Academic literature on the topic 'Lovestyles'

Lee's (1975) Lovestyles Questionnaire was completed in terms of a past or present romantic relationship by 105 female and 44 male undergraduates to determine its factorial validity. The first four orthogonal factors extracted did not reflect Lee's lovestyles but seemed to respectively characterize the satisfaction, openness, importance and physical intimacy of the relationship. There was some suggestion, however, that these four dimensions may be used to distinguish these lovestyles.

A questionnaire was developed based on findings in experimental studies and from clinical speculation that various internal states and/or external conditions facilitate romantic attraction. 305 subjects responded to thirty items which were submitted to a principal components factor analysis and four factors emerged accounting for 50.5% of the variance. The four facilitators are distress, identity enhancement, aging and social pressures, and sexual desire. The internal consistency of the four scales were .82, .78, .80 and .86 respectively. As predicted, experience of intensification of any of the facilitators was found to be significantly related to lovestyle. Subjects experiencing an intensification of distress report more agapic interactions, those experiencing an intensification of identity enhancement report more mania, those experiencing an intensification of aging fears and social expectations report a more pragmatic lovestyle and subjects experiencing an intensification of sexual desire report less friendship interactions and more erotic lovestyle than those not experiencing an intensification on the respective facilitator. Future research might employ the facilitators of romantic relationships to account for partner choice and satisfaction.

Background perilaku seksual pranikah di kalangan remaja semakin meningkat. Faktor yang mempengaruhinya adalah gaya pacaran remaja mulai dari berkencan, berciuman sampai bersenggama, dan sikap gender yang tidak berimbang, laki-laki menganggap perempuan adalah kaum yang lemah. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui hubungan lovestyle, gender attitude dengan perilaku seks pranikah pada remaja di sekolah SMK swasta kota Tangerang. Metode penelian ini desain deskriptif korelasi, pengambilan sampel menggunakan sampling purposiv, analisa yang digunakan yaitu univariat dan bivariat. Hasil berdasarkan uji Chi-Square ada hubungan antara lovestyle, gender attitude dengan perilaku seks pranikah (P Value 0,000 < 0,05). Diketahui bahwa gaya pacaran dan perilaku gender pada remaja mempengaruhi dorongan hasrat seksual pranikah, Saran kepada remaja diharapkan untuk menjalin komunikasi lebih intensif terhadap pasangannya sehingga dapat mengendalikan untuk tidak berperilaku seks pranikah.

Infidelity violates a western norm that a range of interpersonal behaviours should remain exclusive in committed romantic relationships. Once exposed, the aftermath can be detrimental to all concerned. However, despite a cultural majority endorsing this belief and apprised of the potential consequences of its violations, infidelity or extradyadic relationships are widespread. Furthermore, individual differences in beliefs about what constitutes infidelity blur the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, making the concept of unfaithfulness difficult to fully describe. This variation in attitudes and behaviour, along with the consistent media attention infidelity attracts affirms the enigmatic nature of the behaviour. In response, an aim of the study was to clarify the construct of infidelity among a contemporary Australian sample. This was achieved in two ways. Firstly, the study examined beliefs and behaviours associated with unfaithfulness using qualitative (focus group) and largely quantitative (survey) data. Secondly, the study involved investigation of the association between infidelity and several individual, relationship and environmental variables. Differences in relationships and environmental conditions can be conceptualised within the theoretical framework of the investment model, while adult attachment theory and a lovestyles typology offer theoretical underpinnings to the study of individual differences. Specifically, the aim of this stage of the study was to examine how adult attachment styles (anxious, avoidant), lovestyles (eros, ludus, storge, mania, pragma, agape), relationship variables (satisfaction, investment, commitment), and an environmental variable (perceived alternatives) predicted infidelity. The sample comprised 243 women and 69 men between the ages of 18 and 60 years (M = 31.3 years, SD = 11.9) who were currently in a romantic relationship of at least one year or who had recently been in such a relationship. Participants completed measures pertaining to attachment, lovestyles and various aspects of relationship quality in addition to several measures of extradyadic behaviour. The study found that infidelity, as defined by respondents, was engaged in by 20% of individuals in their current relationships and by 42% of individuals in their previous relationships. Regarding the nature of infidelity, the current findings indicated that various sexual and emotional behaviours carried out with someone other than one's primary partner were considered unfaithful by the vast majority, while fantasy and flirting behaviours were generally seen as acceptable. It was noteworthy, however, that a substantial minority also viewed fantasy as unfaithful, underlining the inherent complexity of the construct. The hypotheses concerning the variables predicting infidelity were partially supported. Results suggested that individuals most likely to engage in extradyadic behaviour were those with an avoidant attachment style or a Ludus lovestyle, more perceived alternatives to their relationship, and most unexpectedly, higher levels of investment in their relationship. Conversely, those least likely to engage in these behaviours were those with an Eros Lovestyle and greater levels of commitment to their relationship. The study confirmed the prevalence of infidelity and emphasised the differential attitudes, behaviours and motivations associated with it. These differences are discussed in relation to the theories presented and an argument is made for research on infidelity to take a broader focus, one that includes the combined aspects of individuals, their relationships and the environment. Implications of these findings for individuals and couples and for the professionals who work with them are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.

Thesis DPsych (Counselling Psychology) -- Swinburne University of Technology, 2006.
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Professional Doctorate in Psychology (Counselling Psychology), Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-150).

Erotic stimuli in the consumer's environment can lead to affective responses, which produce traits such as erotophobia-erotophilia and lovestyle. Individuals can be classified as one of six main lovestyles, as well as erotophilic (having a positive view towards sexual behaviors) or erotophobic (having a negative view towards sexual behaviors). A person's style of loving may affect which products he or she perceives to be helpful in attracting potential sexual and relationship partners. I investigated this possible correlation by examining (1) whether each lovestyle is erotophilic or erotophobic and (2) which products erotophilic individuals are more likely to buy as opposed to those that erotophobic individuals are more likely to buy in (a) attracting sexual partners and (b) attracting relationship partners. The study indicated that lovestyle did not predict erotophobia-erotophilia, nor did the erotophobiaerotophilia trait predict which products an individual bought. However, a significant relationship was found between gender and erotophobia-erotophilia, as well as between gender and many of the products. Overall, the findings suggest that gender is the biggest predictor of what products were perceived as helpful in attracting sexual and relationship partners.
B.A.
Bachelors
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M.A.
Of late there has been an accelerated impetus in the study of marriage and its associated issues. A veritable deluge of research articles are regularly devoted to the topic, for example Hatfield and Sprecher (1986); Fincham and Bradbury (1987); Dion and Dion (1993); Kamo (1993). There has also been some recent South African research on marriage and mate selection, particularly Crous and Pretorius (1994). New books appear with striking regularity while instruments to measure aspects of relationships are readily available. These include Hendrick and Hendrick's Love Attitude Scale, Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Rubin's Love Scale (Tzeng, 1993). Relationships, love and marriage are becoming increasingly measurable and as more questions become answered, researchers are able to unravel some of the complexity within the field. Adams (1988) looks back at fifty years of family research to discover that it has become increasingly scientific despite dealing with so-called "soft" variables like adjustment and attitudes. When even more elusive constructs like satisfaction, contentment and love are introduced, social scientists find that the terrain might be uncomfortably abstract. However, it is anticipated that as this domain, once only the estate of poets and philosophers becomes steadily more understood, it will bear fruit by answering questions which can then be profitably applied in many couplecounselling situations. The concepts of mate selection, marriage and familial stability are at the heart of societal functioning. There are a myriad of variables that impact on these constructs, as is evident from Surra's (1990) decade review. Recent research has shed some light, albeit theoretical, on the reasons why two people form a marital dyad. Social scientists are thus slowly building a solid mass of knowledge relating to the entire process of how and why a couple eventually exist. This goes hand in hand with contemporary urgency, for the accelerating forces of career, sociological, psychological and economic pressures play havoc with older traditional values of stability and permanence in all these domains. Soaring divorce rates are only one symptom of couples and individuals buckling under these tremendous pressures. Clearly, whatever can be done to better understand the choices individuals make in forming marital dyads, can only be regarded as useful information. In the South African context, this type of research is similarly required. With the wealth of family and marriage research being done abroad, it is important to know if this information applies to South African couples. Thus the primary motivation for the study is to better understand the way South Africans love. Lee's (1976) treatise is widely accepted as a valuable model of love. To date no work appears to have been done using this model in South Africa. The aims of this study thus are: To determine if there is any relationship between the various lovestyles and marital satisfaction for a South African sample. To examine several contemporary models of love.

M.A.
The purpose of this study was to add, through the lens of social and crosscultural psychology, to the much needed body of knowledge of African intimate relationships. Western romantic relationships are generally characterised by intense attraction and emotional attachment, idealisation of the other, sexual attraction and the want for total acceptance by the other. African love is less well known but seemingly tied up in culture bound collectivism as well as other social phenomenon. The study set out to explore the applicability of the lovestyle model in a Black South African population. The study explored various theories of love which have been developed within the Western canon. These include 1) evolution and love, 2) social exchange theory, 3) attachment theory, 4) love stories and 5) Lee’s lovestyles. Special emphasis was given to Lee’s colours of love theory which consists of a typology of lovestyles namely eros (passionate love), ludus (game-playing love), storge (friendship love), mania (obsessive love), pragma (practical love) and agape (altruistic love). In addition African love was examined from various perspectives including 1) culture; 2) individualism and collectivism; 3) the African collectivistic society; 4) acculturation and; 5) African love. This study’s main focus was on 1) the validity and reliability of the LAS instrument when applied to an African population, 2) the lovestyles of this group as mediated by their Africanness and 3) the possible gender differences. The lovestyles typology was found to be factorially valid for a Black South African population. A key and surprising finding was that individuals high in Africanness were significantly more likely to endorse eros as their dominant lovestyle than individuals low in Africanness. The study found that African men were significantly more agapic than African women and that African women were significantly more erotic and manic than African men. Males who were high in Africanness showed a significant association with eros andpragma in that the more Africanness a male had, the higher the endorsement of eros or pragma was expected to be.