55 Fascinating Psychology Facts About Love Most People Don’t Know

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From novels like Pride & Prejudice to plays like Romeo and Juliet and songs like “Can’t help falling in love”—it seems that love has always fascinated the human mind.  

You might be thinking that everyone knows what love is—it’s the feeling you have for your partner, family and friends. However, as with all things in life, there’s more underneath the surface. For example, did you know that there are four types of love?  

Keep reading for more interesting psychology facts about love, as this post will reveal much about the inner workings of the mind and the heart in the face of love.

55 Psychological Facts About Love

Let’s unpack some psychological facts about love to discover what love is, and how and why we feel it.

1. The Science Behind Love

Love comes from our subconscious mind, containing ten times more information than our conscious mind, thus making love an uncontrollable feeling that we cannot get rid of.

2. Hugs and Cuddles

There are also many physiological facts about love. Oxytocin is the love hormone for a reason and gets released by your body once you embrace or cuddle with someone. The hormone is found in the brain and sexual organs and could contribute to bonding between two individuals.

3. A Kiss of Life

A common belief is that men who kiss their wives in the morning live up to five years longer. Kissing sparks the brain’s pleasure centers, leaving you feeling euphoric throughout the day. A kiss from your loved one can lighten your mood and reduce stress, which highly benefits your health.

4. Holding Hands Affects the Body

Love can be healing for couples with deep connections. If your partner is going through a rough patch, you can soothe them by holding their hand.

5. Agape: Love of Humanity

Agape is a concept of love found in the Bible that describes God’s love for humankind and humankind’s love for God. The word “Agape” is of Greek origin and is considered the highest form of love not only by Christians but by other religions too. Buddhists believe that Agape is the foundational love for all humanity.

6. Philia: Love of Friends and Equals

Philia can describe the love of a long relationship, a good friendship or familial bonds. This type of love can be comforting and make you experience more positive emotions.

7. Storge: Love of Parents for Children

Storge is the love parents have for their children. Mothers are very familiar with this type of love as it comes naturally to them when they give birth. Storge can be seen as an unconditional love as parents (especially mothers) tend to love their children regardless of bad behavior.

8. Eros: Erotic, Passionate Love

Eros is a dangerous type of love fuelled by passion and can become addictive. Passionate love depends not on values and personality but sexual attractions and desires.

9. Why Do We Need Love?

Love helps us feel safe and cared for. We need it to function in our everyday lives because we can’t reach our goals without assurance and support. Studies have shown that babies who do not receive nurturing and affection would later grow up to be psychologically damaged.

10. Signs That You Might Be in Love

How do you know when you’re in love? Here are some signs that might help you:  

• You feel giddy and nervous around them.
• You can’t wait to see them again once they’ve left.
• You don’t mind making sacrifices for them and would give up your time to see them.
• You will feel sexually aroused by them.
• You focus on the positive only. People in love are more likely to overlook negative behavior from their partner or new crush.

11. Emotional Dependence vs Love

An emotionally dependent relationship stems from neediness rather than true love. Emotionally dependent partners may think they’re in love, but they require attention, support and approval from their partner because of a lack of self-love.

12. Can Everyone Love?

Not everyone is capable of loving someone else. Specific psychological issues prevent some people from feeling or giving love. Low self-esteem, codependency, a personality disorder, childhood abuse, depression disorder, problems of perfectionism and abandonment could all be reasons why you can’t seem to love.

13. The Three Levels of Love

The process of love can be broken down into three stages which everyone will go through to discover their passion. The three stages of love are:  

• Stage 1 – Lust.
• Stage 2 – Attraction.
• Stage 3 – Attachment.

14. Love Dreams

According to psychology, dreams reveal our deepest desires, secrets and fears and anxieties. Love dreams can reveal many hidden truths about ourselves. For example, a dream about falling in love with a stranger could mean that you’re feeling unfulfilled. Or a love dream about your partner could mean that you have a strong connection.

15. Is There a Difference Between Infatuation and Love?

Infatuation is a fleeting but strong connection to someone or something, whereas love takes time to forge a deep relationship between two people.

