The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis

Benjamin Gelbart; Kathryn V. Walter; Daniel Conroy-Beam; Casey Estorque; David M. Buss; Kelly Asao; Agnieszka Sorokowska; Piotr Sorokowski; Toivo Aavik; Grace Akello; Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba; Charlotte Alm; Naumana Amjad; Afifa Anjum; Chiemezie S. Atama; Derya Atamturk Duyar; Carlota Batres; Mons Bendixen; Aicha Bensafia; Boris Bizumic; Mahmoud Boussena; Marina Butovskaya; Seda Can; Antonin Carrier; Hakan Cetinkaya; Ilona Croy; Rosa María Cueto; Marcin Czub; Daria Dronova; Seda Dural; Izzet Duyar; Berna Ertugrul; Agustín Espinosa; Ignacio Estevan; Carla Sofia Esteves; Luxi Fang; Tomasz Frackowiak; Jorge Contreras Garduño; Karina Ugalde Gonzalez; Farida Guemaz; Petra Gyuris; Iskra Herak; Ivana Hromatko; Chin-Ming Hui; Jas Laile Jaafar; Feng Jiang; Konstantinos Kafetsios; Tina Kavcic; Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair; Nicolas Kervyn; Truong Thi Khanh Ha; Imran Ahmed Khilji; Hoang Moc Lan; András Láng; Georgina R. Lennard; Ernesto León; Torun Lindholm; Trinh Thi Linh; Giulia Lopez; Nguyen Van Luot; Alvaro Mailhos; Zoi Manesi; Sarah L. McKerchar; Norbert Mesko; Girishwar Misra; Conal Monaghan; Emanuel C. Mora; Alba Moya-Garofano; Bojan Musil; Jean Carlos Natividade; Agnieszka Niemczyk; George Nizharadze; Elisabeth Oberzaucher; Anna Oleszkiewicz; Mohd Sofian Omar-Fauzee; Ike E. Onyishi; Baris Özener; Ariela F. Pagani; Vilmante Pakalniskiene; Miriam Parise; Farid Pazhoohi; Annette Pisanski; Katarzyna Pisanski; Nejc Plohl; Edna Ponciano; Camelia Popa; Pavol Prokop; Muhammad Rizwan; Svjetlana Salkicevic; Ruta Sargautyte; Ivan Sarmany-Schuller; Shivantika Sharad; Razi Sultan Siddiqui; Franco Simonetti; Stanislava Yordanova Stoyanova; Meri Tadinac; Marco Antonio Correa Varella; Christin-Melanie Vauclair; Luis Diego Vega; Dwi Ajeng Widarini; Gyesook Yoo; Marta Zatkova; Maja Zupancic

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672

The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis

Benjamin Gelbart^*, Kathryn V. Walter, Daniel Conroy-Beam, Casey Estorque, David M. Buss, Kelly Asao, Agnieszka Sorokowska, Piotr Sorokowski, Toivo Aavik, Grace Akello, Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba, Charlotte Alm, Naumana Amjad, Afifa Anjum, Chiemezie S. Atama, Derya Atamturk Duyar, Carlota Batres, Mons Bendixen, Aicha Bensafia, Boris BizumicMahmoud Boussena, Marina Butovskaya, Seda Can, Antonin Carrier, Hakan Cetinkaya, Ilona Croy, Rosa María Cueto, Marcin Czub, Daria Dronova, Seda Dural, Izzet Duyar, Berna Ertugrul, Agustín Espinosa, Ignacio Estevan, Carla Sofia Esteves, Luxi Fang, Tomasz Frackowiak, Jorge Contreras Garduño, Karina Ugalde Gonzalez, Farida Guemaz, Petra Gyuris, Iskra Herak, Ivana Hromatko, Chin-Ming Hui, Jas Laile Jaafar, Feng Jiang, Konstantinos Kafetsios, Tina Kavcic, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Nicolas Kervyn, Truong Thi Khanh Ha, Imran Ahmed Khilji, Hoang Moc Lan, András Láng, Georgina R. Lennard, Ernesto León, Torun Lindholm, Trinh Thi Linh, Giulia Lopez, Nguyen Van Luot, Alvaro Mailhos, Zoi Manesi, Sarah L. McKerchar, Norbert Mesko, Girishwar Misra, Conal Monaghan, Emanuel C. Mora, Alba Moya-Garofano, Bojan Musil, Jean Carlos Natividade, Agnieszka Niemczyk, George Nizharadze, Elisabeth Oberzaucher, Anna Oleszkiewicz, Mohd Sofian Omar-Fauzee, Ike E. Onyishi, Baris Özener, Ariela F. Pagani, Vilmante Pakalniskiene, Miriam Parise, Farid Pazhoohi, Annette Pisanski, Katarzyna Pisanski, Nejc Plohl, Edna Ponciano, Camelia Popa, Pavol Prokop, Muhammad Rizwan, Svjetlana Salkicevic, Ruta Sargautyte, Ivan Sarmany-Schuller, Shivantika Sharad, Razi Sultan Siddiqui, Franco Simonetti, Stanislava Yordanova Stoyanova, Meri Tadinac, Marco Antonio Correa Varella, Christin-Melanie Vauclair, Luis Diego Vega, Dwi Ajeng Widarini, Gyesook Yoo, Marta Zatkova, Maja Zupancic

