LOOOVE!

This week we talked a lot about love and dating. I learned about the selection process and how people choose who to date. People look at physical attraction, similarities, accessibility (meaning close to where you live), and propinquity. When looking for a life partner, people look at age, race/ethnicity, religion, and education. There are different types of love. Storge is found in affection between parent and child. Philia is the type of love that exists between friends. Agape is a love that is independent of one's feelings for another such as to care for the well-bing of a person whether you like them or not. Eros is love between men and women. We talked about which of these types of love were important in a marriage and came to the conclusion that it is important to have all of these types of love in a successful and happy marriage. We also talked about how people sometimes mistake being in love or being attracted to someone because the experience misattribution of arousal. This is when different emotions can produce similar kinds of physical arousal. You can mistake certain emotions that have similar symptoms to the emotion you believe you're feeling. People tend to be more attracted to someone when they are scared or excited. Their emotions are high and produce butterflies, sweaty palms, and nervousness just like attraction can do. I found that very interesting. Basically, don't go to a haunted corn maze with a guy;) You may be tricked into believing you like him based on that experience. haha Another thing I learned is that cohabitation is not a successful way to try out what marriage will be like without being married. Most people who cohabit before marriage are not as happy and often end in getting a divorce. Married couples are found to be happier, less depressed, and have higher levels of commitment to the relationship  than cohabitation partners. Don't believe me? Look into it. Look at the statistics. I don't recommend cohabiting with someone.