It really is the little things the make people feel the most loved.
A new study by researchers at Penn State University finds the top four scenarios that made people feel most loved were:
- Someone showing compassion when you're having a hard time
- Being snuggled up to
- Pets being happy to see you
- Someone saying, 'I love you'
On the flip side, behaviors that could be seen as controlling were ranked among the least loving actions.
The researchers asked 495 Americans to answer a questionnaire about whether or not they thought most people would feel loved in 60 different scenarios.
The situations included positive actions, like being greeted by a pet; neutral scenarios, like feeling close to nature; and negative situations, like someone acting possessive.
"Whether we feel loved or not plays an important role in how we feel from day to day," said Saeideh Heshmati, a postdoctoral research scholar who is working with Penn State's College of Health and Human Development. "We were curious about whether the majority of Americans could agree about what makes people feel loved on a daily basis, or if it was a more personal thing."
So, survey says: over the top gestures aren't necessary to make people feel loved on a daily basis.