In the 1980s, the theory of six love styles became widely known among scholars of love. Numerous researchers investigated the love styles that Canadian sociologist John Alan Lee proposed and investigated in the 1970s (Lee, 1973, 1976). His theory and research substantially contributed to this field of study (Karandashev, 2022).
John Lee theoretically conceptualized and empirically identified six love styles. The original author’s descriptions of the six love styles he proposed have been condensed and simplified over the years of love research and publication. These abbreviated characteristics have altered Lee’s original meanings of the love styles.
John Lee conceptualized, theoretically and empirically, six love styles. Through years of research and multiple publications, the original author’s descriptions of the six love styles he proposed have been condensed and simplified. I believe that these shortened characteristics altered Lee’s original interpretations of the love styles.
In light of this, I have provided a more detailed description of each of these love styles in this and other articles. I have described the Eros, Ludus, Storge, and Mania love styles in previous articles. Here are some excerpts from my books in which I elaborate on the Agape love style.
Lee’s Theoretical Description of the Agape Love Style
“Individuals with the Agape love style feel it is their duty to love another with no expectation of reciprocity. Reasons, rather than emotions, guide their feelings and actions. They are caring, altruistic, and gentle.”
(Excerpt from Karandashev, 2022, p. 78).
This Is What the Agape Love Style Looks Like
Using the “love story card sort” method, in-depth interviews with 120 people yielded approximately 100,000 data points. The factor analysis discovered 32 distinct factors that distinguished the six love styles. Lee used this analysis to portray the major features of the Agape love style:
“Participants with an agape style feel love as a sense of duty. Their emotional will and commitment, rather than attraction and feelings, govern their love. Lovers with the Agape style are generally more emotionally mature than individuals with other styles. In its best form, this love style is an ideal of selflessness in affiliative connections. It is an ideal aspiration to do good to another person. The lovers of Agape style believe that anyone is worthy of love. They love not because of the appearance, qualities, or merits of the other person, but because they are due their love for that person. To be loved, a person should not earn or deserve it. Love is the gift of a lover to a loved one. This love is the ability of a loving person to love. “
(Excerpt from Karandashev, 2022, 2022, p. 81).
The Agape Love Style is a Love Type rather than a Variable
This illustrative portrayal demonstrates that the Agape love style is a complex combination of attitudes and traits that men and women bring to relationships. These features make this love style stand out from other types of love. They represent people’s core beliefs and attitudes regarding love, as well as their emotional experiences and expressions, actions, and relationships. The findings from the interviews show the abundantly distinctive characteristics of men and women with this love style. The way these traits are tied to one another demonstrates the typological structure of the Agape style. This structure evidently shows that the Agape love style is not a variable, how it is measured with the Love Attitude Scale (Hendrick & Henrick, 1986, 1998), but rather a type of love.