Cupid's Arrow
The Course of Love through Time

This book, first published in 1998, takes a psychological approach to human love.

Robert J. Sternberg (Author)

9780521478939, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 January 2000

220 pages
23 x 15.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.37 kg

"Cupid's Arrow is an informative and entertaining introduction to the psychology of love, written by one of the most distinguished experts in the field. The book is solidly based in research facts and findings yet its lively, entertaining style and vivid stories get the message across in clear, easy terms." Roy F. Baumeister, author of Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty

In this absorbing book, renowned psychologist Robert J. Sternberg presents a psychological approach to human relationships that reveals how and why people fall in and out of love. Fascinating reading for anyone who wants to learn more about love, Cupid's Arrow draws on fields ranging from history to cognitive science to folklore, offering a comprehensive account of love in its many forms. Grounded in Sternberg's own 'triangular theory', the book explores the many varieties of love as different combinations of intimacy, passion, and commitment. Using this theory as a focal point, Cupid's Arrow delivers an interesting perspective on the experience of love during the lifetime of the individual as well as a rich history of the conceptions of love throughout the ages.

Preface
Part I. The Composition of Cupid's Arrow: What Is Love?: 1. A three-component view of love
2. Seven kinds of love
3. Many different triangles of love
4. Measuring the triangle of love
Part II. Aiming Cupid's Arrow: Love over Many Lifetimes: 5. The prehistory of love
6. The history of love revealed through culture Robert J. Sternberg and Anne E. Beall
7. The history of love revealed through literature Robert J. Sternberg and Susan Hayden
Part III. Firing Cupid's Arrow: Love in our Lifetime: Beginnings: 8. The role of childhood and adolescence
9. The role of adulthood
Part IV. Cupid's Arrow in in Flight: Love in our Lifetime: Middles: 10. The role of reward
11. The course of relationships
Part V. When Cupid's Arrow Falls: Love in our Lifetime: Endings: 12. Decay of relationships
13. Dissolution of and new beginnings for relationships
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: Psychology [JM]