Triangulating Love breaks down relationships for us to better understand them and their structure. Sternberg describes one triangle as having three components: Intimacy, Passion and Decision/Commitment. Intimacy has to do with the closeness that the two people in the relationship have for one another. Passion has to do with physical expression such as sex. Decision and Commitment has to do with short and long-term decisions and choices. This has to do with keeping the person near us and doing whatever it takes to keep them in our lives because we now admit that we love them.
He then breaks down the three components even furthur into the "kinds of love" as different combinations. Many people could relate to "Infatuated Love". I say this because a lot of people say they have experienced "love at first sight" which is exactly what infatuated love is. However we all hope for "Consummate Love" because it has all three components. It can be difficult to attain but once we have acheived it, it can be the greatest feeling in the world.
I agreed with Sternberg, but found it strange to read about love in such a way that it seemed like a formula. I agreed with his descriptions of the components and will probably not look at love in the same way again, lol.
ReplyDelete