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Infatuation, also known as being smitten, is the personal state of being overly driven by an uninformed or otherwise unreasonable passion, usually towards another person for whom one has developed strong romantic or sexual feelings.
Psychologist Frank D. Cox said that infatuation could be distinguished from romantic love only when looking back on a particular case of being attracted to a person but which may also evolve into a mature love.[1] Goldstein and Brandon describe infatuation as the first stage of a relationship before developing into a mature intimacy.[2] Whereas love is "a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion to another person", infatuation is "a feeling of foolish or obsessively strong love for, admiration for, or interest in someone or something", a shallower "honeymoon phase" in a relationship.[3] Ian Kerner, a sex therapist, stated that infatuation usually occurred at the beginning of relationships, which is "[...] marked by a sense of excitement and euphoria, and it's often accompanied by lust and a feeling of newness and rapid expansion with a person".[3]
The psychologist Adam Phillips has described how illusions of infatuations inevitably resulted in disappointment when learning the truth about a lover.[4] Adolescents often make people an object of extravagant, short-lived passion or temporary love.[5]
- ^ Frank D. Cox, Human Intimacy (2008) p. 72.
- ^ A. Goldstein and M. Brandon, Reclaiming Desire (2009) p. 232.
- ^ a b Adebowale, Temi (28 June 2019). "What's the Difference Between Love and Infatuation?". www.menshealth.com. Men's Health. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ Adam Phillips, On Flirtation (London 1994) p. 40.
- ^ "Infatuation meaning". Spinfold. 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-09.