Question

by robert firestone, ph.d. 2013
loving another person and accepting love from another person can sometimes be a difficult or painful
experience. in his article \why do we hate love,\ robert firestone, ph.d., explains why this may be the
case. as you read, take notes on dr. firestone’s outline of and theory on love.
love—kindness, affection, sensitive attunement, respect, companionship—is not
only difficult to find, but is even more challenging for many people to accept and
tolerate. in my work with individuals and couples, i have observed countless
examples of people reacting angrily when loving responses were directed toward
them. one man felt a flash of anger at his wife when she said she was worried
about him riding his bike in an unsafe neighborhood. even though he knew she was
not being controlling or judgmental, and despite being aware that her
apprehension was based on the fact that she really loved and valued him, he felt
rage. a woman became outright nasty when her boyfriend told her that he loved
her so much he wished that they could have children together. she had never
expressed toward him before, and the man involved was not pressuring
her or even suggesting a course of action. he said it was just a sweet feeling. in a
therapy session, a usually calm and quiet man revealed that he felt fury when
people praised him. unlike these individuals, many people are unaware that being
loved or especially valued makes them feel angry and withholding. indeed, this
reaction is largely an unconscious process. even a simple compliment,
although initially accepted at face value and enjoyed, can later arouse feelings of
disbelief or anger toward the person giving the compliment, or can trigger negative
attitudes and critical feelings towards oneself. but why do love, positive
acknowledgment and compliments arouse such animosity? there are a number of
primary causes of this discussed in this blog.
guided questions:
what is the purpose of this blog?
a) the author wants to explore
reasons why love may cause
negative feelings.
b) the author wants to explore why
love can be difficult to find.
c) the author wants to explore why
people can have negative attitudes.
d) the author wants to explore how
anger can affect love.
highlight the evidence in the text to
support your answer.

Explanation:

To determine the purpose of the blog, we analyze the options:

• Option a: The blog's introduction states Dr. Firestone explains why loving/accepting love can be difficult/painful (negative feelings from love). The text gives examples of people reacting negatively to love and asks why love arouses animosity, matching this option.
• Option b: The text says love is "not only difficult to find, but is even more challenging... to accept and tolerate"—the focus is on accepting love, not finding it, so b is incorrect.
• Option c: The text is about negative reactions to love, not general negative attitudes, so c is incorrect.
• Option d: The text explores why love causes anger, not how anger affects love, so d is incorrect.

Answer:

a) The author wants to explore reasons why love may cause negative feelings.