In the realm of emotions, romantic love remains one of the most enigmatic and least explored. Despite being a fundamental aspect of human existence, delving into the intricacies of love has often been met with reluctance from the scientific community. However, Australian researchers are challenging this trend, positioning themselves as leaders in the burgeoning field of romantic love studies.
Adam Bode, a PhD student and biologist at the Australian National University, notes the historical hesitancy within the scientific community to study love. “There’s a feeling of being embarrassed about it, that you won’t be taken seriously,” he explains. Despite this, he asserts that Australia is rapidly becoming a global leader in the exploration of romantic love.
Elizabeth Reid Boyd, a senior lecturer at Edith Cowan University, co-edited a publication titled “Contemporary Love Studies in the Arts and Humanities: What’s love got to do with it?”. She highlights the evolving perceptions of love, particularly among Generation Z and millennials, who embrace diverse forms of love and broaden ideas about family.
Romantic love studies, a relatively new field, spans across various disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, biology, literary studies, anthropology, law, social work, gender studies, and even robotics and popular culture. The exploration extends beyond the positive aspects of love, also addressing darker dimensions such as stalking, coercion, harassment, and violence.
Despite the complexity of love, it often feels instinctive and natural. Clare Davidson, a research fellow at the Australian Catholic University, emphasizes the multi-faceted nature of love, involving physical, psychological, spiritual, and creative elements. She cautions against relying solely on evolutionary perspectives, recognizing cultural variations in the interpretation of stimuli.
Australia’s prominence in love studies is attributed, in part, to researchers like Bode and his colleague, associate professor Phil Kavanagh. Their ongoing Romantic Love Survey 2022, a longitudinal study involving 1,556 young individuals in the early stages of love, provides valuable data for further exploration.
Bode’s recent study, published in Behavioral Sciences, explores the link between the behavioral activation system (BAS) and romantic love. The BAS, an ancient biopsychological system, influences behavior by generating emotions, thoughts, and movements to achieve goals. The study delves into specific bio-psychological mechanisms contributing to romantic love, aiming to create tools for future neurological and psychological investigations.
The research acknowledges the rosy nature of reciprocal love but also highlights potential darker sides, including idealization of the loved one, obsessive monitoring of social media, and learning deficits that may lead to unhealthy activities. The continuum of love, from mystical experiences to problematic issues of consent and interpersonal violence, adds complexity to the ongoing exploration of romantic love.
