Category Archives: What is it?

scholarly ground explanations for the concepts related to love

Researchers Found More Hormones of Love

Posted on by

Romantic love has an adaptive function in human evolution. It increases reproductive success in sexual relations between men and women through the hormone of love. The evolution of animal and human bonding results in the evolution of love hormones.

When men and women are in passionate love, many psychophysiological and neuropsychological processes occur in their brains and bodies. They affect how their minds and behaviors function. In recent decades, researchers have revealed the important role that hormones plays in passionate love. They conducted studies on neuroimaging, biochemistry, and hormones (Hatfield & Rapson, 2009; Gangestad & Grebe, 2017; Sorokowski et al., 2019).

Hormones Play a Role in Romantic Love

These changes are especially pronounced when they are falling in love. Being close to a beloved partner elicits strong romantic feelings and produces corresponding hormonal changes. The hormones cortisol, testosterone, oxytocin, prolactin, and estradiol engage in emotional and behavioral reactions associated with love feelings.

For example, men and women who are in romantic love have higher cortisol. The excited state of passionate arousal they experience when they fall in love causes the increased cortisol level. Other hormonal changes also facilitate pair bonding and commitment.

Some discoveries about the effects of various hormones on romantic love are consistent and well-known. Other findings are sometimes contradictory and need further research. A recent study indicated one more hormonal secret of love that is worthy of our attention (Sorokowski et al., 2019).

Does Love Increase a Woman’s Fertility?

Researchers from the University of Wrocław, Poland, conducted the study to show that love produces adaptive hormonal changes in the female body. These changes increase a woman’s fertility when she is in love (Sorokowski et al., 2019).

In their study, researchers measured the levels of several hormones in women in the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. They compared the blood serum levels of estradiol, cortisol, free testosterone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone of those women who were at the beginning of passionate romantic relationships with those who were not in love.

Hormones of Love Involved in Experience of Emotion

Researchers reported that women in love have higher levels of gonadotropins and lower free testosterone levels compared to those who are not in love. At the same time, women in love have the same levels of cortisol, prolactin, and estradiol. Researchers also revealed that the estradiol-to-testosterone ratio is higher in women in love in comparison with women who are not in love. Researchers suggest possible explanations for these results based on their associations with other confounding factors they identified in their study. They admit that some of the results aren’t completely convincing and that more research needs to be done.

Here Is One More Hormone of Love

Nevertheless, this study seems about to crack one more hormonal secret of romantic love. It turned out that the experience of falling in love plays an adaptive function. It increases the likelihood that the romantic couple will conceive offspring in their sexual relations. This discovery explains why men and women across the world tend to experience not only sexual attraction but also love. Heterosexual love is an important adaptive psychological mechanism that increases women’s physiological ability to conceive a child.

The Culture of “Marianismo” in Latin America

Posted on by

Many sociocultural conditions in Central and South America derived from colonial and Catholic traditions have significantly influenced gender relations, love, and marital partnership in many countries in that geographical region. The Latin American cultural ideas of “machismo” and “marianismo” are two traditional stereotypes of manhood and masculinity for men and womanhood and femininity for women.

The Latin American notion of women’s “marianismo” is commonly contrasted with the cultural notion of men’s “machismo.” In the traditional patriarchal societies of Central and South America, these cultural ideas have been around for a long time.

Gender Roles in Latin American Patriarchal Cultures

Gender roles in traditional Latin American cultures are unequal and strictly imposed. In their patriarchal societies, men’s roles include responsibilities for resources, management, and the protection of the family. They often have decisive power in family relationships. These roles presume their higher status, independence, and dominance in family matters.

On the other hand, in the patriarchal societies of Latin America, women’s roles include responsibilities for many household services, such as cleaning the house, doing laundry, and cooking meals. They are supposed to serve food, water, and many other services in the house. Many women consider having sex with their husbands an act of service to them. Women are responsible for childbirth and their upbringing. They are the primary caregivers for their children. These roles presume their lower status, dependence on men, and submissiveness in marital matters.

The “Marianismo” Cult of the Virgin Mary

Spirituality and purity are the key virtues distinguishing marianismo from machismo. It is assumed that macho men are morally flawed. So, in Latin American culture, the ideal woman is set up to balance out the less-than-holy role of men.

The notion of “marianismo” is strongly related to Catholicism, the dominant religion in Latin America. These religious values directly shaped the cultural ideal of feminine “marianismo.” The Virgin Mary is regarded as the quintessential marianista. Latin women are supposed to follow the virtues of the Virgin Mary and acquire the traits she possessed, such as her moral righteousness, her suffering, and her spiritual importance. The Virgin Mary is regarded as the role model that Latina women and girls should follow (Gil & Vazquez, 2014; Morales & Pérez, 2020).

