SOC-12 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Libido, Forego, Attachment Theory
Keenan Lieu
Fall 2018
Marriage and Family Relations
Theories and models of love
Why do we love?
● Evolutionary theorists suggest that love is a “commitment device”
○ Leads people to forego attractive immediate rewards in favour of longer term
benefits
■ People in love do think less about possible alternative partners
○ After focusing on love for current partner
■ People report fewer thoughts about an attractive alternative and recalled
fewer attractiveness-related details about the alternative than those told to
focus on their desire for their current partner
○ Crucial that love carries on long enough for raising children
Evolutionary theories
● Lust
○ Sex drive, regulated by hormones
○ Drives reproduction by motivating us to mate with others
● Attachment
○ Feelings of comfort and security which keep couples together long enough to
raise children
○ Drives companionate love, fueled by oxytocin
■ Oxytocin – when hug/kiss levels spike, role in pair bonding, and
stimulated during sex, birth, and breast feeding
● Attraction
○ Promotes pursuit of a particular preferred romantic partner
○ Fuels romantic love, regulated by dopamine and serotonin in the brain
○ Dopamine explains level of excitement and exhilaration which occur
■ Dopamine – related to increases in love, joy, self confidence and
motivation
○ Serotonin give energy to pursue
■ Serotonin – mood regulation, appetite, sleep, stimulates metabolism,
cellular growth and digestion
Biochemical theory
● Love results from biological, chemical hormones
○ Same feeling as cocaine (stimulants)
■ Stimulants – increase activity in brain, mood, awareness, alertness
○ Passionate love is linked with arousal
■ Heightened arousal leads to difficulty concentrating on other activities
Document Summary
Evolutionary theorists suggest that love is a commitment device . Leads people to forego attractive immediate rewards in favour of longer term benefits. People in love do think less about possible alternative partners. After focusing on love for current partner. People report fewer thoughts about an attractive alternative and recalled fewer attractiveness-related details about the alternative than those told to focus on their desire for their current partner. Crucial that love carries on long enough for raising children. Drives reproduction by motivating us to mate with others. Feelings of comfort and security which keep couples together long enough to. Oxytocin when hug/kiss levels spike, role in pair bonding, and raise children stimulated during sex, birth, and breast feeding. Promotes pursuit of a particular preferred romantic partner. Fuels romantic love, regulated by dopamine and serotonin in the brain. Dopamine explains level of excitement and exhilaration which occur. Dopamine related to increases in love, joy, self confidence and motivation.
