Evolutionary romantic love: the fast-slow love continuum

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34019/1982-1247.2022.v16.32124

Keywords:

Romantic love, Evolutionary psychology, Life history theory, Social psychology

Abstract

This paper located romantic love (RL) within the Life History Theory (LHT). Derived from LHT, RL represents survival strategies expressions in the face of evolutionary challenges varying along a fast-slow continuum. The slow strategies depict the K-Factor that displays certain components in love relationships: restricted sociosexuality, appraisal/flexibility in the context of conflicts, future orientation, disposition to parental investment, and intimacy attachment style in relationships. Future studies are suggested regarding the operationalization of the K-Love factor, supporting its heuristic power in the integration of theories of RL and in the articulation between social psychology and evolutionary theories in explaining romantic interactions.

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Published

2022-09-02