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Rhonda goes to the beach, sees Hud the lifeguard for the first time, and says to her friend Catherine, "I think I'm in love with that hunk." Robert Sternberg would characterize Rhonda's feelings about Hud as ________ love.

a) Consummate
b) Passionate
c) Companionate
d) Empty

User OTZ
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Rhonda's feelings for Hud represent infatuation or passionate love, as defined by Sternberg's triangular theory, due to the presence of passion without intimacy or commitment.

Step-by-step explanation:

Robert Sternberg's triangular theory of love mentions different types of love based on the presence or absence of three components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. Given that Rhonda's statement suggests a strong physical attraction to Hud, whom she has just seen and does not yet know personally, it's clear that her feelings are based solely on physical attraction and do not involve intimacy or commitment. Therefore, according to Sternberg, the love Rhonda is describing is characterized as infatuation, which is passion without intimacy and commitment.

The final answer is that Rhonda's feelings about Hud would be characterized as passionate love, more specifically infatuation (b) Passionate. Infatuation is often experienced as an intense emotional response predicated on physical attraction, thus fitting Rhonda's immediate and visceral reaction upon seeing Hud for the first time.

User Kalpesh Jetani
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