A COMPASSIONATE LOVE BETWEEN COUPLES
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF COMPASSION
COMPASSIONATE LOVE HAVE RECEIVED research attention over the last decades, but it is as yet under how it is experienced over a lifetime. Believers experienced greater compassionate love than non-believers, and individuals in love presented greater compassionate love than those who were not in love. Love styles and subjective well-being were found to be related to compassionate love. Findings has corroborated studies that indicates that individuals who experience higher compassionate love for a romantic partner are more likely to report EROS, AGAPE and subjective well-being.
INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING LOVE had been growing since the mid-20th century, but much remains to be understood. Considerable research has been directed at understanding compassionate love, companionate love, and attachment love, however, compassionate love is still poorly understood. Compassionate love is the kind of love that ultimately centers on the good of the other and it is important to understand the course of compassionate love across the life span of the subjective couples.
ON VARIOUS THOUGHTS ABOUT COMPASSIONATE LOVE
MOST DEFINITION OF COMPASSIONATE LOVE contain the theme of giving oneself for the goal of another. In short, attitudes and actions related to giving of self for the good of the other. Along the same lines, compassionate love is also defined as an attitude towards others, either close others or strangers or all of humanity, containing feelings or conditions and behaviors that are focused on caring, concerns, tenderness and an orientation towards supporting, helping, and understanding the others, particularly when the others are perceived be suffering or in needs. Compassionate love can be experienced for a romantic partners, family, friends, peripheral ties, and humanity.
FALLING IN LOVE IS DIFFICULT to define. It is a selective orientation towards a particular individual that can mirror hormonal changes and physical attractions, and can actually lead to giving of self for the good of the other. Given that someone in love is dominated by feelings of caring for one specific person, compassionate love may increase with being in love. Thus, it was expected that individuals in love would experience higher compassionate love for romantic partner than those not in love.
OBJECTIVITY AND COMPASSION
SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING FOCUSES on personal evaluation of one’s life experience and has 2 major components: Satisfaction with life, positive effects and negative effects. Satisfaction with life is a cognitive evaluation of one’s life satisfaction, either globally or with respect to specific life domains based on criteria chosen by each person. Positive effects- concerns occurrences of positive connections such as joy, contentment and happiness. Negative Effects – concerns the experience of negative emotions such as shame, sadness and anxiety.
ALTHOUGH COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE components of subjective well-being are correlated, they form distinct factors, and thus, a comprehensive evaluation of subjective well-being requires measuring both components. Past research reveals that individuals who experience compassionate love for other partners are happier in their relationships.
HENCE, IT WAS EXPECTED THAT SATISFACTION WITH LIFE, LOVE, LOVE LIFE, SEX LIFE, AND POLITICAL AFFECTS WOULD BE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH COMPASSIONAT LOVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECTS WILL BE NEGATIVELY—- CORRELATED WITH COMPASSIONATE LOVE ACROSS THE ADULT LIFE SPAN.
Relationship goals 