Types of Love (with examples)

The types of love are the different classes in which this feeling can be differentiated, which is the greatest that a person can have towards another or towards some other being. Love reflects closeness, concern, care, and other emotions that strengthen the bond between two individuals. For example:the affection and care of a grandmother for her grandchildren is an expression of family love.

In addition, love as a feeling goes beyond relationships between people, in fact, it can be felt by almost anything, such as inanimate objects, animals, ideas, among others. For example:a man who feels an enormous closeness and strong feelings for the house where he grew up.

That is why, throughout history, attempts have been made to classify love into various types according to factors such as the nature of love, the type of bond, perception, among others. Love also contains various elements such as passion, commitment or intimacy.

• See also: Love

Types of love 

In research published in 1991 by scholars Beverly Fehr and James Russell, called "The Concept of Love Seen from a Prototypical Perspective"

, Hundreds of people were asked about the types of love experienced and the result showed that more than ninety different kinds could be identified. These types of love are not specifically categorized, so dozens of possible forms of love can be named. Some of them are:

• Maternal love. It is the unconditional feeling of a mother for her child, whose expression is given in tender care for her needs and her upbringing. For example: a new mother when her newborn baby is first delivered to her and she puts him to the breast to feed him.
• fatherly love. It is the emotional bond of a father to his children, whose expression is given care, in upbringing and in encouraging them to excel. For example: a father who teaches her daughter to defend her ideals against others who seek to undermine them.
• Sisterly or brotherly love. It is the affection that exists between brothers (fraternal) or sisters (sororal) and that must be cultivated every day to maintain a healthy and sincere relationship. This type of love generates feelings of care for the brother or sister, whether older or younger. Often, brotherly or sisterly love includes all those people who, although they are not our blood brothers, in one way or another are considered as such. For example: three adult sisters who go out for sushi once a month to cultivate their bond.
• love between friends. It is the affective relationship of friendship between two or more people, whose approach is given by common affinities. It is a type of love that is based on loyalty, solidarity, sincerity, fidelity and commitment, and must be cultivated daily so that this relationship can last over time. For example: a group of childhood friends who share a trip to celebrate forty years of friendship.
• Romantic love. It is the passionate feeling of attraction towards another person. In this type of love, pleasant feelings are usually expressed and the other person is expected to feel the same way. It is usually associated with sexual attraction. For example: a young couple who have been dating for a year.
• affectionate love. It is the feeling of affection that you have towards other people or objects that are close to you. For example: a man who feels affection towards the parents of his best friend.
• committed love. It is the kind of love so strong that it seeks to contract an obligation to make it last. For example: an adult couple renewing their wedding vows in their sixties.
• love for humanity. It is the feeling of respect towards others of the same species. It is a kind of love that cultivates tolerance. For example: a religious who respects people who profess a religion other than his own.
• Spiritual love. It is the feeling that is experienced beyond our corporality, our senses and thought. It is the one that is usually experienced towards a divinity or towards the cosmos. For example: a nun who professes love for Jesus Christ every day.
• Passionate love. It is the crazy feeling, whose flow of emotions becomes uncontrollable for the people who experience it. It is a type of love that usually contrasts with the so-called "stable love", which is a more mature love. For example: a couple who make the decision to travel to Las Vegas and get married in a fit of impulsiveness.
• Platonic love. It is love at a distance, which is usually based on fantasy and the idealization of the other person. The loved subject is a perfect being, without flaws and with wonderful qualities. For example: a fan of musician Harry Styles.
• sexual love. It is passionate love, generally characterized by a physiological attraction towards the desired person. It is the bond of sexual intimacy between two people. For example: a couple who enjoy having sex with consent.
• Self-love. It is the acceptance we have of our own body, personality and character. It is important for our psychological well-being and it is important to cultivate it every day. For example: a girl who looks in the mirror every day and flatters herself.
• patriotic love. Patriotism is the profound respect for the nation where one was born and for which one is willing to fight to defend it. For example: an elected president who swears because in his years in office he will care for and bring prosperity to his people.
• Love for the animals. It is the feeling of affection that we feel towards pets and towards other species. For example: a ranger who watches over the care of each of the species in the reserve in which he works.

For his part, the North American psychoanalyst Robert Sternberg in his triangular theory of love list the following types of love:

• Sweetie. It is the intimate relationship that characterizes true friendships, in which a close bond with the other is experienced, but without containing the passionate or commitment ingredient. For example: a friend who tells another her darkest secrets.
• infatuation. It is the famous "love at first sight", which is not endowed with intimacy or commitment. For example: a young woman who sees a very handsome young man on the bus and feels that he is the love of her life.
• Passionate love. It is the feeling of emotional (ie, affection) and physical (ie, passion) union of two people. However, there is no commitment to maintain the union in the long term. For example: a summer love between two young people who have not yet planned their lives.
• empty love. It is the union by commitment, but lack of passion and intimacy. However, respect is usually felt. For example: arranged marriages very characteristic in certain cultures.
• social love. It is the feeling between people who share life, although there is no desire for each other in the relationship. Also called "company love". For example: a marriage of more than fifty years.
• vain or fatuous love. It is the kind of committed and passionate relationship, but that does not reach intimacy. For example: a couple in which physical attraction and desire are perceived, but who have known each other very recently.
• consummate love. It is the complete form of love, which has the three key components: intimacy, passion and commitment. For example: a consolidated couple who have shared their life for years and the passion continues to grow.

