Researchers at Aalto University have mapped how different types of love are felt in the human body. The study looked at 27 types of love and found that all forms are primarily felt in the head. Although these feelings vary in intensity and range, they tend to form a continuum from weaker to stronger. Cultural and demographic factors also influence these experiences, providing possibilities for further exploration.
New research reveals where and how we feel love differently. Scientists at Aalto University have created a map showing where in the human body different types of love are felt and how intensely they are felt.
"It is worth noting that the types of love associated with close relationships are similar and are experienced most intensely, although this is not terribly surprising," said philosopher Pärttyli Rinne, who co-ordinated the study.
PhD researcher Mikke Tavast analyzed the data, while researcher Enrico Glerean developed the research methodology. The project was co-initiated by Rinne and Professor Emeritus Mikko Sams.
The research team examined how participants experienced 27 different types of love, such as romantic love, sex, parental love, and love for friends, strangers, nature, God, or themselves. The research team asked participants where in their bodies they felt different types of love and how intense the feelings were, both physically and mentally.
Their findings, published in Philosophical Psychology, suggest that different types of love form a continuum from weak to strong. All types of love are intensely felt in the head, but differ in other parts of the body - some love spreads only to the chest, while others spread throughout the body. The most intense love is felt most widely throughout the body.
To create this map, researchers collected data from hundreds of participants through online surveys. Most of them are young women in higher education. Participants were asked to color in body outlines to show the location of each type of love they felt. They were also asked about how they felt physically and mentally about different types of love, how pleasurable the feelings were and how they related to touch. Finally, they were asked to rate the intimacy of various types of love.
"Love between people is divided into sexual and non-sexual love. Particularly intimate types of love are those that have a sexual or romantic dimension," says Rinne.
"Also interestingly, we found a strong correlation between the physical and mental intensity of the emotion and its pleasantness. The more intense the love is felt in the body, the more intense the love is felt in the mind and the more pleasurable it is," Rinne added.
Rinne said the research team was interested in the fact that all different types of love are felt in the mind. "As we move from experiencing more intense types of love to experiencing less intense types of love, the sensations in the chest area become weaker. For example, love for strangers or wisdom may be related to cognitive processes. It may also be that there are pleasurable sensations in the head area. This requires further study."
Rinne also noted that there are cultural differences in love, and the demographics of the study group were related to the experience of love. "If the same study were conducted in a highly religious community, love for God would likely be the most intense love experienced. Likewise, if the subjects were parents in a relationship, as in our ongoing brain research project, love for children would likely be the most intense love."