Reference: Heshmati, S., & Oravecz, Z. (2022). I feel loved when other people feel loved: Cultural congruence in beliefs on love is related to well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(2), 347-371. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211036510 "Does understanding love the way your culture does, boost your own well-being?" Psychologists studied how aligning one’s beliefs about love with cultural values affects people’s well-being. They asked 500 adults to rate everyday scenarios to determine if they would feel loved in those situations, and compared participants’ beliefs about feeling loved to both their cultural consensus and what they thought others would feel. Results? People agree on what feels loving, for example, caring for them when sick, compassion in difficult times, making them feel special, intimacy and what does not. When participants’ beliefs about love matched other’s beliefs or cultural norms, they reported higher well-being. However, those who believed others felt loved in scenarios when they did not, tended to report lower well-being. Yet, well-being was not affected when people felt loved in situations where they thought others would not. What can we take away from these researchers’ findings? Love is more than a feeling—it's a shared experience! When our views on love align with our cultural norms, our well-being thrives. It’s a reminder that we’re all connected through the way we love.

Written by Kristin M. Harris, Ph.D.