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What's love got to do with jealousy?
Ana Maria Fernandez1, Maria Teresa Barbato1, Belen Cordero1
1Laboratorio de Evolución y Relaciones Interpersonales, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Frontiers in Psychology
|October 16, 2023
Summary
Romantic love and jealousy, though seemingly opposed, serve evolutionary functions in relationship maintenance. Attachment styles correlate positively with jealousy, suggesting these emotions protect pair bonds and offspring.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Romantic love and jealousy are often perceived as antagonistic emotions.
- However, both emotions may have evolved with complementary functions to maintain relationships and ensure reproductive success.
- Understanding these emotions requires examining their roles in pair bonding, cooperation, and offspring protection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between love, jealousy, and attachment as stable traits.
- To explore how different conceptualizations of love (attachment vs. affective dependence) relate to jealousy.
- To examine these emotions within both single and committed individuals.
Main Methods:
- Survey research was conducted on a sample of 332 single and committed individuals.
- Participants' levels of attachment, love (as dependence), and jealousy were assessed.
- Statistical analyses, including correlation, were used to examine the relationships between these variables.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was found between attachment and jealousy as stable traits.
- A non-significant and low correlation was observed between attachment and love as a measure of dependence.
- In single individuals, jealousy was associated with love.
Conclusions:
- Love and jealousy can be viewed as complementary emotions within the human affective system, serving to protect romantic pair bonds.
- Attachment appears to be a key factor in understanding jealousy.
- Further research into attachment as a relational trait and love as a specific affection is recommended to elucidate the functional design of jealousy.
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