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Michael's story : love and vulnerability in a close relationship

Being in love in a close relationship is contingent upon biological, intrapsychic, social and cultural
events. Understanding these processes has implications for stability and health in individuals
families and society. Various dimensions of love are considered as converging on a more basic
concept of vulnerability as a part of the human condition where both love and vulnerability are
experiences which shape individual development growth, interdependence and survival or the lack
thereof. The objective of this study is to capture the dilemmas which underlie love and
vulnerability in a qualitative study. The method is a case study of a story using narrative analysis
and the relation of theory to experiences revealed in the story. Analysis included observation of
the major premises, setting, structure, images and voices in the story and theories included Lee's
(1977) theory of love, Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love, attachment theory, social
construction, psychobiological theory and phenomenologal theories of love. A summary finds that
most theories infer vulnerability as an underlying dimension in processes of love and that
vulnerability as a characteristic in human mortality may be implicated in love experiences. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/581
Date11 1900
CreatorsCorry, Wendy-Anne
ContributorsNieuwoudt, Johannes Marthinus
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation

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