Generally, marianismo is a “cult of feminine spiritual superiority, which teaches that women are semi-divine, morally superior to, and spiritually stronger than men” (Stevens, 1973, p. 91).

What Are the Cultural Ideals of “Marianismo”?

Marianismo is a set of beliefs and psychological feelings that are deeply imbedded in Latinas’ cultural experience. To accept the “marianista role,” women must accept their fate as mothers and wives. They must be willing to tolerate the demands of motherhood. They should live in the shadow of their husbands and children, supporting them in any way necessary. The ultimate self-sacrifice of the woman is at the heart of marianismo. A woman’s self-worth is largely determined by what she can do for others (Gil & Vazquez, 2014).

This Latin American folk cultural idea of “marianismo” praises the feminine virtues of women, such as their faithfulness, modesty, purity, submission, motherhood, and self-giving. Among those “marianismo” traits of women are also female passivity and sexual purity.

According to these cultural values, women are supposed to be nice, kind, docile, and unassertive. They are expected to take care of the house by cleaning, cooking, caring for children, and serving their spouse. The role of being a good mother is valued more than the role of the wife in family relationships. The “familism” value is among the highest in Latin America. Latina women who are strong marianistas are respected for their devotion to the family. In Latin American societies and in the Latin communities of immigrants, women are still socialized in this manner.

In marital relationships, Latina women must be submissive and obey their husbands. It is difficult to develop an intimate partnership and companionate love between husband and wife in such an unequal marital relationship.

Who Is “Macho” and What Do Machos Do in Latin America?

Posted on by

The words “machismo” and “macho” originated in colonial times in Central and South America and characterize the key Latin American attributes of manliness. A modern understanding of “machismo” includes the assertion of male dominance in everyday life. This cultural stereotype of Latino machos includes dominating their wives, controlling their children, and demanding respect from others in the household.

The Macho Roles of Men in Patriarchal Societies

The term “macho” and associated cultural ideas were entrenched in the patriarchal societies of the past centuries. They were also related to the inequality of gender roles typical of the patriarchal system. In such cultures, men have strong and subordinate roles, while women have weak and subordinate roles in family relations.

In classic patriarchy, men and women have unequal hierarchical relationships in the family. Men have high status because of the resources they bring, the protection they provide, and other male household maintenance. In exchange, they have stronger power to make decisions on family issues, and they receive daily service for their needs from women (Stern, 1995). The household roles are strictly and rigidly gendered.

Man as “Macho” and his “Machismo” Traits and Behaviors

According to patriarchal values and norms in Latin America, “machismo” is a folk notion that assumes certain characteristics and rules of manliness and manhood. Men must be assertive with their power, dominance, standoffishness, defensiveness, and aggressive qualities in their behavior. For instance, according to the Mexican writer Paz (1961),

“The speech of our people reflects the extent to which we protect ourselves from the outside world: the ideal of manliness is never to ‘crack,’ never to back down. Those who ‘open themselves up’ are cowards.”

(1961, p. 29).

The cultural ideas of “machismo” traits and behaviors can have both positive and negative connotations in people’s minds. A man’s status as a “macho” is typified by such characteristics as bravery, courage, valor, and masculine pride. However, “machismo” is frequently described as hyper-virility and aggressive masculine traits. The corresponding behaviors are expected of Latino men in those societies and gender relationships.

“He is power isolated in its own potency, without relationship or compromise with the outside world.” (Paz, 1961, p. 82).

The Image of “Macho” and Gender Relations

The cultural roles of “macho” determine certain types of a man’s relationships with other men and women.

The manliness and social expectations of “macho” limit a man’s ability to communicate with others, especially with women. The role of “macho” requires them to show their male group solidarity. They also need to demonstrate their power, status, and masculine reputation in front of other men. The failure to demonstrate these macho attributes is detrimental to their reputation and self-esteem.

Machos adhere to traditional gender roles and believe they are superior to women. Their complex of “machismo” can have an impact on their love relationships with women in both positive and negative ways.

The positive implications of machismo allow the proper Latin man to be a good role model. One of the positive sides of the machismo image is caballerismo, which includes such traits as leadership and protectiveness. In addition to these positive attributes, “macho” men can be caring, nurturing, and compassionate. These qualities, however, may not be well noticed by others. It is because, despite their honest intentions and deeds, traditional gender roles expect them to adopt the “macho” cultural image for outsiders.

Latin American novels often portray how the basic features of the classical macho impede true and sincere love and intimate relationships between men and women (García Márquez, 1981/1983; Rulfo, 1955/1994). Separation and miscommunication, typical of this kind of manliness, inhibit the development of men’s genuine and heartfelt relationships with women, thus making a real union and affiliation between man and woman unattainable.