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Love is commonly hypothesized to function as an evolved commitment device, disincentivizing the pursuit of romantic alternatives and signaling this motivational shift to a partner. Here, we test this possibility against a novel signaling-to-alternatives account, in which love instead operates by dissuading alternatives from pursuing oneself. Overall, we find stronger support for the latter account. In Studies 1 and 2, we find that partner quality relative to alternatives positively predicts feelings of love, and love fails to mitigate the negative effects of desirable alternatives on relationship satisfaction—contradicting the classic commitment device account. In Study 3, using a longitudinal design, we replicate these effects and find that changes in partner quality relative to alternatives predict changes in love over time. In Study 4, we replicate the relationship between love and relative partner quality across 44 countries. In Study 5, we find a nearly one-to-one correspondence between the extent to which partner-directed actions are diagnostic of love and reductions in romantic alternatives’ attraction to the actor. These results suggest that love may not act as a commitment device in the classic sense by disincentivizing the pursuit of alternatives but by disincentivizing alternatives from pursuing oneself.

Original language	English
Article number	106672
Number of pages	15
Journal	Evolution and Human Behavior
Volume	46
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

Keywords

Close relationships
Commitment device
Evolutionary psychology
Quality of alternatives
Romantic love
Signaling theory

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10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672

Cite this

Gelbart, B., Walter, K. V., Conroy-Beam, D., Estorque, C., Buss, D. M., Asao, K., Sorokowska, A., Sorokowski, P., Aavik, T., Akello, G., Alhabahba, M. M., Alm, C., Amjad, N., Anjum, A., Atama, C. S., Duyar, D. A., Batres, C., Bendixen, M., Bensafia, A., ... Zupancic, M. (2025). The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis. Evolution and Human Behavior, 46(2), Article 106672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672

@article{01a73b6b40c34674a1bd0e5039da4b82,

title = "The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis",

abstract = "Love is commonly hypothesized to function as an evolved commitment device, disincentivizing the pursuit of romantic alternatives and signaling this motivational shift to a partner. Here, we test this possibility against a novel signaling-to-alternatives account, in which love instead operates by dissuading alternatives from pursuing oneself. Overall, we find stronger support for the latter account. In Studies 1 and 2, we find that partner quality relative to alternatives positively predicts feelings of love, and love fails to mitigate the negative effects of desirable alternatives on relationship satisfaction—contradicting the classic commitment device account. In Study 3, using a longitudinal design, we replicate these effects and find that changes in partner quality relative to alternatives predict changes in love over time. In Study 4, we replicate the relationship between love and relative partner quality across 44 countries. In Study 5, we find a nearly one-to-one correspondence between the extent to which partner-directed actions are diagnostic of love and reductions in romantic alternatives{\textquoteright} attraction to the actor. These results suggest that love may not act as a commitment device in the classic sense by disincentivizing the pursuit of alternatives but by disincentivizing alternatives from pursuing oneself.",

