According to psychologist Robert Stenberg,

love is made up of three components:

1. Intimacy. This includes the desire to give
and receive emotional closeness, support,
caring and sharing.
2. Passion. This is the hot component of love
which can be described as intensely romantic
or sexual desire for another person usually
accompanied by physical attraction and
physiological arousal.
3. Commitment. This is the cold component
of love. It is the decision to maintain the
relationship through good times and bad
times.
Stenberg also described several types of love
based on the above components:
1.Liking (intimacy). This only involves
emotional intimacy and has no passionate
intention for long term commitment. It is just a
friendly relationship.
2.Infatuation (passion). This is associated with
a high degree of physiological arousal. There
is only passion without intimacy or
commitment. It is usually called "love at first
sight" and may fade quickly.
3.Empty love (commitment). This involves only
commitment. A relationship with no intimacy
and passion. Couples only stay together for
their children or other important reasons.
4.Romantic love (passion and intimacy). It is a
combination of both passion and intimacy
which may be present during the first phase of
a relationship. This is characterized by
emotional intensity and sexual excitement. The
experience of passionate love may be positive
and negative.
5.Companionate (love intimacy and
commitment). The components are both
intimacy and commitment which is
experienced in long openly committed
friendship or marriage where passion has
faded. It is more durable than romantic love
and may grow over time.
6. Fatuous love (passion and commitment). A
combination of passion and commitment
experienced by couple who spent a short time
in courtship and suddenly decided to get
married.
7.Consummate love (passion, intimacy and
commitment). There exists a healthy balance of
passion, intimacy, and commitment shared by
couples considered to be ideal for each other.
THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE

Why do people fall in love? From a biological

perspective, there is a part of the brain that is
Active when people are truly, deeply and madly
in love. The activity of the brain in the areas of
positive emotions, motivational drives and
reward increases whereas brain activities in
the areas related to negative emotions, fear,
aggression and social judgement decreases.
Similar reactions were seen in couples who
have been in love for 20 years. Oxytocin (for
uterine contraction, love and bonding
functions) and vasopressin (for water levels in
the body, bonding and parenting behaviour)
are hormones that affect bonding. Another is
the physiological reaction that occurs when
people are in love, which is not looking or
giving attention to other people of the opposite
sex.
 The Chemistry of Love explains how several
chemical substances in the body have been
found to naturally influence the experience of
love:
1 . Dopamine (DA) and Norepinephrine (NE) are
neurotransmitters that are involved in mood,
motivation, attention and excitement. Brain
areas that fire when people view a picture of
their romantic partner are pathways that are
rich in dopamine. Drugs such as cocaine,
amphetamines, and Ritalin raise DA levels that
lead to physiological reactions such as
increased attention, exhilaration, pounding
heart loss of sleep and appetite, and anxiety.
2 . Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has
been associated with mood, obsession, sex
and sleep. The level of serotonin decreases
during infatuation, which may cause the
obsession one feels during the early phase of
love. It is also low in patients who have
obsessive-compulsive disorder and
depression. It is believed that passionate
romantic love generally lasts within 6-18
months based on a study conducted which
suggests that people who are madly in love
have increased the level of serotonin after this
period.
3. Phenylethylamine (PEA) is a neurochemical
that can increase the levels of DA and NE
especially in the pathways involving mood and
pleasure. This has been called the "love drug"
because high level of this substance has been
associated with love and orgasm and to people
who are happy with their relationship. Some
studies suggest that PEA levels decrease
within 18 months to 3 years.
During breakup the PEA levels are low.
Chocolates have high levels of PEA causing
some to believe that it is a popular gift during
courtship because it elevates levels of "love
drug." However, the PEA in chocolates is
broken down before it reaches the brain.
Amphetamine-like PEA is partially responsible
for the feelings of euphoria and exhilaration
experienced during infatuation.
4. Oxytocin and vasopressin are
neuropeptides released from the pituitary
gland The oxytoch cause the uterus to contract
during childbirth and lows the release of breast
milk. It is also important in trust empathy,
emotional accessibility, pair bonding and close
relationship also promoter positive judgments.
When the brains of couples who said they were
still in love after 20 years of marriage are
scanned, areas rich in oxytocin showed
increased activity Orgasm increases levels of
oxytocin promoting a desire to be with their
partner and enhancing the pair bonding
process. Vasopressin is also important in pair
bonding and social behaviour memory
formation, as well as blood pressure.
5. Endorphins were named for endogenous
morphine," the body's natural oplates, similar
to the man-made drugs morphine or heroin. If
PEA, DA and NE are responsible for cocaine-
like euphoria in the beginning of a relationship,
at some point in time it may drop losing the
feeling of exhilaration. After the infatuation
ends and if the long-term relationship is
continuous, endorphin levels may increase. It
gives a feeling of security, euphoria and peace.
Being separated from the beloved can make
you lovesick like an addict who needs drugs to
maintain the feeling of euphoria.
The psychology of love shows that there are
psychological theories that would explain why
people fall in love.

1.Behavioral Reinforcement Theory.

When someone received a reward such as free
ride or other favours from another, a positive
feeling may be experienced. The better the
feelings associated with the behaviour of a
person, the more likely it is for the behavior to
be repeated.
2. Physiological Arousal Theory. This explains
the most acceptable theories about emotions:
the bodies experience a physiological change
first, then people assign an emotion to that
physical sensation. It is based on the
interpretation of the brain. For instance, when
a big spider falls in front of an individual, the
stress reaction would be: the person might
gasp, the heart would pound faster, breathing
would quicken.
The brain would interpret an emotion
associated to this experience as the feeling of
FEAR. In another situation a girl who happens
to see her crush walking by will have the same
experience as the person who encounters the
spider (a person might gasp, the heart and
respiratory elevate); the brain would have
different interpretation in the second case, a
feeling of LOVE.
3.Evolutionary Theories. This explains that
love arose due to some sociobiological need.
Males tend to look for young, healthy female
mates to carry their offspring. Females prefer
males who have the resources to support them
and their offspring.
Based on social psychological data, the factors
that would determine with whom people fall in
love are (Rosenthal, 2013)
1. Physical attractiveness (though beauty
is in the eye of the beholder)
2. Reciprocity (people tends to like an
individual who also like them)
3. Proximity (being around anytime
physically or virtually)
4. Similarities (same age, religion, education,
race, physical attractiveness, intelligence and
socio-economic class)