Kruglanski et al. conceptualize romantic love as a means of attaining significance and self-worth. We commend the authors for emphasizing the causal role of the (egoistic) quest for significance, offering a psychologically grounded perspective on romantic love. Their model stands out for its well-reasoned arguments, rigorous formalization, and empirical support.

This commentary expands the model by integrating an evolutionary and a broader perspective on the role of psychological needs. It links the quest for significance as a proximal driver of falling in love to its ultimate evolutionary function – enhancing mating success and historically reproductive success (Buss, Reference Buss1994, Reference Buss and Sternberg2019). An evolutionary perspective underscores the role of psychological needs beyond significance in shaping romantic love, such as for emotional security, general arousal, and sexual satisfaction (Bischof, Reference Bischof1985; Quirin et al., Reference Quirin, Malekzad, Paudel, Knoll and Mirolli2023). While these needs are foundational, the need for significance remains central, dynamically regulating their activation. By connecting these mechanisms with evolved functions, this commentary broadens the model and clarifies the interplay between significance and other needs in love.

Buss (Reference Buss1989, Reference Buss1993, Reference Buss1994) argued that romantic love and mate selection evolved to solve adaptive problems related to mate choice, sexual access, bonding, and parental investment. Romantic love is an evolved strategy to form bonds essential for long-term mating and reproductive success.

Two key evolutionary functions of love have been proposed. First, love serves as a “commitment device” (Buss, Reference Buss and Sternberg2019; Frank, Reference Frank1988; Kowal et al., Reference Kowal, Bode, Koszałkowska, Roberts, Gjoneska, Frederick, Studzinska, Dubrov, Grigoryev, Aavik, Prokop, Grano, Çetinkaya, Duyar, Baiocco, Batres, Belkacem, Boğa, Burduli and Sorokowski2024), involving at least six classes of reproductively relevant resources, such as sexual, economic, protective, and parental investments. Love also signals exclusivity and a willingness to forgo other mates.

Second, love signals to rivals that one is “taken” and thus unavailable (Gelbart et al., Reference Gelbart, Walter, Conroy-Beam, Estorque, Buss, Asao, Sorokowska, Sorokowski, Aavik, Akello, Alhabahba, Alm, Amjad, Anjum, Atama, Duyar, Batres, Bendixen, Bensafia and Zupancic2025). Across five studies, Gelbart and colleagues found support for this hypothesis. These two functions are not mutually exclusive: love may simultaneously commit resources and deter alternatives. The quest for significance may be a psychological expression of these deeper strategies.

A partner’s meritorious traits serve as cues to need fulfillment. Emotional stability and empathy foster security; sexual openness and communication suggest sexual satisfaction; novelty or humor triggers arousal. These traits function as evolved cues of mate value (Buss & Schmitt, Reference Buss and Schmitt1993), shaping both attraction and relationship stability supporting effective parenting.

At least three fundamental needs – emotional security, sexual satisfaction, and arousal – play significant roles in falling in love beyond the quest for significance. First, emotional security is crucial for forming stable pair bonds, particularly for women, who historically faced higher obligatory reproductive costs due to internal fertilization, a nine-month gestation, and (in ancestral contexts) post-birth lactation (Buss & Schmitt, Reference Buss and Schmitt1993; Trivers, Reference Trivers and Campbell1972). Empirical evidence suggests that perceiving a partner as kind and caring enhances romantic attraction and commitment, especially when long-term mating and child-rearing are desired (Buss, Reference Buss1991; Buss & Barnes, Reference Buss and Barnes1986; Li et al. (Reference Li, Bailey, Kenrick and Linsenmeier2002). Buss (Reference Buss1989, Reference Buss1994) emphasizes that traits like dependability, kindness, and emotional availability are universally valued, as they promote trust and investment – key components in long-term mating strategies.

Second, sexual satisfaction, corresponding with a mate’s sexual attractiveness, plays a dual role: It reinforces emotional bonds through neurochemical processes (e.g., oxytocin release; Behnia et al., Reference Behnia, Heinrichs, Bergmann, Jung, Germann, Schedlowski, Hartmann and Kruger2014) and signals mutual compatibility as well as a successful reproductive union (at least in ancestral contexts) (Buss, Reference Buss2003). Empirical findings show that sexual satisfaction predicts relationship satisfaction and stability (McNulty, Wenner, & Fisher, Reference McNulty, Wenner and Fisher2016; Sprecher, Reference Sprecher2002), aligning with evolutionary theories that emphasize sexual compatibility as facilitating partner retention. Indeed, sexual dissatisfaction is a key predictor of divorce. Sexual satisfaction itself is partially influenced by expectations shaped by the partner’s perceived merit – echoing Kruglanski et al.’s claim that partner appreciation increases self-significance.

Third, general (i.e., non-sexual) arousal plays a significant role in falling in love. For example, Lewandowski and Aron (Reference Lewandowski and Aron2004) demonstrated that individuals participating in highly arousing activities showed significantly greater romantic attraction to their partners. Accordingly, general arousal, triggered by excitement, intellectual stimulation, or common humor, may signal compatibility and long-term engagement. As Dutton and Aron (Reference Dutton and Aron1974) demonstrated, heightened arousal (even from fear) can alternatively be misattributed to romantic interest, increasing attraction.

The quest for significance, understood as a drive to elevate one’s social rank and status (Bischof, Reference Bischof1985; Quirin et al., Reference Quirin, Malekzad, Paudel, Knoll and Mirolli2023), can influence the salience of other psychological needs. For instance, secure early attachments foster self-efficacy and autonomy, reducing dependency on emotional reassurance (Mikulincer & Shaver, Reference Mikulincer and Shaver2007), while elevated self-esteem facilitates novelty-seeking and proactive exploration (e.g., Zuckerman, Reference Zuckerman1994). This dynamic supports Kruglanski et al.’s Hypothesis 7, suggesting that individuals with a heightened quest for significance are more likely to fall in love. Conversely, those with a strong and stable sense of self-worth may become temporarily immune to falling in love unless their significance is threatened. In evolutionary terms, this flexibility may serve adaptive goals: investing emotionally when one’s mate value is under question may increase mating chances, whereas avoiding attachments when one is highly valued can allow for more discriminating mate selection (Buss & Shackelford, Reference Buss and Shackelford2008).

Temporary drops in self-esteem – triggered by social rejection, teasing, or even voluntary surrender – may heighten susceptibility to love, consistent with theories of emotional vulnerability and heightened need for security. Evolutionarily, this makes sense: forming bonds during vulnerable states may offer social buffering and increase survival prospects (Cacioppo & Patrick, Reference Cacioppo and Patrick2008). Romantic attraction may be intensified when individuals seek to restore their self-worth by affiliating with meritorious partners.

In conclusion, this commentary extends Kruglanski et al.’s model by adding the additional explanatory layer of a provisional evolutionary perspective. Some of the hypotheses offered in this commentary are speculative, requiring empirical study, while others have some empirical backing already. The quest for significance aligns with evolved mating strategies that historically were designed to ensure mating success, and hence reproductive success. For many individuals, a lasting bond with a romantic partner and shared commitment to their children provides a deep sense of meaning and significance. The roles of emotional security, arousal, and sexual satisfaction offer an added theoretical perspective, augmenting Kruglanski et al.’s model of the psychological factors that govern romantic love.