The “Macho” Stereotype of Sexual Potency

In Latin culture, the role of macho means physical strength, strong sexual power, self-confidence, and a bold approach toward women. The stereotypical “macho” images exaggerate men’s sexual vigor and paint a picture of a man as a ruthless conqueror who has a lot of power and is hard to control.

The playboy stereotype of machos portrays men who are okay with sexually aggressive behavior toward women. They allow themselves to be physically, sexually, and mentally abusive toward women. It is culturally acceptable for men to gain pleasure from pursuing women.

It is also appropriate for men to engage in adulterous relationships. According to the Latin social norms of “macho,” married men are free to have extramarital affairs, whereas women are expected to be faithful.

What Is “Romantic” in Romantic Love Across Cultures?

Posted on by

Once, Western historians and literary scholars believed that “romantic love” was invented by West-European civilizations during the Medieval and Early Modern periods. Beginning with the “courtly love” (amour courtois) of the 12th and 13th centuries in France, Spain, and Germany, the presence and importance of romantic love ideas in European literature increased over the following centuries.

What Was “Romantic” in the Early “Fin’amor””?

The trobadors of southern France, the trouvères of northern France, and the Minnesänger of Germany were the early poets and singers of love known as fin’amor, which meant “refined love” in the Occitan language, spoken at that time in Southern France and some regions of Italy and Spain.

This lyrical, melodic, and fascinating love of poems, songs, and novels was really “refined.” It was distinct from short-term passions and sexual desires. It was a kind of love centered on emotional attractions and attachments, a re-ordering of life priorities, and long-term commitments.

In medieval literature, romantic love was viewed as spiritual rather than physical and as a long-term rather than short-term experience. For trobairitz and troubadours, describing sexual desire as an appetite wouldn’t be an adequate way to depict how lovers felt about each other.

Hundreds of love stories, from “Tristan and Iseult” to “Floris and Blancheflour”, appeared in literature at the turn of the 12th century and enjoyed tremendous success throughout Western Europe.

“The Romance of the Rose” (“Le Roman de la Rose“) was a romantic medieval poem of love written in the Old French language. This poetry was a beautiful example of “courtly love” literature because it showed the art of romantic love through an allegorical dream.

The growth and flourishing of love fiction in Western Europe during the Central Medieval period (1000–1300 years) occurred at a time of an extensive increase in population, substantial urbanization, and a rise in gross domestic product per capita (see for review, Baumard et al., 2022; Duby, 1994). Growing economic development was an important factor in this literary evolution.

How Did Cultures Develop Their Notion of “Romantic Love”?

Western scholars thought that these European ideas of romantic love had disseminated over time across other cultures throughout the world.

However, recent studies have demonstrated that Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Persian cultures of the past centuries developed their own literary traditions of “romantic love” fiction concurrently and mostly independently from Western literature (Baumard et al., 2022; Karandashev, 2017).

How can we say that it was the same “romantic love” across all these cultural literary expressions? Researchers found that the plot and the narration of all these romantic stories available in different cultures have similar psychological elements of love. These are idealizations of the beloved, emotional attractions and attachments, re-ordering of life priorities, long-term commitments, and others (see Karandashev, 2017, 2019, 2021b).

All romantic novels, epic poems, and tragedies across different cultural traditions contain the same topics: “love at first sight”, “tragic separations”, “faithful love”, “suicide for love”, and alike. They are all the elements of content, genre, and style designed to stimulate people’s interest in love, pair bonding, and relationships.

These elements are easily recognizable in the romantic stories of the early and later historical periods. Let us consider a few examples.

Romantic Love in the Literature of Ancient Greece

The ancient Greek novels of the Early Roman Empire of the 1st–3rd centuries AD, “Leucippe and Clitophon,” “The Ephesian Tale,” and “The Aethiopica” are clearly romantic: young couple in love, of extraordinary beauty, are plunged by hostile fate into various adventures and dangers, until, in the end, for the most part after a rather long separation, they are united in a stable, faithful love for a life that is henceforth unchangingly happy” (quoted in Baumard et al., 2022, p. 507).

Romantic Love in the Literature of Ancient China

In the same way, the Chinese caizi-jiaren are romantic stories with all the key romantic elements. The protagonists are attracted by each other’s physical and personal qualities. They usually fall in love with each other at first sight. They also succeed in overcoming the obstacles and marrying each other. Thus, they represent an idealized couple.

“The Story of the Western Wing” by Wang Shifu (Xixiangji in Chinese) was the most well-known love story of the 13th century. It is about the adventures of the star-crossed lovers, Oriole and Student Zhang. This play influenced numerous later plays, novels, and short stories that were prominent in the Chinese cultural history of romantic love.

