The simple definition of love includes admiration, affection and attachment.
Love is a complex phenomenon that combines physiology, psychology and subjective emotions affected by social factors. Different eras, cultures, disciplines and scholars have different understandings and definitions of love. The love triangle theory holds that love consists of three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment.
John Alan Lee, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, describes love in terms of three primary colors, believing that the three forms of love are passion, play and friendship. People experience different emotions due to individual differences such as attachment style, love beliefs, age, and gender. From "passionate love" to "introspection", love itself can also be divided into different stages.
As for where love comes from, there are different opinions on evolution theory, learning theory, sociology theory, spiritual love theory, biochemistry theory, dependence theory, etc. Biological studies believe that biological factors such as dopamine and oxytocin regulate love, and brain areas involved in happiness and reward, such as the caudate nucleus and putamen, are related to the occurrence of love.
Many psychologists believe that the emergence of love is in line with the laws of human survival and evolution, that is, people with this kind of emotion can get more warmth and protection and survive better. There are also psychologists who believe that love is related to defects or perfection of personality. Cross-cultural research on the concept of love has confirmed that the differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures will have an impact on the development of intimate relationships.
Love in social and historical context:
Although love is generally a personal experience, in fact, the society in which people live has comprehensive control over people's views on love and love. Object selection. Human societies tend to encourage romantic relationships because pairs of individuals can provide each other with assistance. Parents may also influence their children's mate choices, consciously or unconsciously, by choosing particular neighborhoods, sending their children to particular schools, etc.
Social approval is also very important for whether a romantic relationship can move forward. A set of American data shows that more than 95% of people marry someone of the same ethnic background as themselves. Parents and peers tend to be more supportive of the choice when a same-race partner is chosen, while interracial unions are more opposed.