Love

===Evolutionary basis===
[[File:Place des Abbesse (the plaque with the je t'aime=te iubesc in 311 laguages).jpg|thumb|''[[Wall of Love]]'' on [[Montmartre]] in Paris: "I love you" in 250 languages, by calligraphist Fédéric Baron and artist Claire Kito (2000)]]

[[Evolutionary psychology]] has attempted to provide various reasons for love as a survival tool. Humans are dependent on parental help for a large portion of their lifespans compared to other mammals. Love has therefore been seen as a mechanism to promote parental support of children for this extended time period. Furthermore, researchers as early as [[Charles Darwin]] identified unique features of human love compared to other mammals and credited love as a major factor for creating social support systems that enabled the development and expansion of the human species.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Another factor may be that [[sexually transmitted disease]]s can cause, among other effects, permanently reduced [[fertility]], injury to the fetus, and increase complications during [[childbirth]]. This would favor monogamous relationships over [[polygamy]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology|editor-first=David M.|editor-last=Buss|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|year=2005|chapter=Commitment, Love, and Mate Retention|first1=Lorne|last1=Campbell|first2=Bruce J.|last2=Ellis}}</ref>