On the basis of the proposition that love promotes commitment, the authors
predicted that love would motivate approach, have a distinct signal, and co
rrelate with commitment-enhancing processes when relationships are threaten
ed. The authors studied romantic partners and adolescent opposite-sex frien
ds during interactions that elicited love and threatened the bond. As expec
ted, the experience of love correlated with approach-related states (desire
, sympathy). Providing evidence for a nonverbal display of love, four affil
iation cues (head nods, Duchenne smiles, gesticulation, forward leans) corr
elated with self-reports and partner estimates of love. Finally, the experi
ence and display of love correlated with commitment-enhancing processes (e.
g., constructive conflict resolution, perceived trust) when the relationshi
p was threatened. Discussion focused on love, positive emotion, and relatio
nships.