What exactly is intimacy? Think about the word; what does it imply to you? The word intimacy is derived from the Latin word intimus, meaning “in­ner” or “innermost” (Hatfield, 1988). Keeping our

Do men and women in every culture look for the same traits? For example, are more males than females looking for physically attractive mates in Nigeria? Is earning potential more important in males than females in China? David Buss (1989b) did an ambitious study comparing the importance of, among other things, physical attractiveness, earning po­tential, […]

What is it, finally, that we really look for in a mate? Men and women report that at the top of their list is mutual attraction and love (Buss et al., 2001). In addition to this, peo­ple are in surprising agreement on what other factors they want in an ideal partner. A study of homosexual, […]

On the other hand, it should be some relief to those of us not blessed with cover-model looks that a large percentage of people cite personality as the most important factor in choosing their partners. Though people tend to be attracted to others with personalities like theirs, the general traits cited as most important are […]

If You Love Something, Set It Free ollowing is a personal account of a love relation­ship between two college students. Meghan and Sebastian decided to take a break from each other to see whether their relationship was really working. Do you think most students would be willing to take a break and put their relationship […]

Physical attractiveness has been found to be one of the most importance influences in forming love relationships for both gay and straight men and women (Sangrador & Yela, 2000). Physically attractive people are assumed by others to have more so­cially desirable personalities and to be happier and more successful (Zebrowitz et al., 1998) . As […]

Love relationships can last many years. As time goes by, relationships grow and change, and love grows and changes. Trying to maintain a sense of stability and continuity while still allowing for change and growth is probably the single greatest challenge of long­term love relationships. Attaining intimacy is different from loving. We can love from […]

There is something attractive about young love, which is why it is celebrated so promi­nently in novels and movies. The love relationship seems so important, so earnest, and so passionate at the time, and yet so innocent and bittersweet in retrospect. Why are the dips and rises of our loves so important to us in […]

Throughout our lives, we love others. First we love our parents or caretakers and then siblings, friends, and lovers. At each stage of life we learn lessons about love that help us mature into the next stage. Love gets more complex as we get older. Let us walk through the different stages of individual development […]

Evolutionary theorists try to understand the evolutionary advantages of human behav­iors. Love, they believe, developed as the human form of three basic instincts: the need to be protected from outside threats, the instinct of the parent to protect the child, and the sexual drive. Love is an evolutionary strategy that helps us form the bonds […]