Love and Liking Scale Test

Intuitively speaking, liking and love are certainly different. We can like many people, but we only love some specific ones among them. It's difficult for us to define love and liking, and even love itself is a complex, multidimensional experience. So, what's the difference between liking and love?

Liking and love are two different emotional expressions that differ in degree and nature. Here are some common differences:

1. Emotional depth: Love is often a deeper, more intense emotional experience that involves deeper emotional connections and attachments. In contrast, liking may more often represent a sense of goodwill, appreciation, or friendliness, not necessarily involving deep emotional connections.

2. Intimacy: Love usually comes with higher levels of intimacy and emotional investment, including sharing inner thoughts, feelings, and secrets. Liking may emphasize more on friendship and camaraderie, not necessarily requiring deep emotional communication.

3. Devotion and care: Love means greater devotion and concern for the other person's happiness and well-being. Love inspires people to make sacrifices and put in extra effort for the other person. Liking is usually more inclined toward appreciation and admiration for the other person, but doesn't necessarily involve the same level of devotion and care.

4. Persistence: Love is usually a more enduring emotion that can remain stable through the test of time and persist in long-term relationships. In contrast, liking may be more easily affected by external environmental factors and personal emotional fluctuations, and may be less stable.

5. Comprehensiveness: Love is usually a comprehensive emotional experience that encompasses all aspects of emotional, psychological, and physical levels. It may include sexual attraction, intimacy, emotional attachment, and deep emotional connections. Liking may be more inclined to express goodwill and appreciation for certain aspects of the other person, not necessarily involving the same comprehensiveness.

It's important to note that these differences are relative, not absolute rules. Different people may differ in how they express and experience liking and love. The most important thing is to have honest communication with the other person to ensure both parties have a clear understanding of each other's feelings and expectations.

How to tell if someone likes you or loves you? Determining whether someone likes you or loves you is a relatively subjective process, as everyone may differ in how they express and experience emotions. However, here are some common indicators and signs that can serve as references to determine whether someone likes you or loves you:

1. Time and investment: If someone is willing to spend a lot of time and energy being with you and actively doing things for you and caring about your needs, this may be a sign of love. Conversely, if someone only spends time with you when they have free time and doesn't actively care about your affairs, it may be more inclined toward liking.

2. Level of intimacy: Love often includes deeper emotional intimacy and intimate behaviors, such as sharing inner thoughts and feelings, establishing deep emotional connections. If someone confides their inner troubles to you and hopes to share all aspects of life with you, this may be a sign of love.

3. Support and care: When someone truly loves you, they care about your happiness and well-being and provide support and help. Whether in difficult times or in pursuing personal goals, they actively support you and express their care for you.

4. Sacrifice and devotion: Love often comes with sacrifice and devotion. If someone is willing to give up certain personal interests or put in extra effort to ensure your happiness and satisfaction, this may be a sign of love.

5. Emotional stability: Love is often stable and enduring, while liking may be more easily affected by external environmental factors and personal emotional fluctuations. If someone's emotions toward you remain stable and show continuous care and attention in long-term relationships, this may be an expression of love.

It's important to remember that everyone's expression and experience differ, so these indicators are just some common signs and cannot be absolutely regarded as the only standard for determining whether someone likes you or loves you. The best way is to have open and honest communication directly with the other person, asking about their feelings and intentions, to better understand each other's emotions.

Psychologist Rubin believes that love and liking belong to two directions, that is, they are essentially different. "I" may like him/her very much, but it's not love. Rubin constructed a "Love Scale" and a "Liking Scale." He also found some interesting evidence, such as couples who scored higher on the "Love Scale" had more eye contact, were more inclined to prepare to marry their partners, and were more inclined to continue their relationship later.

Rubin's research tells us that loving someone and liking someone are indeed different experiences. Based on mutual similarity, appreciation, and respect, we will like someone, but love is a more intense and unique emotion that includes more attachment, selflessness, altruism, possessiveness and exclusivity, as well as physical intimacy. Psychologist Robert Sternberg's triangular theory of love believes that love includes three components: sexual passion, psychological intimacy, and mutual commitment. Love may come from one of these three elements or any combination of the three elements. But without these three elements, it cannot be called love.