16. Can You Love More Than One Partner?

You can be in love with multiple people at the same time without cheating on your partner depending on what type of love it is. You might still have a passion for an ex, or fall for someone new while you’re in a relationship.

Also, love is complex, and it could have a different meaning for everyone. Some people are set on meeting the “one”, while others might embrace open relationships.

17. The Evolution of Love

The earlier man could not love the way we do today. With the enlargement of our brains, we developed our cognitive abilities and communication skills. And with the growth of these skills and language, we became more self-aware, thus creating an awareness of love. As we evolved, so did love from its humble beginnings of a mother/infant bond.  

18. There Are Seven Types of Love

Here are the seven types of love:  

• Infatuation
• Friendship
• Empty Love
• Companionate love
• Romantic love
• Consummate Love
• Fatuous Love

19. Gender and Love

Men and women experience love differently; for example, men fall in love within 18 seconds, while it takes women up to 15 days. Research shows that women are less likely to initiate sex when they’re in love, and with men it’s the opposite. Other studies have found that men are more romantic and will likely say “I love you” first. 

20. Can Animals Love?

Many animal species have monogamous relationships, like the seahorse, bald eagle, gibbon and gray wolf. Neuroscience research suggests that animals can experience love, with attachment being a form of love, which means animals can develop a love for their owners.

21. How do Different Cultures Love?

There are many cultural differences in love. Our differences in values, beliefs, and traditions impact how we perceive and experience love. For example, in Indian culture the needs and interests of the family precede that of the individual. Or, the Amish put their love for God and their community (Agape love) before any other type of love.

22. Emotional Intelligence and Love

Your emotional intelligence (EQ) can affect how you receive and give love. A high EQ can help you with your emotional awareness, which will benefit and aid in a long-lasting relationship.

Examples of a high EQ include the ability to share your feelings with others, showing empathy and being an excellent listener. 

23. Lust vs Love

Love can produce a lasting attraction which results in a deep connection. Lust is an uncontrollable desire to be with someone physically, and hormones rather than the mind cause it. 

24. You Can Go on a “Love Diet.”

Researchers have discovered that your body releases hormones that suppress your appetite when you fall in love.

25. Love May Give You Sleepless Nights

Falling in love can leave you with sleepless nights due to certain hormones released in the body during sexual endeavors and acts. The hormones will boost your mood and energy, making it harder to fall asleep.

26. A Case of Love Sick

If couples spend over two days without any communication, it can cause them to feel a type of homesickness which is known as feeling lovesick.

27. Love Can Help Relieve Pain

Research suggests that the “love hormone” oxytocin can reduce the effects of a headache. So try hugging your partner instead of running to the medicine cabinet the next time you have a headache.   

28. People Change When They’re in Love

Love can help you to grow. A supportive partner will motivate you to reach your goals and fullest potential. But the wrong type of love can be harmful and keep you from prosperity. Many people will also adapt and change their behaviors or habits to accommodate their sweetheart.

29. High on Love

Love is like a drug, and it has similar neurological effects on the body as cocaine. Both love and cocaine induce a similar sense of euphoria.

30. Love is Blind

Psychology says that when we’re romantically involved with someone, our perception of them will be based on positive illusions rather than reality. Thus our judgment of character becomes suppressed when faced with a loved one; in our eyes, they’re perfect, and so love is blind.

31. You Fall in Love With Your Brain, Not Your Heart

Your heart may skip a beat as you approach your beloved or crush, but that is just a side effect of everything in your brain. Studies revealed that several parts of your brain light up in response to looking at someone you love, which means that the brain is the keeper of love.  

32. Love Has a Dark Side

Oxytocin may make you feel warm and euphoric, but it also has a dark side. The love hormone can lead to emotional pain. For example, when the body has elevated oxytocin levels due to you being in love, it can trigger negative feelings like jealousy and agitation.

33. Heart Rates Synchronize

A couple’s heart rates can synchronize after gazing into each other’s eyes for longer than three minutes, resulting in many corny lyrics such as “our hearts they beat as one”.

34. Have Plenty of Chocolate on Your First Date

Chocolate contains a component that has the same euphoric effect that love has on the body. So the two combined can result in a love frenzy, which is why chocolate became the top gift to give to our better halves.

