Brian R. Little and David M. Frost
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199791064
- eISBN:
- 9780199345199
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199791064.003.0012
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology
Using a social ecological framework, we explore the proposition that love is manifested in the personal projects of everyday life. Three types of personal projects relevant to love are ...
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Using a social ecological framework, we explore the proposition that love is manifested in the personal projects of everyday life. Three types of personal projects relevant to love are distinguished—connection, romancing and caring projects—along with the sustainable pursuit of these aspects of love enhances well-being. We also identify factors that can facilitate or impede such project pursuit. Internal factors include stable individual differences in person-orientation that increase cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement with others. External factors include the nature of the community resources, including virtual resources, through which love might be pursued, as well as macro-level political forces that can forestall and frustrate the sustainable pursuit of intimacy. We conclude by emphasizing the distinctive questions raised by our model and the importance of the answers that continuing research should provide.Less
Using a social ecological framework, we explore the proposition that love is manifested in the personal projects of everyday life. Three types of personal projects relevant to love are distinguished—connection, romancing and caring projects—along with the sustainable pursuit of these aspects of love enhances well-being. We also identify factors that can facilitate or impede such project pursuit. Internal factors include stable individual differences in person-orientation that increase cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement with others. External factors include the nature of the community resources, including virtual resources, through which love might be pursued, as well as macro-level political forces that can forestall and frustrate the sustainable pursuit of intimacy. We conclude by emphasizing the distinctive questions raised by our model and the importance of the answers that continuing research should provide.
