Given the ubiquitous nature of love, numerous theories have been proposed to explain its existence. One such theory refers to love as a commitment device, suggesting that romantic love evolved to foster commitment between partners and enhance their reproductive success. In the present study, we investigated this hypothesis using a large-scale sample of 86,310 individual responses collected across 90 countries. If romantic love is universally perceived as a force that fosters commitment between long-term partners, we expected that individuals likely to suffer greater losses from the termination of their relationships—including people of lower socioeconomic status, those with many children, and women—would place a higher value on romantic love compared to people with higher status, those with fewer children, and men. These predictions were supported. Additionally, we observed that individuals from countries with a higher (vs. lower) Human Development Index placed a greater level of importance on romantic love, suggesting that modernization might influence how romantic love is evaluated. On average, participants worldwide were unwilling to commit to a long-term romantic relationship without love, highlighting romantic love’s universal importance.
Love as a Commitment Device: Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Study across 90 Countries / Kowal, Marta; Bode, Adam; Koszałkowska, Karolina; Roberts, S Craig; Gjoneska, Biljana; Frederick, David; Studzinska, Anna; Dubrov, Dmitrii; Grigoryev, Dmitry; Aavik, Toivo; Prokop, Pavol; Grano, Caterina; Çetinkaya, Hakan; Duyar, Derya Atamtürk; Baiocco, Roberto; Batres, Carlota; Belkacem, Yakhlef; Boğa, Merve; Burduli, Nana; Can, Ali R; Chegeni, Razieh; Chopik, William J; Don, Yahya; Dural, Seda; Duyar, Izzet; Etchezahar, Edgardo; Fekih-Romdhane, Feten; Frackowiak, Tomasz; García, Felipe E; Yepes, Talia Gomez; Guemaz, Farida; Hamdaoui, Brahim B; Koyuncu, Mehmet; Landa-Blanco, Miguel; Lins, Samuel; Marot, Tiago; Mayorga-Lascano, Marlon; Mebarak, Moises; Morelli, Mara; Ndukaihe, Izuchukwu L G; Fauzee, Mohd Sofian Omar; Pacquing, Ma Criselda Tengco; Parise, Miriam; Pazhoohi, Farid; Pirtskhalava, Ekaterine; Ponnet, Koen; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich; Reyes, Marc Eric Santos; Şahin, Ayşegül; Sahli, Fatima Zahra; Senyk, Oksana; Spasovski, Ognen; Tulyakul, Singha; Ungaretti, Joaquín; Vintila, Mona; Volkodav, Tatiana; Wlodarczyk, Anna; Yoo, Gyesook; Gelbart, Benjamin; Sorokowski, Piotr. - In: HUMAN NATURE. - ISSN 1936-4776. - 35:4(2024), pp. 430-450. [10.1007/s12110-024-09482-6]
Love as a Commitment Device: Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Study across 90 Countries
Gjoneska, Biljana;Grano, Caterina;Baiocco, Roberto;Morelli, Mara;
2024
Abstract
Given the ubiquitous nature of love, numerous theories have been proposed to explain its existence. One such theory refers to love as a commitment device, suggesting that romantic love evolved to foster commitment between partners and enhance their reproductive success. In the present study, we investigated this hypothesis using a large-scale sample of 86,310 individual responses collected across 90 countries. If romantic love is universally perceived as a force that fosters commitment between long-term partners, we expected that individuals likely to suffer greater losses from the termination of their relationships—including people of lower socioeconomic status, those with many children, and women—would place a higher value on romantic love compared to people with higher status, those with fewer children, and men. These predictions were supported. Additionally, we observed that individuals from countries with a higher (vs. lower) Human Development Index placed a greater level of importance on romantic love, suggesting that modernization might influence how romantic love is evaluated. On average, participants worldwide were unwilling to commit to a long-term romantic relationship without love, highlighting romantic love’s universal importance.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
