The Psychology Of Love And Affection
Love is one of life’s great pleasures. Some of us never really feel comfortable with the word let alone say it aloud. Theologators, philosophers and psychologists ponder on love endlessly. All they have to show us is that it is there and it affects us to some degree.
Attraction has a role in romantic love and a relationship. You could say attraction is what drives a relationship. It is an important component as it determines how you would behave when in a dating relationship. When we are attracted to another person the brain areas responsible for this sort of thing are activated. You might say this is where imagination plays a part as the areas responsible for generating thoughts and ideas and concepts are activated.
Emotions also affect romantic love and its effects on human physical and emotional well-being. Negative emotions such as anger, hate and depression impact positively and can have an effect on physical and psychological aspects of well-being. Positive emotions such as joy, hope and happiness can positively affect physical and psychological aspects of well-being. Romantic love and affection are therefore powerful influences on our emotional well-being. They can help us build strength and security and help us to flourish emotionally.
Another well-known psychological effect of love and affection is that it can make us more generous. This means that people who love and care about another person show a generosity toward that other person. This generosity can be manifested physically as giving or receiving gifts or being kind and generous to others. It can also be manifested mentally by making promises to help those who need help or by sharing one’s talents or possessions. People who are in love with one another tend to feel this way about themselves and are thus more generous to others.
Finally, we might say that love and affection can help us be self-sufficient. Self-reliance is important for a society to function properly. In particular, survival of the fittest often relies on having many people who can support and aid in one’s efforts. If everyone was financially independent, there would be less competition, and humans wouldn’t be able to survive very long. As children we are taught to depend on our parents or others who can help and support us, and we grow up to be financially independent as adults.
Love and affection can have these affective effects on us in many ways. We can feel these emotions and their positive effects on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. In addition, we can also imagine these feelings and imagine how they might have changed us as we grew up. When we are imagining these changes, though, we should always picture only the pleasant effects on us. Negative or unpleasant emotions cannot be forgotten and are therefore to be avoided at all costs.
