Can Love Ever Be Mean? Yes, Sort of
This is a little spooky. A new study has found that love can sometimes make us mean . Say what? The study found that, under certain circumstances, feelings of warmth, tenderness and sympathy can in fact predict aggressive behaviors, according to a recent study by two University at Buffalo researchers. Love and compassion go hand-in-hand, or do they? The study attempted to find out. It turns out it’s not about anger or feeling personally threatened, says study author Michael J. Poulin. Apparently, it's all about hormones that lead to increased "approach behaviors," says Poulin, a professor of psychology, according to newswise.com. “People are motivated by social approach or getting closer to others.” But Poulin adds that people approach one another for many reasons, including aggression, so it stands to reason that if compassion is linked to the action of these hormones and these hormones are linked to social approach behaviors, they might ...