CURSO TEMPORAL DE LOS COMPONENTES BÁSICOS DEL AMOR A LO LARGO DE LA RELACIÓN DE PAREJA

Abstract

Temporal course of basic components of love along the couple relationship. In a recent work (C.Yela, in press) a structural theoric model of love was proposed, introducing some variations on Sternberg's model (1986), verifying four basic dimensions: Erotic Passion, Romantic Passion, Intimacy and Commitment. In this work, we try to test the dinamic side of the model, that is, the temporal course of the components along the couple relationship. So we applied the same scales (including ítems from Sternberg and other authors) to a sample of 412 subjects. Data analysis confirmed in a considerable degree the hypothesis developed acording to the specialized literature. Nevertheless we obtained some unexpected results for which we offer different explanations. Global analysis of components evolution seems to suggest the existence of three main stages on loving relationships: "Being in love", "Passional love" and "Companionate love". Finally, we pay attention to some limitations and consequences of our study, making some suggestions for further research on future.