Is love an emotion that can be primed?

April 12, 2025

What does love have to do with it? Common conceptualizations about emotions is that they are an interpretation of the body's signals. Emotions are, therefore, temporary and can increase through things like priming (e.g., reading a sad story can make us sad for a short bit; winning a game can make us happy). But what about love? Can we shift feelings of love, even for a few minutes? And what happens if we do? Some work indicates that priming feelings about love can temporarily change your opinions about love and relationships. This study seeks to understand if that shift is about love or lust: can pictures of loving behavior vs. erotic behavior cause different impacts on emotions and attitudes?