Editing Triangular theory of love (section)

==Support and criticism==

In a study done by Michele Acker and Mark Davis in 1992, Sternberg's triangular theory of love was tested for validity. By studying a population that extended outside the typically studied group of 18- to 20-year-old college students, Acker and Davis were able to study more accurately the stages of love in people. Some criticism of Sternberg's theory of love is that although he predicted the stages of a person's love for another person, he did not specify a time or point in the relationship when the stages would evolve. He does not specify whether the different parts of love are dependent on duration of relationship or on the particular stage that relationship has reached. Acker and Davis point out that the stage and duration of the relationship are potentially important to the love component and explore them.<ref name="Acker, M. 1992"/>

They find that there are no exact answers because not only each couple, but each individual in the couple experiences love in a different way. There are three perceptions of the triangular theory of love, or "the possibility of multiple triangles". Multiple triangles can exist because individuals can experience each component of love (or point of the triangle) more intensely than another. These separate triangles, according to Acker and Davis and many others, are 'real' triangles, 'ideal' triangles, and 'perceived' triangles.<ref name="Acker, M. 1992"/>

These 'real' triangles are indicative of how each individual views the progress and depth of his or her relationship. The 'ideal' triangles are indicative of each individual's ideal qualities of his or her partner/relationship. The 'perceived' triangles are indicative of each individual's ideas of how his or her partner is viewing the relationship. If any of these three separate triangles do not look the same as a person's partner's triangles, dissatisfaction is likely to increase.<ref name="Acker, M. 1992"/>

Love may not be as simple as Sternberg's triangular theory initially laid it out to be. Sternberg measured his theory on couples who were roughly the same age (mean age of 28) and whose relationship duration was roughly the same (4 to 5 years). His sample size was limited in characteristic variety. Acker and Davis announced this issue as being one of three major problems with Sternberg's theory. Romantic love, in particular, is not often the same in undergraduate level couples as couples who are not undergrads. Acker and Davis studied a sample that was older than Sternberg's sample of undergraduates.<ref name="Acker, M. 1992"/> Sternberg himself did this in 1997.<ref name="Sternberg, Robert 1997"/>

The two other most obvious problems with Sternberg's theory of love are as follows. The first is the question of the separate nature of the levels of love. The second is a question of the measures that have been used to assess the three levels of love.<ref name="Acker, M. 1992"/> These problems with the theory continued to be studied, for example by Lomas (2018).<ref>{{citation|
last = Lomas|first=Tim|
title = The flavours of love: A cross-cultural lexical analysis|
journal = Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour|volume=48|pages=134–152|year=2018|doi=10.1111/jtsb.12158|url=http://roar.uel.ac.uk/6710/1/Lomas%20%282018%29%20-%20The%20flavours%20of%20love%20%28uploadable%29.pdf}}</ref>

In a large-scale cross-cultural study published in the ''[[Journal of Sex Research]]'' in 2020, the cultural universality of the theory was supported.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sorokowski|first1=Piotr|last2=Sorokowska|first2=Agnieszka|last3=Karwowski|first3=Maciej|last4=Groyecka|first4=Agata|last5=Aavik|first5=Toivo|last6=Akello|first6=Grace|last7=Alm|first7=Charlotte|last8=Amjad|first8=Naumana|last9=Anjum|first9=Afifa|last10=Asao|first10=Kelly|last11=Atama|first11=Chiemezie S.|date=2020-08-12|title=Universality of the Triangular Theory of Love: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Triangular Love Scale in 25 Countries|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1787318|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=58|issue=1|pages=106–115|doi=10.1080/00224499.2020.1787318|issn=0022-4499|pmid=32783568|hdl=11250/2755478|s2cid=221127099|hdl-access=free}}</ref>