 557–579.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, Beverley, and Ross Broughton. 2004. “Conceptions of Love: Implications for Thoughts, Feelings and Behavior in Close Relationships.” Unpublished manuscript, University of Winnipeg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fehr, Beverley, and James A. Russell. 1984. “Concept of Emotion Viewed from a Prototype Perspective.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 113: 464–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1991. “The Concept of Love Viewed from a Prototype Perspective.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 60: 425–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felmlee, Diane H. 2001. “No Couple Is an Island: A Social Network Perspective on Dyadic Stability.” Social Forces 79: 1259–1287.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 2006. “Application of Dynamic Systems Analysis to Dyadic Interactions.” In Handbook of Methods in Positive Psychology, edited by A. D. Ong and M. van Dulmen. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felmlee, Diane H., and David F. Greenberg. 1999. “A Dynamic Systems Model of Dyadic Interaction.” Journal of Mathematical Sociology 23: 155–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felmlee, Diane, and Susan Sprecher. 2000. “Close Relationships and Social Psychology: Intersection and Future Paths.” Social Psychology Quarterly 63: 365–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felmlee, Diane, Susan Sprecher, and Edwin Bassin. 1990. “The Dissolution of Intimate Relationships: A Hazard Model.” Social Psychology Quarterly 53: 13–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finck, Henry T. 1902. Romantic Love and Personal Beauty: Their Development, Casual Relations, Historic and National Peculiarities. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fromm, Erich. 1956. The Art of Loving. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, Anthony. 1992. The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love and Eroticism in Modern Societies. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, Erving. 1964. “The Neglected Situation.” American Anthropologist 66: 133–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzaga, Gian C., Dacher Keltner, Esme A. Londahl, and Michael D. Smith. 2001. “Love and the Commitment Problem in Romantic Relations and Friendship.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81: 247–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goode, William J. 1959. “The Theoretical Importance of Love.” American Sociological Review 24: 38–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grote, Nancy K., and Irene H. Frieze. 1994. “The Measurement of Friendship-Based Love in Intimate Relationships.” Personal Relationships 1: 275–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, Elaine. 1988. “Passionate and Companionate Love.” Pp. 191–217 in The Psychology of Love, edited by R. J. Sternberg and M. L. Barnes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, Elaine, and Richard L. Rapson. 1993. Love, Sex, and Intimacy: Their Psychology, Biology, and History. New York: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, Elaine, and Susan Sprecher. 1986. “Measuring Passionate Love in Intimate Relationships.” Journal of Adolescence 9: 383–410.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, Elaine, and G. William Walster. 1978. A New Look at Love. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazan, Cindy, and Phillip R. Shaver. 1987. “Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52: 510–524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrick, Clyde, and Susan S. Hendrick. 1986. “A Theory and Method of Love.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 50: 392–402.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1988. “Lovers Wear Rose Colored Glasses.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 5: 161–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1990. “A Relationship-Specific Version of the Love Attitudes Scale.” Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 5: 239–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. Forthcoming. “Styles of Romantic Love.” In The Psychology of Romantic Love, edited by R. Sternberg and K. Weis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrick, Clyde, Susan. S. Hendrick, and Amy Dicke. 1998. “The Love Attitudes Scale: Short Form.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 15: 147–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrick, Clyde, Susan S. Hendrick, Franklin F. Foote, and Michelle J. Slapion-Foote. 1984. “Do Men and Women Love Differently?” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 1: 177–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendrick, Susan S., and Clyde Hendrick. 1992. Romantic Love. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1993. “Lovers as Friends.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 10: 459–466.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 2000. “Romantic Love.” Pp. 203–215 in Close Relationships: A Sourcebook, edited by C. Hendrick and S. S. Hendrick. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild, Arlie Russell. 2003. The Commercialization of Intimate Life: Notes from Home and Work. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Izard, Carroll E. 1992. Human Emotions. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackman, Mary. 1994. The Velvet Glove: Paternalism and Conflict in Gender, Class, and Race Relations. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jankowiak, William R., and Edward F. Fischer. 1992. “A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Romantic Love.” Ethnology 31: 149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemper, Theodore D. 1987. “How Many Emotions Are There? Wedding the Social and Autonomic Components.” American Journal of Sociology 93: 263–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1989. “Love and Like and Love and Love.” Pp. 249–268 in The Sociology of Emotions: Original Essays and Research Papers, edited by D. D. Franks and E. D. McCarthy. Greenwhich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemper, Theodore D., and Muriel T. Reid. 1997. “Love and Liking in the Attraction and Maintenance Phases of Long-Term Relationships.” Social Perspectives on Emotions 4: 37–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamm, Helmut, and Ulrich Wiesmann. 1997. “Subjective Attributes of Attraction: How People Characterize Their Liking, Their Love, and Their Being in Love.” Personal Relationships 4: 271–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, John A. 1973. Colours of Love: An Exploration of the Ways of Loving. Toronto: New Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1977. “A Typology of Styles of Loving.