Romantic attraction, or why I love psychology research literature

brighteyesvanderde:

I found my answer about romantic attraction after just a short amount of searching.

In summary, romantic attraction involves:

  • elation
  • more energy
  • mood swings
  • obsessive thinking about said person (often through something called intrusive thoughts, which are thoughts that come in randomly, without effort and don’t leave. When the intrusive thoughts are overly negative, they’re a main cause of anxiety disorders)
  • wanting an emotional connection with them
  • exhilaration
  • joy
  • focused attention on the person and the relationship
  • worry about how stable the relationship is
  • feeling that the person is completely unique
  • overlooking or misinterpreting the person’s negative qualities
  • anxiety in their presence
  • jealousy
  • separation anxiety
  • willingness to sacrifice things for the person.
  • these feelings are involuntary and uncontrollable

I figure other people might find these findings helpful. I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who is struggling with wondering what romantic attraction actually feels like.

*Shmuel Shulman, Linda C. Mayes, Tiffany H. Cohen, James E. Swain, James F. Leckman. 2008. Romantic attraction and conflict negotiation among late adolescent and early adult romantic couples. http://dx.doi.org.ipacez.nd.edu.au/10.1016/j.adolescence.2008.02.002

*Helen E. Fisher, Arthur Aron, Debra Mashek, Haifang Li and Lucy L. Brown. 2002. Defining the Brain Systems of Lust, Romantic Attraction, and Attachment. Archives of Sexual Behaviour.

(via cupcakearrow)

Source: notunprepared

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  4. captainheartless reblogged this from notunprepared and added:
    This bothers me, because if...every positive relationship I have (which is almost every...
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    I want to laminate this and carry it around in my wallet
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    Reblogging for the final comment.
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  9. 4seiji reblogged this from notunprepared and added:
    definitely NOT claiming that this list is authoritative, complete, universal, or even applicable to anyone else who...
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    Reblogging for additional commentary.
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  15. lizziegoneastray reblogged this from krystalvivian and added:
    The bolded bit is exactly what bothered me about this list when I first saw it come up on my dash. It honestly felt like...
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  18. captainjerkway reblogged this from voltafiish and added:
    I have so many problems with this list, I can’t even. I’m aromantic, but I experience nearly everything listed above -...
  19. voltafiish reblogged this from metapianycist and added:
    Yeah I agree here… Cause a lot of my past relationships were not characterized by these at all and I considered them...
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