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Introduction Friendship and romance can be very difficult subjects to deal with. For many people it is difficult to find and maintain friends and even more difficult to find and maintain a love interest with someone. Friendship Although there are varying types of friendship, in this web-page we will be dealing with friendship as if there is only one form. For this web page we will define friends as "persons who know and like each other".Facts on Friendship Romantic Attraction Romantic attraction is a little more varying than friendship, and a whole lot more difficult to understand. Romantic attraction can range from being purely platonic (emotional) to being physical (sexual) to any combination of the two. Sexual attraction can be capricious, as it often is in "puppy dog love" (a crush), or it can be long term, as it often is in the case of lust. Platonic love is more like friendship. In fact, it can be somewhat difficult to distinguish platonic love from friendship.Facts on Romantic Attraction
Facts on Friendship We all need friends at one point or another in our lives, because as humans we are social creatures. It's true that some people are less out-going than others, but that does not mean that these people don't need companionship. We all meet friends through the acquaintance process. When we meet people we subconciously assess them, which lends new importance to the thought that it's best to make a good first impression. There are three main reasons people become friends. These three main reasons are similarity between individuals, proximity (phsyical closeness) between persons, and mutual attraction. Word Definition Example
People who practice the same religion have
similar religious beliefs. | ||
People who live in the same neighborhood
have a higher proximity than people who live
in separate states. | ||
If a person thinks that someone dislikes
them that person has a low sense of mutual
attraction. |
Friendships are an important part of life. Friends help us
through tough times and make the good times seem better. Sometimes
friendships don't last very long, so we should enjoy them while they
last. Sometimes friendship develops into something more. Sometimes
friendship turns into love.
Facts on Romantic Attraction
Like friendship, love is important to people. We like to love
and we like to feel loved. You may have heard phrases such as
"love makes the world go around". To a certain extent that is true.
Every day the media bombards us with messages about what love is.
Many songs are about love. Hundreds of papers print "personal ads"
for people who are said to be looking for love. Why? Because love
is important.
Today it is widely accepted that there are six types of love.
These six types of love were first proposed by Sheila Lee in 1977
and have been tested over and over. The six types of love can all
occur at the same time in varying degrees. Nobody experiences only
one type of love at a time, but rather a mixture of all six, with
one or two forms of love being dominant and the others being
secondary.
Type of Love Definition Description
Strong physical and emotional attraction.
Strong commitment to partner. "Love at first
sight" type of relationship. | ||
Love is a game. Partners deceive and
manipulate one another. Partners keep each
other uncertain about their commitment to the
relationship. | ||
Friendship and love are merged into one.
Partners are best friends. | ||
Systematic search for love. Desired
attributes of partner are considered.
Partners share similar goals and interests. | ||
Often based on lack of confidence in
one's self and of others. Partners often
have trouble focusing on anything but their
relationship. | ||
Non-demanding, giving relationship. One
would rather let themselves feel pain than
allow their partner to suffer. |
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