SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 54: Robert Sternberg, Physical Intimacy, Married People
12 Jul 2018
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Early Adulthood: Age 17–45
An important aspect of achieving intimacy with another person is first being able to separate
from the family of origin, or family of procreation. Most young adults have some familial
attachments, but are also in the process of separating from them. This process normally begins
during Daniel Levinson's early adult transition (17–22), when many young adults first leave
home to attend college or take a job in another city.
By age 22 young adults have attained at least some level of attitudinal, emotional, and
physical independence. They are ready for Levinson's entering the adult world (22–
28) stage of early adulthood, during which relationships take center stage.
Relationships in Early Adulthood
Love, intimacy, and adult relationships go hand‐in‐hand. Psychologist Robert
Sternberg proposed that love consists of three
components: passion,decision/commitment, and intimacy. Passionconcerns the intense
feelings of physiological arousal and excitement (including sexual arousal) present in a
relationship, while decision/commitment concerns the decision to love the partner and
maintain the relationship. Intimacy concerns the sense of warmth and closeness in a
loving relationship, including the desires to help the partner, to self‐disclose, and to
keep the partner in one's life. People express intimacy in three ways:
• Physical intimacy involves mutual affection and sexual activity.
• Psychological intimacy involves sharing feelings and thoughts.
• Social intimacy involves enjoying the same friends and types of recreation.
The many varieties of love described by Sternberg consist of varying degrees of
passion, commitment, and intimacy. For example, infatuation, or “puppy love”—so
characteristic of adolescence—involves passion, but not intimacy or commitment.
In addition to love and intimacy, sexuality is realized during young adulthood within the
context of one or more relationships, whether long‐ or short‐term. Although adolescent
sexuality is of a growing and maturing nature, adult sexuality is fully expressive. The
following sections discuss some of the more familiar types of adult relationships.
Singlehood
Today, many people are choosing singlehood, or the “single lifestyle.” Regardless of their
reasons for not marrying, many singles clearly lead satisfying and rewarding lives. Many claim
