Helen Fisher’s Ideas on Love
Helen Fisher’s ideas that love is associated with brain chemicals such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin and her thesis that romantic love is a fundamental human mating drive are thoroughly explained and described in detail in her book Why We Love. Her book starts off by explaining that when there are high levels of dopamine present ‘the brain produce extremely focused attention as well as unwavering motivation and goal-directed behaviors’ this causes one’s partner to become extremely focus on their sweetheart and overlook any unappealing traits their other half may have. (Fisher, 52). Norepinephrine is more commonly known as ‘love’s high’ (Fisher, 53). Norepinephrine is one the chemicals obtained from dopamine, the effects produced by this chemical are ‘varied depending on the part of the brain it activates’ (Fisher, 53).
Chemical Needed for ‘Romantic Love’
Helen Fisher found that by ‘increasing levels of this stimulant generally produced exhilaration, excessive energy, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite’ also known as some aspects of ‘romantic love’ (Fisher, 53). Serotonin is the third chemical involved in the ‘irresistible feeling’ of love. It’s a symptom of ‘romantic love’, the constant thinking of one’s sweetheart (Fisher, 54). Helen Fisher’s theory that the constant and involuntary thinking of one’s sweetheart was because of ‘low levels of some type of this chemical compound’ (Fisher, 54). Her theory was based on a study that had been conducted in 1999 by scientists in Italy who had used sixty participants who had fallen in love in the past six months. This study discovered a relationship between ‘romantic love and low levels of bodily serotonin’ (Fisher, 54). Therefore, if the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine increase this causes a decrease in serotonin levels (Fisher, 55).
Importance of Trust and Intimacy
Mandy Len Catron’s thesis is that love is an action, a choice, it’s pliable, and something for which we can create the right conditions of trust and intimacy where love can grow. She shows this by analyzing and describing a study she did of whether you can fall in love after 36 questions. Her experiment began in a bar, not a lab and the two of them were not strangers. They both were willing to try the experiment that was designed to create romantic love meaning they both were open to this happening (Catron). They spent two hours passing her iPhone across the table and questioning each other. Some of the questions asked were ‘Would you like to be famous? In what way?’ And ‘When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?’ but soon the questions become more intimate. Thus trust and intimacy are the components needed for love.