keywords = "Close relationships, Commitment device, Evolutionary psychology, Quality of alternatives, Romantic love, Signaling theory",

author = "Benjamin Gelbart and Walter, {Kathryn V.} and Daniel Conroy-Beam and Casey Estorque and Buss, {David M.} and Kelly Asao and Agnieszka Sorokowska and Piotr Sorokowski and Toivo Aavik and Grace Akello and Alhabahba, {Mohammad Madallh} and Charlotte Alm and Naumana Amjad and Afifa Anjum and Atama, {Chiemezie S.} and Duyar, {Derya Atamturk} and Carlota Batres and Mons Bendixen and Aicha Bensafia and Boris Bizumic and Mahmoud Boussena and Marina Butovskaya and Seda Can and Antonin Carrier and Hakan Cetinkaya and Ilona Croy and Cueto, {Rosa Mar{\'i}a} and Marcin Czub and Daria Dronova and Seda Dural and Izzet Duyar and Berna Ertugrul and Agust{\'i}n Espinosa and Ignacio Estevan and Esteves, {Carla Sofia} and Luxi Fang and Tomasz Frackowiak and Gardu{\~n}o, {Jorge Contreras} and Gonzalez, {Karina Ugalde} and Farida Guemaz and Petra Gyuris and Iskra Herak and Ivana Hromatko and Chin-Ming Hui and Jaafar, {Jas Laile} and Feng Jiang and Konstantinos Kafetsios and Tina Kavcic and Kennair, {Leif Edward Ottesen} and Nicolas Kervyn and Ha, {Truong Thi Khanh} and Khilji, {Imran Ahmed} and Lan, {Hoang Moc} and Andr{\'a}s L{\'a}ng and Lennard, {Georgina R.} and Ernesto Le{\'o}n and Torun Lindholm and Linh, {Trinh Thi} and Giulia Lopez and Luot, {Nguyen Van} and Alvaro Mailhos and Zoi Manesi and McKerchar, {Sarah L.} and Norbert Mesko and Girishwar Misra and Conal Monaghan and Mora, {Emanuel C.} and Alba Moya-Garofano and Bojan Musil and Natividade, {Jean Carlos} and Agnieszka Niemczyk and George Nizharadze and Elisabeth Oberzaucher and Anna Oleszkiewicz and Omar-Fauzee, {Mohd Sofian} and Onyishi, {Ike E.} and Baris {\"O}zener and Pagani, {Ariela F.} and Vilmante Pakalniskiene and Miriam Parise and Farid Pazhoohi and Annette Pisanski and Katarzyna Pisanski and Nejc Plohl and Edna Ponciano and Camelia Popa and Pavol Prokop and Muhammad Rizwan and Svjetlana Salkicevic and Ruta Sargautyte and Ivan Sarmany-Schuller and Shivantika Sharad and Siddiqui, {Razi Sultan} and Franco Simonetti and Stoyanova, {Stanislava Yordanova} and Meri Tadinac and Varella, {Marco Antonio Correa} and Christin-Melanie Vauclair and Vega, {Luis Diego} and Widarini, {Dwi Ajeng} and Gyesook Yoo and Marta Zatkova and Maja Zupancic",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672",

