2003-06-01 - 5:00 p.m.
Have some interesting slash cute things from my psych textbook as I avoid starting my assignment - (Social Psychology, Baron & Byrne 2003)
The Meaning of Love - In the Words of Children
When a group of children, aged four to eight, were asked the meaning of love, the following were some of their responses. They managed to give some specific examples of the basic components of love that have been identified by social psychologists
"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way."
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs."
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he looks like Robert Redford."
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
[Source: Hughes 2000]
WHY LOVE? It has not been easy to explain why human beings experience love. Love could be only a collective fantasy that many of us share. It could be based on psychoanalytical concepts, as we transfer unconscious lust for a parent into more appropriate channels. It appears, however, that the most accepted explanation today is based on evolutionary factors (Buss & Schmitt, 1993).
Several million years ago, our early hominid ancestors first began to walk in an upright position and forage for whatever food could be carried back to a safe shelter (Lemonick & Dorfman, 2001). The survival of these ancient humans, and later of Homo sapiens, depended on their reproductive success (Buss, 1994). Among many factors, this meant that potential mates had to be sexually attracted and, ideally, willing to invest time and effort in feeding and protecting their offspring. These two important characteristics (lust and commitment) were most likely to occur if biologically based sexual desire were combined with a biologically based tendency to bond with one's mate and with one's children (Rensberger, 1993). With the emotional attachment of bonding, early human male-female pairs were more than simply sex partners. It was an advantage to like and trust one another and to divide up tasks such as hunting, gathering food, and caring for children. According to this scenario, feeling an emotion such as love would enhance reprodcutive success. As a consequence, today's humans are gentically primed to seek sex, fall in love, and care for offspring. Monogamy may depend in part on brain chemistry (Insel & Carter, 1995), and most young adults expect their relationship to be a monogamous one (Wiederman & Allgeier, 1996).
Keep in mind that even if this evolutionary explanation is totally accurate, cultural influences still have the ability to guide lust and commitment into quite specific and varied forms based on our experiences with fictional presentations, religious teachings, and even the laws enacted by societies (Allgeier & Wiederman, 1994).
The Meaning of Love - In the Words of Children
When a group of children, aged four to eight, were asked the meaning of love, the following were some of their responses. They managed to give some specific examples of the basic components of love that have been identified by social psychologists
"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way."
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs."
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he looks like Robert Redford."
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
[Source: Hughes 2000]
WHY LOVE? It has not been easy to explain why human beings experience love. Love could be only a collective fantasy that many of us share. It could be based on psychoanalytical concepts, as we transfer unconscious lust for a parent into more appropriate channels. It appears, however, that the most accepted explanation today is based on evolutionary factors (Buss & Schmitt, 1993).
Several million years ago, our early hominid ancestors first began to walk in an upright position and forage for whatever food could be carried back to a safe shelter (Lemonick & Dorfman, 2001). The survival of these ancient humans, and later of Homo sapiens, depended on their reproductive success (Buss, 1994). Among many factors, this meant that potential mates had to be sexually attracted and, ideally, willing to invest time and effort in feeding and protecting their offspring. These two important characteristics (lust and commitment) were most likely to occur if biologically based sexual desire were combined with a biologically based tendency to bond with one's mate and with one's children (Rensberger, 1993). With the emotional attachment of bonding, early human male-female pairs were more than simply sex partners. It was an advantage to like and trust one another and to divide up tasks such as hunting, gathering food, and caring for children. According to this scenario, feeling an emotion such as love would enhance reprodcutive success. As a consequence, today's humans are gentically primed to seek sex, fall in love, and care for offspring. Monogamy may depend in part on brain chemistry (Insel & Carter, 1995), and most young adults expect their relationship to be a monogamous one (Wiederman & Allgeier, 1996).
Keep in mind that even if this evolutionary explanation is totally accurate, cultural influences still have the ability to guide lust and commitment into quite specific and varied forms based on our experiences with fictional presentations, religious teachings, and even the laws enacted by societies (Allgeier & Wiederman, 1994).
