Researchers at Aalto University have made a map of where in the body different types of love are felt and how strongly they are experienced.
Love is necessary for human growth, connection, and isolation reduction at every stage of life. Of course, there are various types of love connected to various activities, such as self-love, love for animals, parental love, romantic and sexual love, and love for friends. But how can we physically experience these various kinds of love? Do they differ in the intensity with which we experience them?
Through a survey involving 27 distinct love forms, results showed a continuum from weaker to stronger love sensations. Most love forms manifested strongly in the head, with varying intensities elsewhere in the body.
Researchers from Aalto University in Finland have conducted a new study that goes beyond prior research by mapping the human experience of 27 various varieties of love. prior research has concentrated on understanding the emotional, behavioral, and neurological pathways linked to romantic and paternal love.
Participants were asked to color in silhouettes of bodies to show where they felt bodily sensations when experiencing a certain type of love. They were also asked how pleasant the feeling was, how intense it was physically and mentally, and how it was associated with touch. Lastly, participants were asked to rate the closeness of the different love types.
The researchers found that all types of love were felt in the head but differed in how they were felt in other parts of the body; some spread to the chest, others to the entire body.
Key findings illuminate the universality and distinctions of love’s physical sensations.
Key Facts:
- The study covered 27 different types of love, including romantic, sexual, parental, and love for nature or God.
- While all love forms were most prominent in the head, their intensity and reach varied in other parts of the body.
- The correlation between the physical and mental intensity of love is strong; the more powerful the physical sensation, the stronger and more pleasant the emotional feeling.