language = "English",

volume = "46",

journal = "Evolution and Human Behavior",

issn = "1090-5138",

publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",

number = "2",

}

Gelbart, B, Walter, KV, Conroy-Beam, D, Estorque, C, Buss, DM, Asao, K, Sorokowska, A, Sorokowski, P, Aavik, T, Akello, G, Alhabahba, MM, Alm, C, Amjad, N, Anjum, A, Atama, CS, Duyar, DA, Batres, C, Bendixen, M, Bensafia, A, Bizumic, B, Boussena, M, Butovskaya, M, Can, S, Carrier, A, Cetinkaya, H, Croy, I, Cueto, RM, Czub, M, Dronova, D, Dural, S, Duyar, I, Ertugrul, B, Espinosa, A, Estevan, I, Esteves, CS, Fang, L, Frackowiak, T, Garduño, JC, Gonzalez, KU, Guemaz, F, Gyuris, P, Herak, I, Hromatko, I, Hui, C-M, Jaafar, JL, Jiang, F, Kafetsios, K, Kavcic, T, Kennair, LEO, Kervyn, N, Ha, TTK, Khilji, IA, Lan, HM, Láng, A, Lennard, GR, León, E, Lindholm, T, Linh, TT, Lopez, G, Luot, NV, Mailhos, A, Manesi, Z, McKerchar, SL, Mesko, N, Misra, G, Monaghan, C, Mora, EC, Moya-Garofano, A, Musil, B, Natividade, JC, Niemczyk, A, Nizharadze, G, Oberzaucher, E, Oleszkiewicz, A, Omar-Fauzee, MS, Onyishi, IE, Özener, B, Pagani, AF, Pakalniskiene, V, Parise, M, Pazhoohi, F, Pisanski, A, Pisanski, K, Plohl, N, Ponciano, E, Popa, C, Prokop, P, Rizwan, M, Salkicevic, S, Sargautyte, R, Sarmany-Schuller, I, Sharad, S, Siddiqui, RS, Simonetti, F, Stoyanova, SY, Tadinac, M, Varella, MAC, Vauclair, C-M, Vega, LD, Widarini, DA, Yoo, G, Zatkova, M & Zupancic, M 2025, 'The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis', Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 46, no. 2, 106672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672

TY - JOUR

T1 - The function of love

T2 - a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis

AU - Gelbart, Benjamin

AU - Walter, Kathryn V.

AU - Conroy-Beam, Daniel

AU - Estorque, Casey

AU - Buss, David M.

AU - Asao, Kelly

AU - Sorokowska, Agnieszka

AU - Sorokowski, Piotr

AU - Aavik, Toivo

AU - Akello, Grace

AU - Alhabahba, Mohammad Madallh

AU - Alm, Charlotte

AU - Amjad, Naumana

AU - Anjum, Afifa

AU - Atama, Chiemezie S.

AU - Duyar, Derya Atamturk

AU - Batres, Carlota

AU - Bendixen, Mons

AU - Bensafia, Aicha

AU - Bizumic, Boris

AU - Boussena, Mahmoud

AU - Butovskaya, Marina

AU - Can, Seda

AU - Carrier, Antonin

AU - Cetinkaya, Hakan

AU - Croy, Ilona

AU - Cueto, Rosa María

AU - Czub, Marcin

AU - Dronova, Daria

AU - Dural, Seda

AU - Duyar, Izzet

AU - Ertugrul, Berna

AU - Espinosa, Agustín

AU - Estevan, Ignacio

AU - Esteves, Carla Sofia

AU - Fang, Luxi

AU - Frackowiak, Tomasz

AU - Garduño, Jorge Contreras

AU - Gonzalez, Karina Ugalde

AU - Guemaz, Farida

AU - Gyuris, Petra

AU - Herak, Iskra

AU - Hromatko, Ivana

AU - Hui, Chin-Ming

AU - Jaafar, Jas Laile

AU - Jiang, Feng

AU - Kafetsios, Konstantinos

AU - Kavcic, Tina

AU - Kennair, Leif Edward Ottesen

AU - Kervyn, Nicolas

AU - Ha, Truong Thi Khanh

AU - Khilji, Imran Ahmed

AU - Lan, Hoang Moc

AU - Láng, András

AU - Lennard, Georgina R.

AU - León, Ernesto

AU - Lindholm, Torun

AU - Linh, Trinh Thi

AU - Lopez, Giulia

AU - Luot, Nguyen Van

AU - Mailhos, Alvaro

AU - Manesi, Zoi

AU - McKerchar, Sarah L.

AU - Mesko, Norbert

AU - Misra, Girishwar

AU - Monaghan, Conal

AU - Mora, Emanuel C.

