How do I Love Thee? You Can Measure the Ways

This is the first study that has used psychophysiological measures to investigate the validity of Gary Chapman’s (1992) relationship satisfaction theory, The Five Love Languages. This theory proposes that individuals have a preferred means of communicating love. Heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration rate were recorded while 89 college students listened to guided imagery scripts representing one of the five love languages (LL). Using a within-subjects design, a repeated-measures ANOVA was run on each physiological measure. A composite score of the physiological responses indicated a significant increase in arousal for when participants listened to their primary LL as compared to their non-preferred LL (88) =-2.3, p=.02, d=.37). For skin conductance (88) =-2.03, p<.05, d=.35) and heart rate (88) =-2.15, p=.03, d=.35), we observed a significant difference in physiological response found for the preferred versus non-preferred LL. This study gives the first psychophysiological evidence of individuals having one of the five preferred love languages. Interestingly, there was no significant relationship found between relationship satisfaction along with commitment and an individual’s significant other using their preferred LL. More research is needed to determine the exact relationship between primary LLs and relationship satisfaction and commitment.