The Routinization of Love,
Abstract
Whenever we search for the roots of human fulfillment or courage or creativity, we soon confront the fact of love. To be sure, the word itself appears but rarely in scientific reports; but those reports are filled with terms which catch some aspect, phase, or variety of love. We are told, for example, that the parents of psychiatrically healthy children are "nurturant" or "permissive" or "supportive" and make only "reasonable" demands of youngsters (136). Soldiers "integrated into" or "solidary with" their officers, units, or comrades display higher morale in battle (132). "Cooperation" sometimes enhances productivity (41, 78, 96). Intellectually creative adults are "secure" in their relations with others and "dedicated" to the realization of long-range objectives (103, 104). Men who withstand the rigors of imprisonment in concentration camps have a comparable dedication (20, 21) as do families which thrive despite an abrupt loss of income (4, 29, 87). These discoveries concern only some bits and facets of love. Observations which capture more it its features relate with even greater strength to variations in behavior and experience. To illustrate, it has been shown that parental supportiveness is associated with the mental health of children only when the support is dependable and is directed toward promoting the child's growing independence (79). This reveals something that most people understand; that overprotection is not love, and altruism without justice may signify masochism or dominance rather than mature concern and respect.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 10, 1962
- Accession Number
- ADA365889
Entities
People
- Guy E. Swanson