Romantic Love in the Literature of Other World Cultures

The plot and narrative of romantic love, along with corresponding literary elements, are evidently present in the Sanskrit love tale of East India “Nala and Damayanti”, in the Japanese jōruri play “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki”, in the Persian tragic romance “Khosrow and Shirin”, and in the Arabic old story “Layla and Majnun”.

Thus, we can see that the literary themes, plots, and narratives of “romantic love” have been omnipresent in many world cultures throughout human history. And they emerged and developed independently from each other, but surprisingly, during approximately the same periods when their societies experienced economic growth, an expanding population, and increasing urbanization.

The Amazing Latin Love and Latin Lovers

Posted on by

The genre of romantic novels has been prolific for recent centuries, not only in Europe but also in the Latin-speaking worlds of Europe and Latin America. The terms “Latin love” and “Latin lover” are commonly associated in the minds of many people.

What Is Latin America?

In public view, Latin love is strongly associated with Latin American and South American countries of the American continent, such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. The term “Latin America” refers to the countries of that region where people predominantly speak Spanish, Portuguese, and French—the languages of Latin linguistic origin. However, the term is widely overlaps with other terms, such as Central America and South America. Many other countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, may also be considered, in some sense, Latin American ones.

The character of the Latin lover resembles, in some respects, the “macho man”, but only partially.

What Is a “Latin Lover”?

The cultural stereotype of the Latin lover, however, has another origin. The notion of the “Latin lover” first appeared in the writings of Ancient Rome in its original Latin language. The idea and image changed throughout the centuries as the romantic literary genre evolved over time (Johnson, 2009).

The modern term “Latin Lover” was coined early in the 20th century. It became a label for the Italian-born American actor Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926), who was a popular character in several well-known silent films. He was a sex symbol of the 1920s and became an early pop icon. The modern stereotype of a “Latin lover” portrays a romantic, sensual, and passionate man of Latin or Romance European origin.

Is this also true for Latin America? This may also be accurate when considering popular media imagery portrayed in Argentine tango and Brazilian carnivals. Nevertheless, Michael Schuessler (2014), a professor from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, disagrees with this way of interpretation. He noted,

“this a stereotype promoted by people from the United States. There they see the Latin Lover as someone exotic and attractive. In the US, the figure of the Latin Lover was converted into that of a sex symbol, whereas in Mexico it is the reverse. Here the sex symbol is the blond – we Mexicans have always found them attractive. Moreover, the blonde gringas are seen as the ultimate sexual conquest. And we see this a lot in the novels of José Agustín, Ricardo Garibay, a little in those of Carlos Fuentes, such as Frontera de Cristal, in which bedding a gringa is the maximum sexual conquest that a Mexican macho can aspire to. I think this comes from the way many gringas come to have sexual flings with the beach boys in Acapulco. And of course, the gringos do the same…”

Schuessler (2014).

What Does Love Look Like in Latin America?

Many readers familiar with European literature may recognize Walter Scott and Alessandro Manzoni as classic authors of romantic love novels. In the same way, some of the romantic novels published in Latin American literature from the middle to the end of the 19th century present magnificent examples of the romantic literature genre with unique stories of Latin American love. A particular romance has become the “national novel” in almost every Latin American country (Sommer, 1994).

The 20th century was a good time for modern Latin American romantic love writing to flourish (Faris, 1992; Kenwood, 1992, ed.).

Gabriel García Márquez Is Talking about Love

For example, the Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez (1927–2014) is probably the most well-known writer of Latin love internationally. He portrayed the Latin American concept of love vividly and wonderfully. The quotes nicely compiled by Frannie Jackson (2014) from several of his romantic novels vividly illustrate what romantic Latin love is:

1. “It’s enough for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment.”— One Hundred Years of Solitude

2. “The only regret I will have in dying is if it is not for love.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

3. “Think of love as a state of grace; not the means to anything but the alpha and omega, an end in itself.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

4. “It was the time when they loved each other best, without hurry or excess, when both were most conscious of and grateful for their incredible victories over adversity.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

5. “There is always something left to love.” — One Hundred Years of Solitude

6. “She had never imagined that curiosity was one of the many masks of love.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

7. “Only God knows how much I love you.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

8. “They were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation.” — One Hundred Years of Solitude

9. “There is no greater glory than to die for love.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

10. “The girl raised her eyes to see who was passing by the window, and that casual glance was the beginning of a cataclysm of love that still had not ended half a century later.” — Love in the Time of Cholera

(Jackson, April 19, 2014).

