Gender and personality differences in conceptions of love: An interpersonal theory analysis

Three studies tested predictions derived from interpersonal theory regardin g the relations among gender, personality, and conceptions of love. It was predicted that women would conceptualize love in terms of its nurturant var ieties, namely companionate kinds of love, whereas men would conceptualize love in terms of non-nurturant varieties, namely passionate kinds of love. Only the latter prediction received consistent support. Both women and men held a companionate conception of love, with the exception that women assig ned higher ratings to friendship love and sisterly love. Regarding personal ity, it was predicted that high-nurturance traits (e.g., warm-agreeable) wo uld be associated with a companionate conception of love whereas low-nurtur ance traits (e.g., cold-hearted) would be associated with a passionate conc eption of love. Results supported predictions. It was concluded that women' s and men's conceptions of love are more similar than has been assumed and that the two robust interpersonal dimensions of dominance and nurturance ho ld considerable promise for integrating the literature on personality and g ender differences in love.