Clyde Hendrick

Making Love a Science

Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 1992, Vol 37(3), 208. Reviews the book, The Science of Love: Understanding Love and its Effects on Mind and Body by Anthony Walsh (see record 1991-97738-000). The author makes a compelling case for why mother love may be superior to father love although, in fairness, both are stressed as important.The book is organized into ten chapters, an Introduction, a Preface, and a Foreword by Vern Bullough. The chapters are organized into three sections, titled Skin Love, Kin Love, and In Love. These pithy expressions reflect very nicely the content of the sections. These chapters review thoroughly the importance of love in infant maturation and development. The mid-section is an exploration of the link between love or a lack of love and various societal ills and deficits and Chapter 5 relates love to mental health and illness Another very interesting chapter considers the relation between lovelessness and lawlessness in modern society, and a concluding general chapter links love firmly to the well-being and operation of a society. The third part deals with romantic love. Throughout the text, the author remains hopeful and stresses the importance of love. His orientation, as indicated by the title, is on the scientific development of the study of love. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)