Slim Scholarly Knowledge about Latin Love

Romantic novels are well-known worldwide. However, scholarly studies on romantic love in Latin America are sparsely published in English. Therefore, our current cultural knowledge that international scholars have about love in Latin America is fragmentary, patchy, and piecemeal so far (Karandashev, 2017; 2019). Nonetheless, research interest in the topic of romantic love has been growing among Central and South American scholars in recent decades. Therefore, we’ll learn more about what Latin love is in the coming years.

What Does Nicaraguan Love Look Like?

Posted on by

The idea of romantic love inspires men and women in many societies. Folk and literary stories across cultures are full of romantic joy and happiness but also drama, suffering, and even personal tragedy. They are often bittersweet. They are engaging for readers and listeners in their emotional ambivalence. What about the reality of romantic love? How does Nicaraguan love look in the small town of San Juan?

Across the history of humankind, in ancient civilizations, in traditional societies, and in modern societies, some people dared to fulfill their romantic dreams of love in their lives. Some men and women succeeded, while others did not. Some cultural contexts have been more conducive to romantic love than others.

Let us consider the case study of a Nicaraguan rural community in Central America. The “absentee patriarchy” in that context creates peculiar romantic and family relationships. Since a man often has more than one wife and family, he is away from them for quite a long period of time. Nevertheless, he continues to be in control of his wife and her life. So, we see that the reality of marriage and family life does not look romantic.

What about the ideals of love? Here is an example of men and women’s romantic love in the small Nicaraguan town of San Juan.

What Is Nicaraguan Love in Spanish?

The experience of romantic love engages a variety of feelings, emotions, dispositions, and actions. The lexicon of love certainly reflects that. In each culture, there are at least several words that are in typical usage by people (Karandashev, 2017, 2019).

In the Nicaraguan Spanish-speaking culture, the typical conversational words that people use to express their meanings of love are such as “amor” (love), “amar” (to love), querer (to love or care for), ser cariñoso (to be loving), ser tierno (to be tender), and ser bueno (to be good). The implicit notions of love, however, add more variants (Hagene, 2008).

What Is Romantic about Nicaraguan love?

Through social media, Nicaraguan women and men are acquainted with the notion of romantic love. In romantic love, passionate love and sexuality are intricately linked. And exclusivity in a romantic relationship implies a need for fidelity.

According to these romantic ideas, psychological experiences, emotional attachments, and expressive attributes of love take precedence, along with emotional and verbal intimacy. In romantic love, sex expresses strong passion and deep intimacy. Interpersonal attraction, free will, and the expectation of reciprocity flourish in romantic love. The values of practical, economic, and obligatory considerations are diminished.

Public Media Representations and the Reality of Nicaraguan Love

People in the small town of San Juan have lots of opportunities to watch romantic movies and soap operas on TV. In many families, women, girls, men, and boys watch beautiful and intriguing romantic stories in “telenovelas,” which are entertaining like soap operas. These are often their daily enjoyable habits to follow the unfolding romantic narrative episode by episode.

The main theme of such telenovelas is love (amor), with a romantic plot that progresses from one day to the next. This way, people learn about romantic love stories. These telenovelas’ plots and characters are frequently mentioned in people’s daily conversations. Thus, people are familiar with romantic themes, storylines, and screenplays. They learn about romance, love, and romantic expressions from these romantic narratives.

However, many characteristics of the social realities in which men and women live in this little town, such as gender roles, gender segregated leisure, and everyday living practices, are not conducive to romantic love (Hagene, 2008).

Hierarchical Nicaraguan Love

The communities in Nicaraguan culture have enduring explicit norms of gender hierarchy, in which men are of a higher rank than women. They have more freedom in relationships than women do. In both romantic and family relationships, their roles are unequal. According to culturally normative stereotypes, men are dominant and women are submissive. Nicaraguan culture has gender inequality between men and women.

These public stereotypes affect both romantic and family relationships. According to machismo cultural norms, men are supposed to be active, take initiative, and take the lead in romantic dating. According to marianismo cultural norms, women should be responsive, accept (or not accept) the man’s proposals, and passively follow his rules. The machismo behavior of men shows masculinity and dominance of some kind, while the marianismo behavior of women shows femininity and submissiveness (Karandashev, 2017).

These culturally specific concepts of machismo and marianismo have an impact on both romantic and familial relationships. Men’s romanticism tends to be expressed in their demonstrations of pride, womanizing dispositions, and assertive behaviors. Internal feelings, intimacy, and the expression of love are undervalued. The communicative lexicon of love is limited to little talking and a few verbalized sentiments. Sexual motivation in romantic relationships is strong.

A controversial feeling that Nicaraguan women experience in their families is divided love.

When We Are in Love, We Have Irrational Thinking

Posted on by

For many people, romantic love appears to be an enchanting and mysterious emotional experience. It seems to be something irrational and inexplicable. People are curious about the secrets of love, yet not many scholars dare to rationally explain or scientifically understand why we fall in love. Do we follow our irrational thinking when we are in love?

