Prototype analysis of the concept of compassionate love

Social scientists are turning their attention to compassionate love, arguing that this kind of love may promote the greatest social good. The central thesis of this research was that compassionate love might be best understood as a prototype rather than a classically defined concept. Six studies were conducted with in Canada and the United States. In Study 1, participants generated features of compassionate love. Studies 2 and 3 revealed that some features (e.g., trust, caring) are considered more central to the concept of compassionate love than others (e.g., sacrifice, sympathy). This prototype structure was confirmed in studies of reaction time (Study 4), memory (Study 5), and logical inferences (Study 6). The implications of a prototype conceptualization of compassionate love for theorizing and research in this relatively new area are discussed.