AU - Moya-Garofano, Alba

AU - Musil, Bojan

AU - Natividade, Jean Carlos

AU - Niemczyk, Agnieszka

AU - Nizharadze, George

AU - Oberzaucher, Elisabeth

AU - Oleszkiewicz, Anna

AU - Omar-Fauzee, Mohd Sofian

AU - Onyishi, Ike E.

AU - Özener, Baris

AU - Pagani, Ariela F.

AU - Pakalniskiene, Vilmante

AU - Parise, Miriam

AU - Pazhoohi, Farid

AU - Pisanski, Annette

AU - Pisanski, Katarzyna

AU - Plohl, Nejc

AU - Ponciano, Edna

AU - Popa, Camelia

AU - Prokop, Pavol

AU - Rizwan, Muhammad

AU - Salkicevic, Svjetlana

AU - Sargautyte, Ruta

AU - Sarmany-Schuller, Ivan

AU - Sharad, Shivantika

AU - Siddiqui, Razi Sultan

AU - Simonetti, Franco

AU - Stoyanova, Stanislava Yordanova

AU - Tadinac, Meri

AU - Varella, Marco Antonio Correa

AU - Vauclair, Christin-Melanie

AU - Vega, Luis Diego

AU - Widarini, Dwi Ajeng

AU - Yoo, Gyesook

AU - Zatkova, Marta

AU - Zupancic, Maja

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - Love is commonly hypothesized to function as an evolved commitment device, disincentivizing the pursuit of romantic alternatives and signaling this motivational shift to a partner. Here, we test this possibility against a novel signaling-to-alternatives account, in which love instead operates by dissuading alternatives from pursuing oneself. Overall, we find stronger support for the latter account. In Studies 1 and 2, we find that partner quality relative to alternatives positively predicts feelings of love, and love fails to mitigate the negative effects of desirable alternatives on relationship satisfaction—contradicting the classic commitment device account. In Study 3, using a longitudinal design, we replicate these effects and find that changes in partner quality relative to alternatives predict changes in love over time. In Study 4, we replicate the relationship between love and relative partner quality across 44 countries. In Study 5, we find a nearly one-to-one correspondence between the extent to which partner-directed actions are diagnostic of love and reductions in romantic alternatives’ attraction to the actor. These results suggest that love may not act as a commitment device in the classic sense by disincentivizing the pursuit of alternatives but by disincentivizing alternatives from pursuing oneself.

AB - Love is commonly hypothesized to function as an evolved commitment device, disincentivizing the pursuit of romantic alternatives and signaling this motivational shift to a partner. Here, we test this possibility against a novel signaling-to-alternatives account, in which love instead operates by dissuading alternatives from pursuing oneself. Overall, we find stronger support for the latter account. In Studies 1 and 2, we find that partner quality relative to alternatives positively predicts feelings of love, and love fails to mitigate the negative effects of desirable alternatives on relationship satisfaction—contradicting the classic commitment device account. In Study 3, using a longitudinal design, we replicate these effects and find that changes in partner quality relative to alternatives predict changes in love over time. In Study 4, we replicate the relationship between love and relative partner quality across 44 countries. In Study 5, we find a nearly one-to-one correspondence between the extent to which partner-directed actions are diagnostic of love and reductions in romantic alternatives’ attraction to the actor. These results suggest that love may not act as a commitment device in the classic sense by disincentivizing the pursuit of alternatives but by disincentivizing alternatives from pursuing oneself.

KW - Close relationships

KW - Commitment device

KW - Evolutionary psychology

KW - Quality of alternatives

KW - Romantic love

KW - Signaling theory

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105005391782&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672

DO - 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2025.106672

M3 - Article

SN - 1090-5138

VL - 46

JO - Evolution and Human Behavior

JF - Evolution and Human Behavior

IS - 2

M1 - 106672

ER -

The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis

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CUBE: Católica Lisbon Research Unit in Business and Economics

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The function of love: a signaling-to-alternatives account of the commitment device hypothesis

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