Scientific journal paper Q1
The function of love: A signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis
Benjamin Gelbart (Gelbart, B.); Kathryn V. Walter (Walter, K. V.); Daniel Conroy-Beam (Conroy-Beam, D.); Casey Estorque (Estorque, C.); David M. Buss (Buss, D. M.); Kelly Asao (Asao, K.); Agnieszka Sorokowska (Sorokowska, A.); Piotr Sorokowski (Sorokowski, P.); Toivo Aavik (Aavik, T.); Grace Akello (Akello, G.); Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba (Alhabahba, M. M.); Charlotte Alm (Alm, C.); Naumana Amjad (Amjad, N.); Afifa Anjum (Anjum, A.); Chiemezie S. Atama (Atama, C. S.); Derya Atamtürk Duyar (Duyar, D. A.); Carlota Batres (Batres, C.); Mons Bendixen (Bendixen, M.); Aicha Bensafia (Bensafia, A.); Boris Bizumic (Bizumic, B.); Mahmoud Boussena (Boussena, M.); Marina Butovskaya (Butovskaya, M.); Seda Can (Can, S.); Antonin Carrier (Carrier, A.); Hakan Cetinkaya (Cetinkaya, H.); Ilona Croy (Croy, I.); Rosa María Cueto (Cueto, R. M.); Marcin Czub (Czub, M.); Daria Dronova (Dronova, D.); Seda Dural (Dural, S.); Izzet Duyar (Duyar, I.); Berna Ertugrul (Ertugrul, B.); Agustín Espinosa (Espinosa, A.); Ignacio Estevan (Estevan, I.); Carla Esteves (Esteves, C. S.); Luxi Fang (Fang, L.); Tomasz Frackowiak (Frackowiak, T.); Jorge Contreras Garduño (Contreras Garduño, J.); Karina Ugalde González (Ugalde González, K.); Farida Guemaz (Guemaz, F.); Petra Gyuris (Gyuris, P.); Iskra Herak (Herak, I.); Ivana Hromatko (Hromatko, I. ); Chin-Ming Hui (Hui, C.-M.); Jas Laile Jaafar (Jaafar, J. L.); Feng Jiang (Jiang, F.); Konstantinos Kafetsios (Kafetsios, K.); Tina Kavčič (Kavčič, T.); Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair (Kennair, L. E. O.); Nicolas Kervyn (Kervyn, N.); Truong Thi Khanh Ha (Ha, T. T. K.); Imran Ahmed Khilji (Khilji, I. A.); Hoang Moc Lan (Lan, H. M.); András Láng (Láng, A.); Georgina R. Lennard (Lennard, G. R.); Ernesto León (León, E.); Torun Lindholm (Lindholm, T.); Trinh Thi Linh (Linh, T. T.); Giulia Lopez (Lopez, G. ); Nguyen Van Luot (Van Luot, N.); Alvaro Mailhos (Mailhos, A.); Zoi Manesi (Manesi, Z.); Sarah L. McKerchar (McKerchar, S. L.); Norbert Meskó (Meskó, N.); Girishwar Misra (Misra, G.); Conal Monaghan (Monaghan, C.); Emanuel C. Mora (Mora, E. C.); Alba Moya-Garófano (Moya-Garófano, A.); Bojan Musil (Musil, B.); Jean Carlos Natividade (Natividade, J. C.); Agnieszka Niemczyk (Niemczyk, A.); George Nizharadze (Nizharadze, G.); Elisabeth Oberzaucher (Oberzaucher, E.); Anna Oleszkiewicz (Oleszkiewicz, A.); Mohd Sofian Omar-Fauzee (Omar-Fauzee, M. S.); Ike E. Onyishi (Onyishi, I. E.); Baris Özener (Özener, B.); Ariela Francesca Pagani (Pagani, A. F.); Vilmante Pakalniskiene (Pakalniskiene, V.); Miriam Parise (Parise, M.); Farid Pazhoohi (Pazhoohi, F.); Annette Pisanski (Pisanski, A.); Katarzyna Pisanski (Pisanski, K.); Nejc Plohl (Plohl, N.); Edna Ponciano (Ponciano, E.); Camelia Popa (Popa, C.); Pavol Prokop (Prokop, P.); Muhammad Rizwan (Rizwan, M.); Svjetlana Salkičević (Salkičević, S.); Ruta Sargautyte (Sargautyte, R.); Ivan Sarmány-Schuller (Sarmány-Schuller, I.); Shivantika Sharad (Sharad, S.); Razi Sultan Siddiqui (Siddiqui, R. S.); Franco Simonetti (Simonetti, F.); Stanislava Yordanova Stoyanova (Stoyanova, S. Y.); Meri Tadinac (Tadinac, M.); Marco Antonio Correa Varella (Correa Varella, M. A.); Christin-Melanie Vauclair (Vauclair, C.-M.); Luis Diego Vega (Vega, L. D.); Dwi Ajeng Widarini (Widarini, D. A.); Gyesook Yoo (Yoo, G.); Marta Zaťková (Zaťková, M.); Maja Zupančič (Zupančič, M.); et al.
Journal Title
Evolution and Human Behavior
Year (definitive publication)
2025
Language
English
Country
United States of America
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Abstract
Love is commonly hypothesized to function as an evolved commitment device, disincentivizing the pursuit of romantic alternatives and signaling this motivational shift to a partner. Here, we test this possibility against a novel signaling-to-alternatives account, in which love instead operates by dissuading alternatives from pursuing oneself. Overall, we find stronger support for the latter account. In Studies 1 and 2, we find that partner quality relative to alternatives positively predicts feelings of love, and love fails to mitigate the negative effects of desirable alternatives on relationship satisfaction—contradicting the classic commitment device account. In Study 3, using a longitudinal design, we replicate these effects and find that changes in partner quality relative to alternatives predict changes in love over time. In Study 4, we replicate the relationship between love and relative partner quality across 44 countries. In Study 5, we find a nearly one-to-one correspondence between the extent to which partner-directed actions are diagnostic of love and reductions in romantic alternatives' attraction to the actor. These results suggest that love may not act as a commitment device in the classic sense by disincentivizing the pursuit of alternatives but by disincentivizing alternatives from pursuing oneself.
Acknowledgements
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Keywords
Romantic love,Commitment device,Quality of alternatives,Evolutionary psychology,Close relationships,Signaling theory
  • Earth and related Environmental Sciences - Natural Sciences
  • Biological Sciences - Natural Sciences
  • Health Sciences - Medical and Health Sciences
  • Psychology - Social Sciences
  • Other Humanities - Humanities
Funding Records
Funding Reference Funding Entity
P5–0062 Slovenian Research Agency
AH/S004025/1 UKRI/GCRF Gender, Justice, Security
71971225 National Nature Science Foundation of China
K125437 Hungarian Scientific Research Fund
1845586 National Science Foundation
01201370995 Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Moscow, Russia
2014/13/B/HS6/02644 National Science Center - Poland
626/STYP/12/2017 Ministry of Science and Higher Education
501.01-2016.02 Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development