Storge ( ; ), or familial love, refers to natural or instinctual affection, such as the

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

of a parent towards offspring and vice versa. In

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

, another term for love between good friends is '' philia''.

Extent

Storge is a wide-ranging force which can apply between family members, friends, pets and their owners, companions or colleagues; it can also blend with and help underpin other types of ties such as passionate love or

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

. Thus "storge" may function as a general term to characterize the love between exceptional friends, and their desire to care compassionately for one another.

Storge love

Sometimes the term is used to refer to the love between married partners who are committed and plan to have a long relationship together, particularly as a fundamental relational foundation after initial

infatuation Infatuation or being smitten is the state of being carried away by an unreasoned passion, usually towards another person for whom one has developed strong romantic feelings. Psychologist Frank D. Cox says that infatuation can be distinguished ...

(

limerence Limerence is a state of mind which results from romantic or non-romantic feelings for another person, and typically includes intrusive, melancholic thoughts and/or tragic concerns for the object of one's affection as well as a desire to for ...

). Another interpretation for storge is to be used to describe a sexual relationship between two people that gradually grew out of a friendship—storgic lovers sometimes cannot pinpoint the moment that friendship turned to love. Storgic lovers are friends first; the friendship and the storge can endure even beyond the breakup of the sexual relationship. They want their significant others to also be their best friends, and will choose their mates based on similar goals and interests— homogamy. Storgic lovers place much importance on commitment, and find that their motivation to avoid committing

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and ri ...

is to preserve the trust between the two partners. Children and marriage are seen as legitimate long-term aims for their bond, while

passionate Passion (Greek ''πάσχω'' "to suffer, to be acted on" and Late Latin (chiefly Christian) ''passio'' "passion; suffering" (from Latin ''pati'' "to suffer"; participle: ''passus'')) is a term used to denote strong and intractable or barely ...

sexual Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female. Sex or SEX may also refer to: Biology and behaviour *Animal sexual behaviour **Copulation (zoology) **Human sexual activity **Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse ** ...

intensity is of lesser importance than in other love styles.Gottschalk, p. 252

Advantages

The advantages of storgic love may be how much storgic lovers love their own families and understand each other. In addition, two people who are deeply devoted to one another can feel the intimacy that they share.

Extent

Storge love

Advantages

See also

References

Further reading