In Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love, what are the three components, and how can their combinations explain different types of love?

• A. The components are trust, loyalty, and support; combinations define casual, committed, possessive, and idealized love.
• B. Intimacy, passion, and commitment; combinations explain types like romantic love, companionate love, fatuous love, and consummate love.
• C. Emotional bonding, physical attraction, and long-term compatibility; combinations create friendship, infatuation, and matrimony.
• D. Communication, respect, and shared goals; combinations yield pragmatic, romantic, or ethical love.

Answer: (B)

The three components in Sternberg's theory are intimacy, passion, and commitment. Intimacy involves closeness, warmth, and sharing; passion covers physical attraction and desire; commitment is the decision to work to maintain the relationship over time. When you combine these elements in different ways, you get different kinds of love. For instance, romantic love arises from a mix of intimacy and passion, while companionate love comes from intimacy plus commitment. When passion and commitment are present without much intimacy, you have fatuous love; all three together define consummate love, often seen as a complete, balanced form. The other options list traits that aren’t the components of this model, so they don’t explain Sternberg’s framework.