Presented by: Muneeb Ahmed

Reg#539 BS F12

Sternberg’s Theory of Love

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WHAT IS LOVESection 1

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Etymology or Origin of the Word

• The word love has no one origin

• Similar words are found in Latin ,High German,

Old English, Sanskrit & Scandinavian languages

• The earliest English usage of the word dates back

as far as the 8th Century.

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Meaning of the Word

• Webster Dictionary defines Love as follows:

a feeling of strong or constant affection for a

person

And: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good

of another

• The word love is used as a noun, a verb even

as form of Informal Address(mostly UK)

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People’s Opinion

VIDEO:

Please Remember that this video has been

shot in a western society, their concept of love

may differ from yours.

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STERNBERG'S THEORY OF LOVE

Section 2

Robert Sternberg (1949-)

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Biography• Robert Jeffery Sternberg was born in New Jersey

on 9th December 1949

• His interest in Psychology was developed in his early life

• In Elementary school he used to suffer from test anxiety and did poorly in exams.

• He realized that when he retook the test amongst a group of younger students he wasn’t anxious

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• As a result he determined that tests weren't an accurate measure of his knowledge and intelligence

• To overcome this he developed his very first Intelligence Test called Sternberg’s Test of Mental Ability (STOMA).

• He performed so poorly in his Introductory Psychology class that the Professor asked him to change his subject.

• He didn’t give up and later on graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Yale.

• He later completed his Ph.D. from Harvard in1975.

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Components of Love

IntimacyInitial feeling of closeness or familiarity.

PassionStrong feelings of fondness or

desire for anything.

Commitment

A promise to remain loyal to a person or a

cause.

Types of RelationshipsType Intimacy Passion Commitment

Non-Love

Friendship/liking

Infatuated Love

Empty Love

Romantic Love

Fatuous Love

Companionate Love

Consummate Love

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Representation of the Triangular Model

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Factors which Predict Love

Familiarity

Similarity

Proximity

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Triangular Love Scale (instructions)

• The Scale was introduced by Robert Sternberg in 1988 as a way to judge relationships

STEP 1: Fill in the blanks with the name of the person the relationship with whom you wish

to evaluate.

STEP 2: In the first column rate the statements which follow(1-9)

STEP 3: Total the scores and use the key given in the end

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Criticism• Some of the Criticisms of Sternberg’s Theory are as

follows:

a. It does not determine at what stage in a relationship do people progress from one component to the other.

b. It maintains that all the components of love are distinct and do not mix which is rarely the case in real relationships

Despite Criticism Sternberg’s theory is widely accepted and is still studied today.

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LOVE IN PAKISTAN AND ISLAM

Section 3

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Pakistani Society• Pakistani Society is mostly conservative.

• As a result most marriages are arranged.

• Love affairs and promiscuity is a social taboo and

people participating in such activities are subject to

social sanctions.

• Only in Urban society are Love marriages practiced

and somewhat accepted.

• However in recent years the dating culture has slowly

started to spread which has caused many problems.

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Love in Pakistani Society• Infatuated love and Romantic Love are almost

nonexistent.• Socially accepted relationships are those which

involve commitment i.e. Marriage.• • Early relationships are of the type of Empty Love

• Over time they may develop into Companionate or even Fatuous Love.

• Older relationships are almost exclusively Companionate

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Islamic Society

• Love is not forbidden in Islam rather it is natural:

And among His (Allah’s) Signs is this that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them; and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts); verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.(30:21)

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• There is no harm in liking someone as long as one keeps to the limits set by Allah (SWT)

• If a man feels attraction towards a woman who he is permitted to marry and vice-versa then there is no option in Islam except Marriage.

• Even then unsupervised contact between the two is forbidden as it would lead to temptation

• The proper way is to contact the Wali(guardian) and put forward a proposal for Marriage.

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Resources Used• Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_theory_of_love

• McGraw Hill Education http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/hhp/fahey7e/wellness_worksheets/wellness_worksheet_032.html

• Science Based life http://sciencebasedlife.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/the-triangular-theory-of-love/

• Critique of Popular Reason https://pianycist.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/about-sternbergs-triangular-theory-of-love/

• Islam Q&A http://islamqa.info/en/82010

• Ummah.com

• Merriam Webster Dictionary

• https://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/falling-in-love-allowed-in-islam/

• http://www.islamhelpline.net/node/5832

• http://www.taqwamagazine.com/quran-hadith-about-non-mahram-relationships/

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE

Q&As