The Heart of It All

Cracking the code of friendship, kinship, and love

by Lubomir Lamy, Ph.D.

It’s No Use Asking Lovers for the Time

Love affects our perception of time. Those who are ‘in love' perceive time as being either too short or too long, or they do not perceive time at all. This is because, for lovers who are fulfilled, time does not count. Read More

Love is a diamond with five facets

Love is like a precious stone embedded in the matrix of uncertain and contradictory feelings, hidden from others as to ourselves. Before having fallen in love, we would be hard-pressed to predict with whom we would fall in love, and even after an encounter, we often hesitate about the nature of our feelings. A diamond is transparent, reflects all the light that it has captured. Read More

Just How Far Can We Manipulate Those We Love?

Lovers often engage in trivial trials to verify the depth of their partner's feelings. You should not be surprised then: Read More

Live to Love

Much of the research in social psychology dealing with the concept of love has focused over the last fifty years on why we love and what causes love. Researchers have identified causes such as spatial proximity or the mere exposure to others. Read More

Words of love may give rise to love

It is natural to think that people talk about love because they are in love. Since they are experiencing a feeling of love, it's logical for them to talk about it. Words of love are thus the consequence of the feeling. No one, however, has wondered about the converse: can words of love bring about the feeling of love? Read More

The Day Love Was Invented

These days, few people think of marrying without having feelings of love for their partner. Love is what brings us together, and the lack of it drives us apart. But it hasn't always been this way. There was a time when the question of love was not an issue. Read More

If you really love me, please misunderstand me

Empathy regarding personal relationships is twofold. Love can make us blind or clear-sighted. Read More

Friendship is eternal, especially these days

Friendship has three facets: communication, mutual help, and fidelity. It is this latter dimension that sets time, or eternity, at the very heart of friendship. Read More

Shall I live longer if I quarrel with my wife or if I have no wife to quarrel with?

It is now well documented that social relationships have an influence on mental and physical health. Consequently, if you fear developing low self-esteem, disease, or death, you may want to consider the effects of positive—and negative—relationships. Read More

Men Are Knights—But if Some Have Forgotten, Don't Hesitate to Remind Them

In Western cultures, knights have obviously disappeared. Armors have remained empty for a long time. Men and women are equal. Women have joined the workforce, including careers that were traditionally reserved for men. Read More

Lubomir Lamy, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of social psychology at South-Paris University, France. He specializes in the psychology of love and friendship.

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