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Psychologist Robert Sternberg offers the theory that love consists of three essential components: intimacy, passion and commitment.

Intimacy - a closeness and mutual support, partnership. It increases as the rendezvous and the lovers in a calm, measured life can not be shown. However, in a crisis situation when a couple comes together to overcome difficulties, clearly expressed.

Passion - is feeling sexual desire. It reaches its highest point at the beginning of the relationship, but in the long-term growth stops. However, this does not mean that in a long marriage passion absent - it simply ceases to be an important motivator for the pair.

The obligations - the willingness to be faithful to another person. This is the only component of love, which increases with time in all respects - both long-term and short-term - and is becoming an increasingly important aspect.

Types of love

Depending on whether these components are present in the relationships, Sternberg identifies seven types of love.

1. Sympathy. It includes only one component - intimacy. There are spiritual closeness, a feeling of tenderness, affection for the man, but the lack of passion and dedication.

2. Obsession. There is passion, but there is no intimacy and commitment. As a rule, there is a passion very quickly and just as quickly. It is this love at first sight, which can remain fleeting passion, but may develop into something more.

3. Let love. There are mutual obligations, but there is no passion and intimacy. This is the love of convenience (no money, of course), when a man judiciously, weighing the pros and cons, decided to remain faithful to his partner. This kind of love is characteristic of couples who have lived together for a long time and have lost their emotional and physical attraction to each other, but maintained warm relations.

4. Romantic love. Characterized by the intimacy and passion but no commitment. Relationships are like sympathy, but in them, in addition to the emotional closeness, there is physical attraction to a partner. This kind of love is constantly pops up in the form of a story in literature and film (in the classic play "Romeo and Juliet", and in the popular women's novels).

5. Friendly love. The combination of intimacy and commitment. Passion is no longer, or never existed. This love binds relatives, friends or spouse, when the passion was gone.

6. Senseless love. An unusual combination of passion and dedication to the partner, but there is no spiritual affinity with him. Such relationships often become the hasty marriage, when the couple decides to get married almost to the second date. However, if a non-increasing intimacy, such a marriage ends in divorce over time.

7. Perfect love. It includes all three components: passion, intimacy, fidelity. All couples eager to such relations. And you can get them, but it is very difficult to maintain. Such love is never long. This does not mean that the relationship ends break, they just lose one of the components, and ideal love is transformed into another kind, such as a friendly or empty.