According to Robert Sternberg’s triangular model of love, intimacy is most crucial in short-term relationships.
True
False
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is: False
Explanation:
Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love proposes that love consists of three main components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. These three elements combine in different ways to form various types of love.
- Intimacy refers to feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness in a loving relationship.
- Passion refers to the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation.
- Commitment refers to the decision to maintain a long-term relationship.
In Sternberg’s model, intimacy is not necessarily most crucial in short-term relationships. Instead, passion tends to be the dominant factor in short-term or early-stage relationships. This is because short-term relationships often emphasize physical attraction and excitement more than emotional closeness or long-term commitment.
Conversely, intimacy and commitment become more important in long-term relationships. Intimacy builds emotional closeness and trust over time, which is crucial for sustaining long-term partnerships. Commitment reflects the decision to maintain the relationship despite challenges and changes.
To summarize:
- Short-term relationships: Dominated by passion, with less emphasis on intimacy or commitment.
- Long-term relationships: Characterized by a balance of intimacy and commitment, often combined with passion to form what Sternberg calls “consummate love” — the ideal form of love.
Therefore, saying that intimacy is most crucial in short-term relationships is incorrect. In fact, short-term relationships are more driven by passion, while intimacy deepens and becomes more central as relationships grow and mature over time.