Emophilia: An overlooked (but not forgotten) construct in relationships and individual differences

Emophilia is a construct that is defined through the tendency to fall in love fast and easily. It is a want process, not a need process. It is associated with a rush of falling in love and rapid romantic attachment. Although it is not a pathology, elevated levels of emophilia can result in risky behaviors such as not screening romantic partners prior to investment, ignoring red flags associated with desirable potential partners, ignoring safe sexual practices because of the repeated presence of romantic love, and even perjuring oneself for an antisocial romantic partner. Many of these findings and links can be found in a forthcoming book, “Emophilia: The Science of Serial Romance” forthcoming from Oxford University Press (Jones, 2024). Although emophilia has received some attention in psychological literature, it is time that the construct gets thrust into the mainstream of psychology, personality, individual differences, and relationship research.