Social Psychology 489In China, the popular social networking site is Ozone, but Chinese users of this site
spend less time on it, have fewer contacts, and seem to consider its use as less important
when compared to users of Facebook in the United States (Jackson & Wang, 2013). When
you consider the self-promotion focus of such social networking sites, it doesn’t seem
surprising that Chinese users, coming from a collectivistic cultural background that pro-
motes connections with others over individual independence, would be less likely to use
such a resource.
In another study, researchers found that young people who already experience pos-
itive social relationships use the online sites to enhance those same relationships, con-
trary to the stereotyped view that it would be the socially inept who would gravitate
toward the anonymous nature of online networking (Mikami et al., 2010). In fact, those
who are less well-adjusted either did not use social networking sites or used them in
more negative ways: excessive bad language, hostile remarks, aggressive gestures, or
posting of unflattering or suggestive photographs.
There may also be gender differences in how people organize their social network-
ing. In a recent study, researchers found that females have more “friends,” do more buy-
ing and selling, and are more likely to “friend” people who make the request than are
males (Szell & Thurner, 2013). The study also found that females take fewer risks online
than do males. Males talk to larger groups of contacts and are less likely to “friend” other
males than females. They respond very quickly to females requesting a friendship.
LOVE IS A TRIANGLE—ROBERT STERNBERG’S TRIANGULAR
THEORY OF LOVE
- 13 Describe the different types of love outlined in Sternberg’s theory.
Dictionary definitions of love refer to a strong affection for another person due to kinship,
personal ties, sexual attraction, admiration, or common interests.
But those aren’t all the same kind of relationships. I love my
family and I love my friends, but in different ways.Psychologists generally agree that there are different kinds of love. One psychol-
ogist, Robert Sternberg, outlined a theory of what he determined were the three main
components of love and the different types of love that combinations of these three com-
ponents can produce (Sternberg, 1986, 1988b, 1997a).
THE THREE COMPONENTS OF LOVE According to Sternberg, love consists of three
basic components: intimacy, passion, and commitment.
Intimacy, in Sternberg’s view, refers to the feelings of closeness that one has for
another person or the sense of having close emotional ties to another. Intimacy in this
sense is not physical but psychological. Friends have an intimate relationship because
they disclose things to each other that most people might not know, they feel strong emo-
tional ties to each other, and they enjoy the presence of the other person.
Passion is the physical aspect of love. Passion refers to the emotional and sexual
arousal a person feels toward the other person. Passion is not simply sex; holding hands,
loving looks, and hugs can all be forms of passion.
Commitment involves the decisions one makes about a relationship. A short-term
decision might be, “I think I’m in love.” An example of a more long-term decision is,
“I want to be with this person for the rest of my life.”
THE LOVE TRIANGLES A love relationship between two people can involve one, two,
or all three of these components in various combinations. The combinations can pro-
duce seven different forms of love, as can be seen in the video Attraction: Sternberg’s
Tr i a n g u l a r T h e o r y.