35. Eye Contact

Strangers can fall in love with each other by maintaining eye contact. When someone is staring at you, your body releases the same feel-good chemical found in chocolate.

36. You Can Fall in Love in Under Four Minutes

Falling in love happens quickly, and trust and loyalty take time. It takes only a few seconds or minutes for the subconscious to decide if you are in love.  

37. Do Opposites Attract?

Some love experts say that too many similarities may cause couples to clash, while others argue that similarities can bring two people closer together. It is more about time and trust than having the same likes or interests—having something in common should be a bonus and not a determining factor in a relationship.

38. Dumb in Love

Love can make you do silly things you wouldn’t normally do. Sexual desires can affect your critical thinking and rationality, leading you to do questionable things.

39. Romance vs Commitment

Love evolves from romance to commitment throughout a long-term relationship at some point. So once the honeymoon phase is over, you’ll discover if your partner is ready for commitment.

40. Heartbreaks

Heartbreaks can hurt just as badly as physical pain. After losing a loved one, you can suffer from a condition known as “broken heart syndrome”, and it mainly affects women. What’s even scarier is that a broken heart can lead to death. 

41. Love Can Increase Your Creativity

Some research has found that when we’re reminded of our loved ones, it could improve our abstract thinking, boosting our creative abilities. 

42. Love and OCD

Relationship OCD causes some people to act out behaviors associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder toward their relationship and partner.

43. Love Can Be Distracting

Neuroscientists have discovered a link between strong, passionate feelings and a decline in cognitive control, which means that love can take your focus away from many other things.

44. Body Language

If you were wondering if someone is into you, all you have to do is look at their body language. If someone cannot keep their eyes off you or won’t stop smiling around you, chances are they find you attractive.

45. Butterflies

When you’re falling in love, the butterflies you feel are an actual sensation caused by an adrenaline rush.

46. Signs You Are Falling in Love

You know you are falling for someone when you do either one of these things:  

• You daydream about moments with them.
• You come up with possible date ideas.
• You feel like a better person and can’t stop smiling.
• You feel their pain and constantly worry for them.
• You’re more affectionate and crave sex more.

47. Do Soulmates Exist?

How do you know you’re falling in love with the right person? There is no perfect match, but some people are better suited for each other, making them feel that they’ve met their soulmate.

48. Love and Music

We often prefer to share the music we cherish dearly with those we love. Music and emotion seem to have a compelling cohesion, and when you listen to love songs, it will intensify the passion you feel for someone.

49. Crush vs Love

Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between a crush and love. It comes down to time; a crush can die quickly based on physical attraction. On the other hand, love takes time to grow, and it does so based on trust, honesty, affection and other deeper qualities.

50. Two Types of Love

Psychologists say that two basic types of love are compassionate and passionate. Compassionate love draws from mutual respect and understanding, whereas passionate love draws from sexual desires, intense emotions and anxiety. 

51. How Long Does it Take to Get Over a Lost Love?

Getting over someone could take weeks or even months, depending on how meaningful the relationship was to you. Psychology states five stages of grieving after a break-up: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

52. Parental Issues and Love

Some psychologists’ theories suggest that the process of love is similar to how children become attached to their parents. Studies reveal that those who have had bad childhood experiences with their parents would later seek a love interest that could replace the “normal” bond that was supposed to have formed between parents and children.

53. Love Potions

Throughout history, “love potions” were created with a person’s sweat to try and draw in their crush. That is because you’re more likely drawn to the scent of the person you find attractive—a subconscious act that helps the brain decide whether you love someone. 

54. A Fear of Love

Not everyone wants to love or feel loved— one of the love facts that might be hard to believe. However, some people have a fear of love. This intense fear is known as Philophobia. The fear of love can be caused by past traumatic relationships, infidelity, heartbreak, abuse and betrayal.

55. Love is What Matters Most

Love is a vital aspect of the human experience; it has caused wars, inspired art forms, it created life, family, friends and bonds that make us feel happy. After all, we are social beings, so to many of us, including some psychologists, love is an essential thing to exist.    

Did you enjoy reading these love psychology facts? Were there any psychology love facts that you didn’t know? And which human psychology facts about love were a surprise to you?