Passionate Love Scale – PLS
Measures the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of passionate love.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Passionate Love Scale – PLS was developed by Elaine Hatfield, Susan Sprecher (1986). It is designed to measure Passionate Love. The scale is intended for use with Adults and adolescents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 30 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Form A, Form B.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Form A | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 | 15 |
| Form B | 16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30 | 15 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Not at all True, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8, 9 = Definitely True.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 15 to 135. Interpretation guidelines:
- The thrill is gone (based on 15-item form): 15 – 44
- Tepid, infrequent passion (based on 15-item form): 45 – 65
- Occasional bursts of passion (based on 15-item form): 66 – 85
- Passionate, but less intense (based on 15-item form): 86 – 105
- Wildly, even recklessly, in love (based on 15-item form): 106 – 135
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach alpha of .91 (15-item version) and .94 (30-item version).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.