Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCharacteristicsPsychology of Ludus LoveLudus Love vs. Other Types of LoveSocietal PerceptionsThe Role and Importance of Ludus LovePracticing Ludus Love in Modern Relationships
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Characteristics
Psychology of Ludus Love
Ludus Love vs. Other Types of Love
Societal Perceptions
The Role and Importance of Ludus Love
Practicing Ludus Love in Modern Relationships
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When we meet someone we’re crushing on, we tend to tease, joke, and banter with them. We play cat-and-mouse games with them, chasing them and playing hard to get at the same time. It’s all super fun and exciting, as weflirtwith them and wonder who will make a move first.
According to the Love Attitudes Scale, which categorizes love into six types, this type of love is known as Ludus love.Ludus comes from the Latin word for play or game. In turn, Ludus love refers to playful, fun, or game-like love.
“Ludus love is casual, flirtatious, and uncommitted,” saysClarissa Silva, a behavioral scientist, relationship coach, and developer of “Your Happiness Hypothesis.”
“It is typically seen in the beginning of a relationship or in casual dating,” saysClaudia de Llano, LMFT, a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of “The Seven Destinies of Love.”
Read on to explore the characteristics, psychology, and importance of Ludus love. We also ask the experts how to practice it in modern relationships.
At a Glance
There are many types of love. There’s extreme, possessive love and there’s intense, passionate love. There’s also fun, playful and lighthearted love, aka Ludus love.
However, elements of Ludus love like humor, compliments, surprises, spontaneity, and flexibility are important ingredients in just about every relationship, regardless of the type of relationship.
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Characteristics of Ludus Love
These are some of the characteristics of Ludus love:
Ludus love gives us a rush of hormones like dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, testosterone, and estrogen. The intensity of these reactions is euphoric, making us feel ‘intoxicated,’ or ‘addicted’ to our new crush.—CLARISSA SILVA, BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
Ludus love gives us a rush of hormones like dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, testosterone, and estrogen. The intensity of these reactions is euphoric, making us feel ‘intoxicated,’ or ‘addicted’ to our new crush.
—CLARISSA SILVA, BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
Psychological Aspects of Ludus Love
We asked the relationship experts to help us unpack some of the psychological aspects of Ludus love:
13 Red Flags in Relationships
This is how Ludus love compares to the othertypes of love:
Are You Ready for a Relationship? Take the Quiz and Find Out
Societal Perception of Ludus Love
Societal perceptions of Ludus love can vary widely based on cultural, social, and individual factors.
For example, Ludus love may be considered more acceptable in societies that are open tocasual dating,non-traditional relationship structures, andethical non-monogamy.
On the flip side, more conservative or traditional societies might view Ludus love as shallow or lacking in commitment, particularly if marriage, monogamy, and stability are highly valued.
Today, as many social structures are redefining themselves outside of socio-religious contexts, we are seeing more fluid expressions of love than were traditionally defined.—CLAUDIA DE LLANO, LMFT
Today, as many social structures are redefining themselves outside of socio-religious contexts, we are seeing more fluid expressions of love than were traditionally defined.
—CLAUDIA DE LLANO, LMFT
Societal perceptions of Ludus love can also vary based on gender, due to deep-seated gender biases. For example, a guy who has multiple casual partners is patted on the back and heralded as a “player.” However, a woman in the same position might experienceslut-shaming.
Ludus love plays an important role in the spectrum of human relationships:
Whether you’re casually dating people, just flirting with someone you have a crush on, or in a long-term committed relationship, you can add elements of Ludus love to your relationships. Here’s how:
Parting Words
Ludus love’s commitment-free, happy-go-lucky nature challenges traditional notions of what relationships should be. It gives us a chance to explore different connections, while having fun along the way.
While Ludus love may not be suitable for everyone or in every circumstance, we can certainly draw inspiration from its playful, spontaneous, and lighthearted nature, no matter what type of relationship we’re in.
17 Fun Couple Activities to Enjoy Each Other’s Company
4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Neto F, Wilks DC.Compassionate love for a romantic partner across the adult life span.Eur J Psychol. 2017 Nov 30;13(4):606-617. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v13i4.1204Gawda B.The structure of the concepts related to love spectrum: emotional verbal fluency technique application, initial psychometrics, and its validation.J Psycholinguist Res. 2019 Dec;48(6):1339-1361. doi: 10.1007/s10936-019-09661-yZeng X, Pan Y, Zhou H, Yu S, Liu X.Exploring different patterns of love attitudes among Chinese college students.PLoS One. 2016 Nov 16;11(11):e0166410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166410Louie D, Brook K, Frates E.The laughter prescription: a tool for lifestyle medicine.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jun 23;10(4):262-267. doi: 10.1177/1559827614550279
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Neto F, Wilks DC.Compassionate love for a romantic partner across the adult life span.Eur J Psychol. 2017 Nov 30;13(4):606-617. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v13i4.1204Gawda B.The structure of the concepts related to love spectrum: emotional verbal fluency technique application, initial psychometrics, and its validation.J Psycholinguist Res. 2019 Dec;48(6):1339-1361. doi: 10.1007/s10936-019-09661-yZeng X, Pan Y, Zhou H, Yu S, Liu X.Exploring different patterns of love attitudes among Chinese college students.PLoS One. 2016 Nov 16;11(11):e0166410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166410Louie D, Brook K, Frates E.The laughter prescription: a tool for lifestyle medicine.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jun 23;10(4):262-267. doi: 10.1177/1559827614550279
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Neto F, Wilks DC.Compassionate love for a romantic partner across the adult life span.Eur J Psychol. 2017 Nov 30;13(4):606-617. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v13i4.1204Gawda B.The structure of the concepts related to love spectrum: emotional verbal fluency technique application, initial psychometrics, and its validation.J Psycholinguist Res. 2019 Dec;48(6):1339-1361. doi: 10.1007/s10936-019-09661-yZeng X, Pan Y, Zhou H, Yu S, Liu X.Exploring different patterns of love attitudes among Chinese college students.PLoS One. 2016 Nov 16;11(11):e0166410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166410Louie D, Brook K, Frates E.The laughter prescription: a tool for lifestyle medicine.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jun 23;10(4):262-267. doi: 10.1177/1559827614550279
Neto F, Wilks DC.Compassionate love for a romantic partner across the adult life span.Eur J Psychol. 2017 Nov 30;13(4):606-617. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v13i4.1204
Gawda B.The structure of the concepts related to love spectrum: emotional verbal fluency technique application, initial psychometrics, and its validation.J Psycholinguist Res. 2019 Dec;48(6):1339-1361. doi: 10.1007/s10936-019-09661-y
Zeng X, Pan Y, Zhou H, Yu S, Liu X.Exploring different patterns of love attitudes among Chinese college students.PLoS One. 2016 Nov 16;11(11):e0166410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166410
Louie D, Brook K, Frates E.The laughter prescription: a tool for lifestyle medicine.Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016 Jun 23;10(4):262-267. doi: 10.1177/1559827614550279
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