Love: quick facts
Love is a complex emotional state combining affection, attachment, and care toward another person, group, or thing. Psychologists often treat love not as a single basic emotion but as a blend — drawing on happiness,…
Category
Complex & secondary emotions
Valence
Positive
Emotion family / blend
Happiness + trust
Typical triggers
Attachment, intimacy, care, shared bonds
How it's expressed
Warm gaze, soft smile, approach, physical closeness
Sources: Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions (Robert Plutchik) — overview; American Psychological Association — APA Dictionary: emotion; Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley — Emotions. Educational information only — not medical or psychological advice. See our sources & fact-check policy.