Bergner, R.M., Davis, K.E., Saternus, L., Walley, S., & Tyson, T. / Published 2013 / Article
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Citation: Bergner, R.M., Davis, K.E., Saternus, L., Walley, S., & Tyson, T. (2013). Characteristics of romantic love: An empirically-based essentialist account. In K.E. Davis, R.M. Bergner, F. Lubuguin, & W. Schwartz, (Eds.), Advances in Descriptive Psychology: Vol.10 (pp. 213-234). Ann Arbor, MI: Descriptive Psychology Press.
Abstract: The present 4-part study reopens certain basic issues regarding people’s conceptions of romantic love. Evidence collected at two sites with a total of 390 participants supports the following contentions: (1) The concept of romantic love may not be, as widely maintained, a Roschian prototypical term, but may instead be a definable, essentialist one. (2) Foremost among love’s essential characteristics may be “Care for the well-being of the partner for his or her own sake.” (3) The concept of romantic love itself and the concept of a good romantic love relationship may be two related but distinct concepts, the former essentialist and the latter prototypical.