Step 1: Read the following selection from a college psychology textbook. Then answer the questions that follow it. When you are finished, return to Activity 29 in your Lab Manual to complete the outline of information in Table 13.4.

Passionate and Companionate Love

Many classifications of love have been suggested, and all have some overlapping components. One early classification designates two types of love: passionate love, which involved continuously thinking about the loved one and warm, even searing sexual feelings and potent emotional reactions; and companionate love, which involves having trusting and tender feelings for someone with whom close friendship is shared, as well as a deep sense of being intertwined. Passionate and companionate love are not completely separate processes. As people become more intimate and intertwined in a relationship, their level of passion may also rise and wane—this view accounts for a range of behaviors in long-term relationships including varying frequency of sexual encounters as well as gender differences in intimate behaviors.

This two-level classification system seemed unfinished to Robert Sternberg, who sees love as having three components: intimacy, commitment, and passion. Intimacy is a sense of emotional closeness. Commitment is the extent to which a relationship is permanent and long-lasting. Passion is arousal, partly sexual, partly intellectual, and partly inspirational. When all three components are present, the highest type of love—consummate love—results. Another view of love identifies six distinct varieties: passionate, game-playing, friendship, logical, possessive, and selfless. Table 13.4 shows a series of statements that are used on a test to measure the way people relate in a love relationship.

Variety of Love	Sample Test Items
Passionate love	My lover and I were attracted to each other immediately after we first met. My lover and I became emotionally involved rather quickly.
Game-playing love	I have sometimes had to keep two of my lovers from finding out about each other. I can get over love affairs pretty easily and quickly.
Friendship love	The best kind of love grows out of a long friendship. Love is really a deep friendship, not a mysterious, mystical emotion.
Logical love	It is best to love someone with a similar background. An important factor in choosing a partner is whether or not he (she) will be a good parent.
Possessive love	When my lover doesnít pay attention to me, I feel sick all over. I cannot relax if I suspect that my lover is with someone else.
Selfless love	I would rather suffer myself than let my lover suffer. Whatever I own is my loverís to use as he (she) chooses.

Different as all the classifications may be, researchers have nonetheless identified some common elements in love relationships. Love usually involves the idealization of another person; people see their loved ones in a positive light. It also involves caring for another person and being fascinated with that person. Love includes trust, respect, liking, honesty, companionship, and (sometimes) sexual attraction. A central element is commitment; however, researchers disagree as to whether love and commitment can be separated, because one usually follows from, or is part of, the other.

For couples that stay together, love grows over time. But what happens when love disappears? People in a close emotional relationship, whether married or not, experience emotional distress when they break up. Sadness, anger, loss, and despair are among the emotions experienced by people at the end of a close relationship. However, research shows that the extent of those feelings is determined by an individual's level of security. If you lose a lover or spouse, your reaction will be determined not only by the loss of the relationship but also by your own basic feelings of security, attachment, and anxiety.

Love is a state, but it is also a series of behaviors. Thus, although a person may be in love, most psychologists think of love in terms of behaviors that demonstrate it, including remaining faithful sexually and showing caring. Yet researchers also wish to know whether love has a biological basis.

Love is expressed differently in every culture, and there are enormous variations in its expression even within a single culture. When Susan Sprecher and her colleagues compared love attitudes and experiences among Japanese, Americans, and Russians, they found distinct cultural differences. For example, the Japanese were less romantic than the other groups; the Americans were more likely to associate love with marriage than were the other groups; the Russians were the most excitable and had the most difficulty staying calm when in love.

Cultural differences in love relationships arise in part because of the nature of marriage. In cultures where marriages are arranged by parents, love comes about slowly over time. In cultures where passionate love is equated with happiness, such as in the United States, love is often seen to wane over time; in cultures where romantic, passionate love is valued less, the depth of relationships and the waning of passion are viewed differently and have a different time course. Even within American culture, there are differences in decisions to marry among ethnic groups; for example, African American women are more likely than White women to insist on having economic supports, such as a steady job, in place before marriage. Psychologists know far too little about love relationships in various cultures; yet love is a basic human emotion that is nurtured from birth to death and is seen in every culture. As psychologists discern the key elements of friendship, they will be better prepared to tackle the even more complicated subject of love.

		1. The central idea of the entire passage is     a. passionate love   b. companionate love   c. passionate and companionate love   d. kinds of relationships
		2. The thesis statement of the entire passage is     a. "Many classifications of love have been suggested, and all have some overlapping components."   b. "One early classification designates two types of love: passionate love, which involves continuously thinking about the loved one and warm, even searing sexual feelings and potent emotional reactions; and companionate love, which involves having trusting and tender feelings for someone with whom close friendship is shared, as well as a deep sense of being intertwined."   c. "Passionate and companionate love are not completely separate processes."   d. "As people become more intimate and intertwined in a relationship, their level of passion may also rise and wane—this view accounts for a range of behaviors in long-term relationships including varying frequency of sexual encounters as well as gender differences in intimate relationships."
		3. Which love involves trust and tender feelings in a close friendship?    a. passionate love   b. companionate love
		4. Which love involves thinking about the loved one with warm sexual feelings?    a. passionate love   b. companionate love