Our Irrational Human Nature

Through centuries and across cultures, people have been inclined to think irrationally and intuitively about many things. Little knowledge and a lack of rational thinking were the main reasons why they thought this way.

Even though science has helped us understand the world and life more rationally, people still tend to think irrationally and rely on their gut feelings.

The Power of Irrational Thinking

This is why many people believe in some secret supernatural powers, in “conspiracy theories”, astrology, horoscopes, amulets, talismans, charms, interpretations of dreams, and many other mystical and magical things. No rational explanation can change their beliefs. These beliefs are persistent, despite anything.

Concerning this point, Howard Rankin asserts,

“Human beings are not logical; we are storytellers most interested in emotional comfort and safety. We can convince ourselves and justify anything. “

(Rankin, 2019).

As he claims,

“We are basically still Neanderthal, focused on survival and safety, and living in the present. Our brains haven’t adapted to a much more complex world.”

(Rankin, 2019).

Why Does Love Have Irrational Thinking?

In the same way, people believe in the irrational nature of romantic love and love attraction. They tend to trust their intuition rather than rational arguments. Many believe in fate and destiny in love, in the mythic “chemistry of love,” and in love at first sight. They believe that relationships work or do not work for them because they do not have the right “chemistry”. They tend to be intuitive and irrational in their relationships.

Many people believe that the mysteries of romantic love are beyond our rational knowledge, reason, and logic. Their ideas of love relationships concede some irrationality. People in traditional cultures who were not as well educated called this “the magic of love.” People who are better educated today call it “love’s chemistry.” Yet, love chemistry is still hard for us to understand from a scientific point of view. The term seems scholarly and respectable at first, although it is still irrational in its subject.

In their scholarly approach to love, modern educated and scientific conceptions of love strive to be rational, reasonable, and scientifically based. Nowadays, references to the stars aligning for a couple or fate sound pseudoscientific. The Amour’s, or Cupid’s, arrow in a heart is a beautiful symbol, but the myth seems too naïve to believe for modern people.

Nevertheless, many of them continue to believe in love irrationally. Why is that? 

The Pitfalls of Irrational Thinking

First, people’s minds have a dichotomy of rational and irrational thinking. Many can think rationally about science and business but prefer to think irrationally about their internal experiences and relationships. They can be objective about some things but tend to be subjective about others. They can be objective researchers in science, though they can be subjective devotees in religion. For them, these different perspectives appear compatible.

The Pitfalls of Intuitive Thinking

Second, people have two modes of thinking: analytical and intuitive. People can be rational and analytical thinkers in their cognition of objective external objects in the world. However, it is difficult for them to be objective toward people—others and themselves. They tend to think irrationally and intuitively about people and relationships.

The Pitfalls of Exhaustive Thinking

Third, critical thinking can be exhausting. Hard and extensive thinking is tiresome. As some people know, too much thinking can cause a headache. Therefore, some people prefer to rely on simplistic shortcuts, such as intuitive, irrational thinking. It is easier and simpler, yet frequently biased. People are especially biased in their perception of others, themselves, and relationships.

The Pitfalls of Thrilling Emotions

Fourth, people tend to like everything that is mysterious, surprising, wonderful, beautiful, and fascinating. Love is such a “thing” that excites men and women, young and old. They like the thrill of such knowledge. It is natural that they like things, experiences, and events that are intriguing, captivating, and charming.

Idealistic Thinking Makes Men and Women Happy

Across various cultures, romantic tales of folklore, art, novels, poetry, and movies have described romantic love and romantic relationships in fascinating, exciting, wonderful, and intriguing ways. Often, their plots and depictions are beautiful and unbelievably idealistic. They are like fairy tales or scary stories, which are thrilling and inspiring for children. In the same way, adults love romantic stories just as kids love fairy tales. Sometimes, they believe their dreams will come true.

Irrational, idealistic thinking is fascinating and exciting. Why then succumb to rational, realistic thinking? It seems more interesting to think irrationally, especially about love and relationships.

The Mystery of Love at First Sight

Posted on by

Through the centuries, love has been depicted as a mysterious, incomprehensible connection between two people. It is a sense that defies logic, reason, or reasonable thought. The mysterious feeling of “love at first sight” is a wonderful example of such a happy and mysterious experience.

What Is Love at First Sight?

One of the major tenets of the classical romantic love model is love at first sight. The modern symbols of Cupid’s “love arrows”—the images of a winged infant carrying a bow and a heart pierced by an arrow—came from ancient Roman mythology. Nowadays, they signify love at first sight. Over history, love at first sight has been popularized in Western cultures through art, romantic novels, plays, shows, and movies.

