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Topics: Psychology, Science, Sex and Relationships
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Psychology, Science, Sex and Relationships
Scientists have suggested that most lovers will fall into one of four categories, and it might surprise you.
In a recent study conducted by researchers at The Australian National University, they grouped over 800 young, loved-up couples and looked at four characteristics: mechanistic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral expression of romantic love.
For the purpose of the study, researchers defined romantic love as 'a motivational state typically associated with a desire for long-term mating with a particular individual'.
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Using data from Romantic Love Survey 2022, the team of scientists looked people's results regarding intensity of love, obsessive thinking, commitment, and frequency of sex.
"These variables were chosen because of their convenience and because these variables represent important or commonly investigated romantic love-related features," explains the study.
Ultimately they found that there were four different types of lovers...
These are people who have sex on average twice a week. Apparently 20 percent of the population are in this category and are most likely to be male.
Mild romantic lovers are also said to fall in love more easily but for shorter periods of time, Mail Online explains.
41 percent of the population fall into this bracket and they're least likely to be on antidepressants. But while you'd think there was a dramatic increase between mild and moderate lovers' sex lives, there's not.
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According to the study, people who are in this category have sex 2.5 times a week on average.
Making up 29 percent of the population, intense romantic lovers get down and dirty around three times a week.
People in this category are more likely to be female and are said to have the highest relationship satisfaction.
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These lovers are the least common and make up just 10 percent. But this lot are in it for the long haul and apparently love for the longest time. Cute!
Mental health wise, the study found that libidinous romantic lovers are unlikely to suffer with anxiety or depression.
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READ MORE:
HOW MANY TIMES A WEEK YOU SHOULD HAVE SEX TO AVOID DEPRESSION
As for how many times a week they do the deed... apparently couples in this bracket have sex 10 times a week on average.
Discussing the findings, Adam Bode, who led the study, said: "While there is evidence of variation in the psychological expression of romantic love, to our knowledge, no one has attempted to directly empirically investigate this phenomenon.
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"Understanding variation in romantic love as an interaction between genes and the environment can shed light on one necessary component of traits subject to evolution."