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 3: 173–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lofland, Lyn H. 1982. “Loss and Human Connection: An Exploration into the Nature of the Human Bond.” Pp. 219–242 in Personality, Roles, and Social Behavior, edited by W. Ickes and E. S. Knowles. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyers, Sarah A., and Ellen Berscheid. 1997. “The Language of Love: The Difference a Preposition Makes.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 23: 347–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, C. Wright. 1959. The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noller, Patricia. 1996. “What Is This Thing Called Love? Defining the Love that Supports Marriage and Family.” Personal Relationships 3: 97–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oakes, Guy. 1989. “Eros and Modernity: Georg Simmel on Love.” Pp. 229–247 in The Sociology of Emotions: Original Essays and Research Papers, edited by D. D. Franks and E. D. McCarthy. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oatley, Keith, and Phillip N. Johnson-Laird. 1987. “Toward a Cognitive Theory of Emotions.” Cognition and Emotion 1: 29–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orbuch, Terri L., and Susan Sprecher. 2003. “Attraction and Interpersonal Relationships.” Pp. 339–362 in Handbook of Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives, edited by J. DeLamater. New York: Kluwer/Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regan, Pamela C., 1998. “Of Lust and Love: Beliefs about the Role of Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships.” Personal Relationships 5: 139–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regan, Pamela C., and Ellen Berscheid. 1999. Lust: What We Know about Human Sexual Desire. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regan, Pamela C., Elizabeth R. Kocan, and Teresa Whitlock. 1998. “Ain’t Love Grand! A Prototype Analysis of Romantic Love.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 15: 411–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rempel, John K., and Christopher T. Burris. 2005. “Let Me Count the Ways: An Integrative Theory of Love and Hate.” Personal Relationships 12: 297–313.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, Zick. 1970. “Measurement of Romantic Love.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 16: 265–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1973. Liking and Loving: An Invitation to Social Psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schachter, Stanley. 1964. “The Interaction of Cognitive and Physiological Determinants of Emotional State.” Pp. 49–80 in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, edited by L. Berkowitz. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, John P. 1980. “The Function of Emotions in Behavioral Systems: A Systems Theory Analysis.” Pp. 35–56 in Emotion: Theory, Research, and Experience, edited by R. Plutchik and H. Kellerman. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaver, Phillip R., Hillary J. Morgan, and Shelley Wu. 1996. “Is Love a ‘Basic’ Emotion?” Personal Relationships 3: 81–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaver, Phillip, Judith Schwartz, Donald Kirson, and Cary O’Connor. 1987. “Emotion Knowledge: Further Explorations of a Prototype Approach.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52: 1061–1086.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmel, Georg. 1984. “On Love (A Fragment).” Pp. 153–192 in On Women, Sexuality, and Love. Translated and edited, with an introduction, by Guy Oakes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprecher, Susan, Arthur Aron, Elaine Hatfield, Anthony Cortese, Elena Potapova, and Anna Levitskaya. 1994. “Love: American Style, Russian Style, and Japanese Style.” Personal Relationships 1: 349–369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprecher, Susan, and Beverley Fehr. 2005. “Compassionate Love for Close Others and Humanity.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 22: 629–652.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprecher, Susan, and Diane Felmlee. 2000. “Romantic Partners’ Perceptions of Social Network Attibutes with the Passage of Time and Relationship Transitions.” Personal Relationships 7: 325–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprecher, Susan, and Pamela C. Regan. 1998. “Passionate and Companionate Love in Courting and Young Married Couples.” Sociological Inquiry 68: 163–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, Robert J. 1986. “A Triangular Theory of Love.” Psychological Review 93: 119–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1988. “Triangulating Love.” Pp. 119–138 in The Psychology of Love, edited by R. J. Sternberg and M. L. Barnes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1996. “Love Stories.” Personal Relationships 3: 59–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1997. “Construct Validation of a Triangular Love Scale.” European Journal of Social Psychology 27: 313–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1998. Love Is a Story. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swidler, Ann. 2001. Talk of Love: How Culture Matters. Chicago: University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tennov, Dorothy. 1979. Love and Limerence: The Experience of Being in Love. New York: Stein and Day.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, Jonathan H., and Jan E. Stets. 2005. The Sociology of Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, Ralph H. 1970. Family Interaction. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walster, Elaine, and G. William Walster. 1978. A New Look at Love. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, Gregory L., Sanford Fishbein, and Jeffrey Rutstein. 1981. “Passionate Love: The Misattribution of Arousal.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 41: 56–62.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616

    Diane H. Felmlee

  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790

    Susan Sprecher

Authors
  1. Diane H. Felmlee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan Sprecher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    Jan E. Stets  & Jonathan H. Turner  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Felmlee, D.H., Sprecher, S. (2006). Love. In: Stets, J.E., Turner, J.H. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30715-2_18

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation