Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 10;13(11):921.
doi: 10.3390/bs13110921.

Romantic Love and Behavioral Activation System Sensitivity to a Loved One

Adam Bode  1 , Phillip S Kavanagh  2   3
Affiliations

Romantic Love and Behavioral Activation System Sensitivity to a Loved One

Adam Bode et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

Research investigating the mechanisms that contribute to romantic love is in its infancy. The behavioral activation system is one biopsychological system that has been demonstrated to play a role in several motivational outcomes. This study was the first to investigate romantic love and the behavioral activation system. In study 1, the Behavioral Activation System-Sensitivity to a Loved One (BAS-SLO) Scale was validated in a sample of 1556 partnered young adults experiencing romantic love. In study 2, hierarchical linear regression was used to identify BAS-SLO Scale associations with the intensity of romantic love in a subsample of 812 partnered young adults experiencing romantic love for two years or less. The BAS-SLO Scale explained 8.89% of the variance in the intensity of romantic love. Subject to further validation and testing, the BAS-SLO Scale may be useful in future neuroimaging and psychological studies. The findings are considered in terms of the mechanisms and evolutionary history of romantic love.

Keywords: BAS-SLO Scale; CFA; Romantic Love Survey 2022; behavioral activation system; evolution; romantic love.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Results of the three-factor, 13-item CFA model for the BAS-SLO Scale. Note: Survey items (for description, see Table 3) are represented by rectangles, and latent factors are represented by ovals. Reward = reward responsiveness; Drive = drive; Fun = fun-seeking. The numbers above the one-directional arrows connecting factors to items represent standardized factor loadings. The numbers to the right of the bi-directional arrows connecting factors represent correlations between the factors.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Results of the three-factor, 11-item CFA model for the BAS-SLO Scale. Note: Survey items (for description, see Table 3) are represented by rectangles, and latent factors are represented by ovals. Reward = reward responsiveness; Drive = drive; Fun = fun-seeking. The numbers above the one-directional arrows connecting factors to items represent standardized factor loadings. The numbers to the right of the bi-directional arrows connecting factors represent correlations between the factors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Rusu M.S. Theorising love in sociological thought: Classical contributions to a sociology of love. J. Class. Sociol. 2017;18:3–20. doi: 10.1177/1468795X17700645. - DOI
    1. de Rougemont D. Love in the Western World. Princeton University Press; Princeton, NJ, USA: 1983.
    1. Jankowiak W.R., editor. Romantic Passion: A Universal Experience? Columbia University Press; New York, NY, USA: 1995.
    1. Hatfield E., Walster G.W. A New Look at Love, 1985 ed. University Press of America; Lanham, MD, USA: 1985.
    1. Karandashev V. Cultural Typologies of Love. Springer; Cham, Switzerland: 2022. - DOI

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.

LinkOut - more resources