Describe the concept of love and its role in family formation.
Description should include
- ways to distinguish love from infatuation
- realistic and unrealistic expectations of love
- definitions of different types of love (e.g., self-love, love of caregiver, love of peers, hero worship, romantic love, mature love)
- the relationship between love and the commitment to form a family.
Process/Skill Questions:
Thinking
- What factors influence beliefs and attitudes regarding love?
- What role does the media play in forming a person's ideas about love?
- What can happen when an idealized picture of romantic love does not endure?
- What are the most important distinctions between loving relationships and relationships based on infatuation?
Communication
- How might those in a relationship based on love handle problems?
- How might this differ from the way infatuated people regard problems?
- What communication skills can help people distinguish between love and infatuation?
Leadership
- What ethical standards will guide you in your decision to form a family?
- What might be the consequences of having unrealistic expectations about love and a loving relationship?
Management
- What resources are available to help people create or define loving, respectful relationships?
- What might you learn about yourself by evaluating your concept of love and the formation of a family?
- How might a loving relationship affect your relationship with other friends? Your schoolwork? Your relationship with your parents?