Classification of love for the Greeks

In Greek antiquity, a classification of love can be found that is divided into four specific types:

• Eros. Refers to passionate and romantic love. It is made up of those relationships or feelings linked to physical attraction, sexual desire and also finds characteristics that can be developed such as possession. For example: a young couple who decide to date.
• storge. It refers to the family, linked to a form of natural love. For example: the love of a father towards his children.
• Philia. It refers to the friendship, to fraternity and to the construction of links that are strengthened over the years, with time and with time. commitment. It is a love that evokes closeness and persistence. In this type three forms of love are distinguished, which is the one that is built by mutual admiration, mutual pleasure or mutual convenience. For example: two co-workers who esteem each other and have been sharing an office for more than ten years.
• Agape. It is related to a type of unconditional and infinite love, it is the most abstract type of love and is linked to the spirituality, beliefs and ways of life of each person. For example: the love of a parishioner to his god.

This classification is usually extended to the following types of love:

• Meraki. It is experiential love. It refers to that to which effort is put. Love as a motivator of experiences. For example: a young man who makes the effort to save to travel to Rome.

• Choros. It is attached love. It is related to things that are a constant in life and a symbol of security and comfort zone. For example: the parents' house and where he spent his childhood.
• Philautia. It is self love. As its name indicates, it is the feeling that a person has when they see and feel good about their decisions, their way of life and who they are. For example: a person who gets up in the morning and feels happy and fulfilled when looking in the mirror.
• Epithymia. It is capricious desire. It is the type of love that is characterized by being concentrated mostly on a sexual level and is approached from desire. For example:two people who meet only to share sexual encounters.
• Paixnidi. It is playful love. It is one that is based on mischief, the game and the ludic dynamics between two beings. For example: a couple that is very adventurous and looks for fun in everyday life.
• Mania. It is possessive love. It is the one that is accompanied by feelings of possession, jealousy or dependence. For example: a woman who always believes that her partner is being unfaithful to her.
• Pragma. It is rational love. It is the kind of love that is crossed by reflections and common sense, from a more mental place. For example: a person who is always measuring the pros and cons of their relationship.
• Anákē. It is unhappy love. This type of love is the one that is framed in need and compulsion, also thought of as those things that are believed to be provided by fate or luck. For example: a man who thinks that the woman he met is the only one in the world and was sent as part of her destiny.
• Koinonia. It is fleeting love. It is the kind of feeling that appears momentarily, but cannot be sustained over time. For example:a college student who goes to a writer's conference and is extremely attracted and hypnotized until the event is over.
• Sebomai. It is reverential love. It is based on the respect and admiration that one person feels for another. For example: a student who really likes the way one of her teachers teaches.

Types of love and colors

For his part, academician John Alan Lee links the types of love with colors, establishing some primary or purer ones and other secondary ones that arise from the combination of the primary ones. in his book the colors of love makes the following classification:

Primary colors

• Eros. Romantic and passionate love.
• Ludus. Dynamic love and like game.
• storage. Fraternal love.

Secondary colours

• Mania (Eros + Ludos). Possessive and dependent love.
• Agape (Eros–Storge). Selfless love.
• Pragma (Storge + Ludus). Convenient love.

examples of love

1. A father who prepares breakfast every morning for all his children.
2. A man who sends his mother flowers every week.
3. A soldier who risks his life for the protection of his homeland.
4. A singer who never gives up making music.
5. A teacher who spends extra hours so that all his students learn deeply and completely.
6. A citizen who always returns to Paris because it is the city he loves.
7. A man who transforms his life and becomes a priest.
8. A cook who spends her life studying and learning new recipes from all over the world.
9. An athlete who has a serious accident in a competition and puts his efforts to recover so he can return to training.
10. A woman who meets a man and feels that he is the one for her.
11. A soldier who swears to defend his homeland from any danger.
12. A boy who is touched when he sees a stray puppy passing by on the street and caresses and feeds it.
13. A person who attends mass every Sunday.
14. A brother who takes in his brother's family when he loses his job and can't pay the rent.
15. Two families agreeing on the engagement of their children.
16. A fan of Brad Pitt who saw all the movies and series in which he acts.
17. A couple who decides to get engaged a month after meeting.
18. A man who feels well with his professional career and how his life has developed.
19. A person born in the West who seeks to know the Eastern culture.
20. Two friends who get together every year and share a spa day on Friendship Day.

Interactive exercise to practice

Follow with:

• monologue about love
• reflection on love
• philosophical essay on love
• story about love
• poems with love rhymes

References

• Fehr, B., & Russell, J. A. (1991). The concept of love viewed from a prototype perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 425–438. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.60.3.425
• Lee, J.A. (1973). The colors of love: An exploration of the ways of loving. Toronto: NewPress.
• Sternberg, R. (1989). The triangle of love. Barcelona. Spain: Paidos.
• "The 4 types of love according to the Greeks and their meaning"in meanings.