For those cynics out there.

I'm not currently bitter or anything, I swear. But one of my classes is currently discussing motivation and emotion, and this was one of our readings. Frijda (1998) has broken down emotions in a very calculated manner, saying that emotions follow certain laws, and this is what he has to say about love:

A person is ready to fall in love because of one of a number of reasons - loneliness, sexual need, dissatisfaction or need of variety. An object then incites interest, again for one of a number of reasons, such as novelty, attractiveness, or mere proximity. Then give the person a moment of promise, a brief response from the object that sugests interest. It may be a confidence; it may be a single glance, such as a young girl may think she received from a pop star. Then give the person a brief lapse of time - anywhere between half an hour or half a day, the self-reports suggest - during which fantasies can develop. After that sequence, no more than a single confirmation, real or imagined, is needed to precipitate falling in love. (p. 350)

It makes you think, doesn't it.


*In case you're interested in the rest of the article, which I found very interesting, here is the citation following proper APA formatting, what a good student I am!:
Frijda, N. (1998). The laws of emotion. American Psychologist, 43(5), 349-358.