What Does Love at First Sight Look Like?

These days, “falling in love,” likely at first sight, is typical in romantic love plots and the narrative of many romantic novels and films (Hefner & Wilson, 2000).

The dilated eyes look at an attractive stranger passing by or standing by in the hallway. And the character feels insight—actually, testosterone, estrogen, and oxytocin—hinting that this is true love. For many young people, personal models of love entertain the dreams of falling in love on a single happy occasion and with a delightful glance.

Physical attraction is evident in some expressions of the eyes, such as the copulatory gaze and the longing gaze into the eyes of an attractive person. If a person continues to gaze for many seconds, the loved one may notice this and be attracted back to that person. Therefore, the loved one may gaze back at the person. Consequently, the gaze back may reinforce the person’s belief that the loved one is interested in him or her. Then, both are silently gazing into each other’s eyes, feeling an immediate, unspoken emotional attraction. Thus, love at first sight can occur between them at the same time (Grant-Jacob, 2016).

The Cross-Cultural Nature of Love at First Sight

“Love at first sight” seems to be a common metaphor in both literary and colloquial English. The phenomenon of love at first sight is also known across cultures, despite different cultural attitudes toward free choice in love.

There are direct equivalents in other European languages, such as the German expression “Liebe auf den ersten Blick“, the Italian “amore a prima vista”, the Spanish “amor a primera vista”, and the French expression “coup de foudre“. The Italians and Spanish also frequently use the colloquial “colpo di fulmine” (Italian) and “oon fleh-chah-zoh” (Spanish).

The French idiomatic expression “le coup de foudre,” besides its literal meaning, also conveys a figurative meaning of “love at first sight.” It is well known to French-speakers and is different from “tomber amoureux (de)“—gradual falling in love with. 

The Chinese word “chengyu” (yí jiàn zhōng qíng) stands for love at first sight. Since ancient times, Chinese literature has had many tales of love at first sight and the flash of erotic bliss.

The Japanese Hitomebore also means the same basic emotional insight, while Koi No Yokan is an untranslatable Japanese phrase referring to “the premonition of love” – a sense that a person feels upon encountering someone with whom they inevitably fall in love.

How to explain love at first sight

Thus, we can see that love at first sight is a universal, cross-cultural experience. Does this support the supernatural power of love? Or can science explain the “love-at-first-sight” phenomenon in another way?

Over recent years, researchers have been able to delve into psychological explanations of this experience when we fall in love with someone we see for the first time. We instantly feel it’s he or it’s her—one and forever.

Love at first sight is only one of many phenomena illustrating the mystery of love.

And researchers are looking for a scientific explanation of love at first sight.

What Is “Love Marriage”?

Posted on by

Love marriage is a marital relationship that is based on interpersonal love attraction. Men and women experience love attraction for each other and they rely on it in their decisions to marry. Love marriage assumes a mutual desire for a partner. The idea of a free choice and a personal decision to marry are the key features of love marriages. Love marriage is opposite to arranged marriages, in which parents and families decide who is suitable for marriage and who is not.

Cultural evolution from arranged marriages to love marriages occurs when societies evolve from collectivistic to individualistic types of cultures.

Individualistic Societies and Love Marriage

The modern economic, social, and cultural conditions in individualistic European American and European Canadian cultures, West European countries, Australia, and New Zealand are conducive to love marriages. Men and women in those societies have more personal and social rights. They are relatively independent of social institutions such as families. Modern life in those countries provides people with more extended personal and relationship affordances in their marital choices.

Individual autonomy, the independence of members of a social group in their relationships, human rights, gender equality, the independent model of self, self-determination rights, and freedom of choice are among the social norms emphasized in those individualistic societies.

Person’s Individuality in Individualistic Cultures

A person’s personal self is seen as distinct and independent from others. The autonomous self-concept encourages men and women to pursue their own views, personal desires, and preferences. Their individuality encourages open expressions of their unique selves, freedom of choice, and personal decision-making. Their individual selves are the main source of people’s thoughts, feelings, motivations, and behaviors. Social connections and interpersonal bonds are important, yet they assume individual autonomy. Individuals have the option to start and end their relationships  (see for review, Karandashev, 2021; Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Uchida, Norasakkunkit, & Kitayama, 2004).

Social Affordances and Love Marriage

Economic wealth, social progress, and modernization of the societies in those nations decreased the values of physical and economic security and the role of survival needs, which were prevalent in traditional materialistic and collectivistic cultures. This socioeconomic progress substantially extended the personal and social affordances of love marriage as an individual enterprise, compared to previous arranged marriages as a family enterprise.

