Question 2

I have been in a relationship where there was an absence of love, but there was a commitment. Wood (2010) describes commitment as "the intention to remain involved with a relationship". The commitment in my past relationship lied in the fact that we were committed to dating only each other, and we continued to meet and hang out when we said we would. Our relationship also reached an intimate level based on our physical attraction to each other, but I never felt an emotional connection. I am now able to put a name to the type of love that I thought would eventually grow out of this relationship and that is "storge", which is one of the primary styles of love that compatibility can lead to for people. However, this love never happened and is probably why we were able to end the relationship and also the reason I never felt sadness or regret over the break up. I can conclude that commitment doesn't always lead to love, and that love can be present for some people even when the other person may not be committed to the one who actually feels love. Some people may be committed to a relationship and not have felt love yet, and others may only be committed because they feel that they love the person they are with, and they find this love leads to a desire to stay committed.