Cupid's Arrow The Course of Love through Time

In this absorbing book, renowned psychologist Robert J. Sternberg presents a psychological approach to human relationships that reveals how and why people fall in and out of love. Fascinating reading for anyone who wants to learn more about love, Cupid's Arrow draws on fields ranging from history to cognitive science to folklore, offering a comprehensive account of love in its many forms. Grounded in Sternberg's own 'triangular theory', the book explores the many varieties of love as different combinations of intimacy, passion, and commitment. Using this theory as a focal point, Cupid's Arrow delivers an interesting perspective on the experience of love during the lifetime of the individual as well as a rich history of the conceptions of love throughout the ages.

Preface; Part I. The Composition of Cupid's Arrow: What Is Love?: 1. A three-component view of love; 2. Seven kinds of love; 3. Many different triangles of love; 4. Measuring the triangle of love; Part II. Aiming Cupid's Arrow: Love over Many Lifetimes: 5. The prehistory of love; 6. The history of love revealed through culture Robert J. Sternberg and Anne E. Beall; 7. The history of love revealed through literature Robert J. Sternberg and Susan Hayden; Part III. Firing Cupid's Arrow: Love in our Lifetime: Beginnings: 8. The role of childhood and adolescence; 9. The role of adulthood; Part IV. Cupid's Arrow in in Flight: Love in our Lifetime: Middles: 10. The role of reward; 11. The course of relationships; Part V. When Cupid's Arrow Falls: Love in our Lifetime: Endings: 12. Decay of relationships; 13. Dissolution of and new beginnings for relationships; Notes; Index.

This book is written for anyone who wants to learn about and understand love. It is based on the notion that the different varieties of love involve different combinations of intimacy, passion, and commitment. Sternberg presents a comprehensive account of love in both its historical and individual forms.