Where did romantic love come from among people around the world, and why was it promoted in human evolution? It was needed to guarantee a lasting relationship, support commitment between partners, give a sense of security, and thus - increase the number of their children. Conclusions from a survey in 90 countries confirm this.
'We have found evidence to confirm the hypotheses about the evolutionary roots of romantic love. Our research shows one of the benefits that love brings, namely the durability and stability of the relationship', summarises Marta Kowal, PhD, a psychologist from the University of Wrocław.
The researchers decided to empirically test hypotheses derived from the theory of economist Robert Frank. 'He considered love to be a tool supporting the commitment of both partners ('love as a commitment device'). According to this concept, further developed by evolutionary psychologists, romantic love evolved to increase the partners' sense of security and improve their reproductive success', Marta Kowal describes.
Frank compared love - the basis of a romantic relationship - to a lease agreement concluded between a tenant and a landlord. He pointed out that love acts as an assurance that two people will be together and will not run away at the first opportunity. Kowal points out that without rental agreements, tenants could spontaneously change apartments when only the opportunity would arise - exposing the landlords to costs. And nothing would stop landlords from throwing tenants out overnight if they found others who were willing to pay higher rent. Neither party could be sure what would happen the following month. 'Frank argued that without love, it would be similar in relationships. Because how could the other person be certain that the partner would not leave them at the first opportunity?' Kowal describes.
According to this concept, love ensures that our partner knows that we will not leave them at the first opportunity; that our commitment will last, that we will invest our resources in this relationship and we will have a sense of certainty that the other person is also committed and will also invest in this relationship. But how can we experimentally confirm this understanding of love? 'We expected that people who are likely to suffer greater losses due to the sudden end of a relationship would attach greater importance to romantic love than people who have the resources to bear the consequences of ending the relationship', Kowal says. The researchers therefore assumed that people with a lower socio-economic status, people with many children, and women would care more about love, and thus about the guarantee that the relationship would last. These predictions were confirmed.
86,000 people from 90 countries were asked the question: 'Assume you are currently not in a committed relationship. Imagine meeting a person who has all of the qualities you desired but who you aren't in love with. How likely would you be to marry this person/register your partnership with this person?'.
The majority of respondents in most countries around the world were not interested in such a relationship. This is not particularly surprising. However, the researchers compared the responses of different demographic groups. Statistically, those more interested in entering into a relationship without love were: men, people with better financial standing, child-free people, and thus precisely the groups that, for various reasons, could more easily afford to live without a partner. The results were published in the scientific journal “Human Nature”.
Interestingly, the only countries where entering into relationships without love was accepted by the majority of the respondents were Ghana, Morocco, Iran and Uganda. 'We can speculate that this may be related to the high level of collectivism in these societies and the traditions associated with arranged marriages, where the decision to get married is often dictated by the good of the group rather than individual beliefs and feelings', Kowal comments. In those societies, the guarantor of security and stability is usually not the relationship between the partners, but the entire community.
Poland was approximately in the middle of the list of 90 countries.
The psychologist says that romantic love probably originates from the love between a child and its mother. Mechanisms such as tenderness, attachment, desire to be with this specific person or in their presence - began to permeate the relationships of two adults. The development of love between two adult partners undoubtedly had its evolutionary advantages. Love, strengthening the bond between partners, could allow for better and more reliable care for offspring, who require this extremely engaging and intensive care during the long first years of their lives.
'If partners love each other, if they create a solid relationship, the durability of which is driven by love, then they are more able to take care of their common offspring and pass on their genes and behaviour patterns to the next generations', the researcher explains. And indeed, Polish research from a few years ago confirmed the link between love and the number of children. It is no wonder that love has had such a huge role in human evolution and is present in cultures all over the world.
'Love is very important for people from all over the world probably because we associate it with a lasting and happy relationship. There are many studies that show that people who are happily in love are healthier, happier in everyday life, they live longer, take better care of themselves. And I can add from my own experience that love is a beautiful feeling, it is worth nurturing it and taking care to feel it every day'. (PAP)
Ludwika Tomala
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