Economic and social modernization of societies increased the values of quality of life, subjective well-being, and self-expression, which have become prevalent in modernized individualistic and postmaterialistic cultures (Inglehart 1997, 2015; Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Inglehart & Welzel 2005).

The Cultural Norms of Love Marriage

Currently, love marriages are common in individualistic countries. They are defined by the free choice of partners and the limited or moderate involvement of families and parents. Women and men are free to choose their mates based on their attraction, passion, and romantic emotions. Parents cannot limit their children’s mate selection choices.

Since the middle of the 20th century, love marriages have been considered culturally normative in Western societies, such as Western European, European American, and Canadian American cultures. For example, during the 1960s, the self-expressive paradigm of love became increasingly popular in the United States. For many Americans, love and marriage have become arenas for individual self-exploration, self-esteem validation, personal discovery, self-fulfillment, and self-growth (Finkel, 2018). Marriage’s function has shifted. Marriage became less necessary as a formal social institution. It became more affordable for those who opt for it and are able to choose.

In many other countries around the world, love marriages are also on the rise, especially in urban areas. Modern individualistic as well as collectivistic societies around the world vary in terms of their beliefs and actual cultural practices. Many countries are in the process of modernization. Anyway, modern cultural ideals expand social and relationship opportunities and affordances in many societies. The conditions give people more freedom in love, dating, and marriage (Karandashev, 2021; Karandashev, 2023). 

Modernization Theory of Social Evolution

Posted on by

Modernization theory states that traditional societies grow into societies of the modern type as they adopt modern values, institutions, norms, rules of law, and social practices. Social modernization is usually associated with economic development, social wealth, and political power. Citizens of countries with modernized societies have more freedom, human rights, and better standards of living.

Weber’s and Parsons’ Theories of Modernization

The origins of modernization theories come from the modernization paradigm developed by German sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) and American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902–1979). These theoretical ideas considered two kinds of societies, which were labeled as traditional and developed countries.

That modernization theory explains how traditional societies can evolve into more developed societies due to the economic and social processes of modernization. This modernization theory was especially popular among social scientists in the second half of the 20th century. This early sociological theory of modernization was mostly theoretical and relied on scientific observations.

Modernization theory describes a social model of how “traditional” (“pre-modern”) societies progressively transform into “modern” societies. This gradual shift occurs as societies adopt modern values, norms, and practices. In this way, modernization theory strives to explain the process of social evolution in countries and identify the social parameters that contribute to their development and social progress.

The countries undergoing the process of modernization make a transition from societies governed by authorities and traditions to societies regulated by abstract principles and democracies. The developments of faster transportation, expansive urbanization, new efficient technologies, cost-effective production, extensive industrialization, and dynamic communication have been the main driving forces of such modernization. In modernized societies, traditional religious beliefs decrease in influence while rational and critical thinking increase in influence on human minds. While in traditional societies, families and collective communities are the fundamental units, modern societies are societies of individuals. The theory assumes that human agency controls the speed and success of such modernization.

Inglehart’s Evolutionary Modernization theory

The American political scientist Inglehart (1934–2021) proposed the Modernization Theory, which is empirically based on the data of wide-world surveys taken across several generations. The theory compares countries based on their economic, political, social, and cultural attributes and assesses them along the spectrum from traditional to modern societies. These types of societies have two cultural dimensions: materialism versus postmaterialism, and modernization versus postmodernism.

In societies that are characterized by high materialistic values, people highly value security, survival, economic growth, and the stability of the economy. In societies that are characterized by high postmaterialistic values, people have high values of freedom, humane society, social participation, self-expression, and tolerance of minorities (Inglehart 1997; Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005).

The survival values, which emphasize physical and economic security, are prevalent in traditional materialistic cultures, while the self-expression values, which emphasize quality of life and subjective well-being, are prevalent in modernized postmaterialistic cultures. In this regard, the term modernization means the transition from societies with a prevalence of survival values to societies with a prevalence of self-expression values (Inglehart 1997, 2015; Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Inglehart & Welzel 2005).

The World Value Survey obtained data from 60 countries (Inglehart & Baker, 2000), which accounted for 75% of the global population. Researchers have demonstrated the crucial role of socioeconomic factors in the modernization of societies.

It appears that religions also play a role in modernization. The data showed that countries with a Protestant culture place a high priority on freedom of expression, whereas countries with an Orthodox culture place a low value on these values. However, the role of these religions can be linked to the countries’ current socioeconomic situations.

During modernization, countries evolve:

  1. From traditional values to secular and rational values.
  2. From cultural values emphasizing survival to values emphasizing self-expression.

Finally, Inglehart summarized his extensive research in the Evolutionary Modernization Theory, which describes how societies evolve over time along with changes in social values and human priorities (Inglehart, 2018).