Editing Triangular theory of love (section)

==Forms of love==
[[File:Triangular Theory of Love.svg|thumb|300px|The three components, labeled on the vertices of a triangle, interact with each other so as to form seven different kinds of love experiences]]
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|+'''Combinations of intimacy, passion, commitment'''
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|'''Intimacy'''
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|'''Non-love'''
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|'''[[Like#As a verb|Liking]]'''/'''[[friendship]]'''
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|'''[[Infatuation|Infatuated love]]'''
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|'''Empty love'''
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|'''[[Romance (love)|Romantic love]]'''
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|'''Companionate love'''
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|'''Fatuous love'''
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|'''Consummate love'''
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The three components, pictorially labeled on the vertices of a triangle, interact with each other and with the actions they produce so as to form seven different kinds of love experiences (non-love is not represented). The size of the triangle functions to represent the "amount" of love—the bigger the triangle, the greater the love. Each corner has its own type of love and provides different combinations to create different types of love and labels for them. The shape of the triangle functions to represent the "style" of love, which may vary over the course of the relationship:

* '''Non-love''': The absence of any components of love. No connection. Indifferent to relationship.
* '''Liking/friendship''' (Intimacy): This type simply involves a positive connection to the other without romance, such as friendships and acquaintances.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=In the Company of Others|last=Rothwell|first=J. Dan|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=224}}</ref>
* '''Infatuated love''' (Passion): Also known as "[[puppy love]]", this type consists of romantic interest without yet forming a connection to the other.<ref name=":0" /> Romantic relationships often start out as infatuated love and become romantic love as intimacy develops over time. Without developing intimacy or commitment, infatuated love may disappear suddenly.
* '''Empty love''' (Commitment): This type is when love has no romance or understanding, deteriorating into empty love. In an [[arranged marriage]], the spouses' relationship may begin as empty love and develop into another form, indicating "how empty love need not be the terminal state of a long-term relationship&nbsp;... [but] the beginning rather than the end".<ref name="Sternberg268">Sternberg, in ''Close Relationships'' p. 268</ref>
* '''Romantic love''' (Intimacy & Passion): This type involves both the romance and connection of the other, which could be a romantic affair or a one-night stand.<ref name=":0" />
* '''Companionate love''' (Intimacy & Commitment): This type is a long-term positive connection to the other without romance, "observed in long-term marriages where passion is no longer present."<ref>{{cite book |first=J. B. |last=Ashford |title=Human Behavior in the Social Environment |publisher=Gardners Books |year=2009 |page=498 |isbn=9780495604662 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> It is usually associated with close friends and family.
* '''Fatuous love''' (Passion & Commitment): This type is a long-term romantic relationship without connection. Marriages under this type lack the stability of intimacy and often become displeasing.<ref name=":0" />
* '''Consummate love''' (Intimacy, Passion, & Commitment): The complete form of love in the model. Of the seven varieties of love, consummate love is theorized to be that associated with the "perfect couple". According to Sternberg, these couples will continue to have sex fifteen years or more into the relationship, they cannot imagine themselves happier over the long-term with anyone else, they overcome their few difficulties gracefully, and each delights in the relationship with the other.<ref name=sternberg3>"Cupid's Arrow - the Course of Love through Time" by Robert Sternberg. Publisher: Cambridge University Press (1998) {{ISBN|0-521-47893-6}}</ref> However, Sternberg cautions that maintaining a consummate love may be even harder than achieving it. He stresses the importance of translating the components of love into action. "Without expression," he warns, "even the greatest of loves can die."<ref>Robert J. Sternberg, "Liking versus Loving" ''Psychological Bulletin'' (1987) p. 341</ref>

Sternberg's triangular theory of love provides a strong foundation for his later theory of love, entitled Love as a Story.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sternberg|first=Robert J.|title=What's Your Love Story?|journal=Psychology Today}}[https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200007/whats-your-love-story What's Your Love Story]</ref> In this theory, he explains that the large numbers of unique and different love stories convey different ways of how love is understood. He believes that over time this exposure helps a person determine what love is or what it should be to them. These two theories create Sternberg's duplex theory of love.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sternberg|first=Robert J.|title=Love as a Story|journal=Journal of Social and Personal Relationships|volume=12|issue=4|pages=541–546|doi=10.1177/0265407595124007|year=1995|s2cid=145538341}}</ref>

"Personal relationships that have the greatest longevity and satisfaction are those in which partners are constantly working on sustaining intimacy and reinforcing commitment to each other."<ref name=":0" />