Robert Sternberg (a
psychologist) has developed a
theory of how
intimacy,
passion, and
commitment may combine to produce
liking and several different forms of
love:
1. Passionate Love (romantic love)
Defined as an emotional, intense desire for sexual union with another person. It entails both intimacy and passion but no commitment.
2. Companionate Love
Defined as love that is characterized by a deep enduring affection and caring for another person, accompanied by a strong desire to maintain the relationship. It entails both intimacy and commitment but no passion.
3. Fatuous Love (a kind of love marked by complacency in the relaitonship)
Entails both passion and commitment but no intimacy.
4. Consummate Love
The highest form of love containing all three elements.