Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Love Journal | Page 14

With these definitions of love, it can be suggested that introverts are more proficient with different expressions of love than extroverts are, and vice-versa. Naturally, both types will feel physical lust towards whomever they love. However, expressing that love may be easier for extroverts, whose method of experiencing the world is strongly correlated with their reward system: Expressing lust for another person would be a more instantaneous reaction for extraverts, making it more likely to be shown. Further, expressing lust (there are subtle forms of lust, i.e. getting someone’s phone number) and getting positive feedback would be more rewarding for the extravert than the introvert, thus making them more likely to express it. For the introvert, the reward of getting a person’s number may not outweigh the possibility of public embarrassment, a conclusion arrived at thanks to their acetylcholine-based neural pathway. Further, the second physical stage of love, attraction, is run with dopamine, a transmitter that has significance for both personali- ty types. Extraverts, who experience the world through dopamine, that method of motivation may be particularly convincing, or it may not be. If, when compared to previous relationships or other activities, the level of dopamine provided by the relationship doesn’t come up to par, the relationship may be dropped. For introverts, such a rush of dopamine could prove overwhelming and difficult to deal with, or fall on the oppo- site end of the spectrum, cause the person to fall very deeply in love with them. As dopamine levels level off in attachment, both parties will notice they are no longer strongly attracted to their partner. How- ever, at this stage it becomes difficult to discern how each type’s neural pathways will affect their behaviors. An educated guess: introverts are more behaviorally familiar with the routines of attachment, leading them to understand this stage better and be more comfortable with it than extraverts. Extraverts will have to learn how to use a new system, potentially leading to some issues. In reference to Socrates’s treatise on love, it appears that extraverts may be immediately more comfortable expressing eros, philia, or agape , especially if they know they will receive an immediate response for doing so. Eros is the most immediate-response driven form of love, therefore it makes sense that extraverts would be more comfortable expressing eros , with philia being similar. 14