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Love 2.0: Creating Happiness and Health in Moments of Connection Paperback – December 31, 2013
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“A radically new conception of love.”—The Atlantic
Even more than happiness and optimism, love holds the key to improving our mental and physical health as well as lengthening our lives. Using research from her own lab, Barbara L. Fredrickson redefines love not as a stable behemoth, but as micro-moments of connection between people—even strangers. She demonstrates that our capacity for experiencing love can be measured and strengthened in ways that improve our health and longevity. Finally, she introduces us to informal and formal practices to unlock love in our lives, generate compassion, and even self-soothe.
Rare in its scope and ambitious in its message, Love 2.0 will reinvent how you look at and experience our most powerful emotion.
“I wish I had known years ago about...Barbara Fredrickson...In particular her theory that accumulating ‘micro-moments of positivity,’ like my daily interaction with children, can, over time, result in greater overall well-being.”—Jane Brody, The New York Times
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPlume
- Publication dateDecember 31, 2013
- Dimensions0.7 x 5.2 x 7.8 inches
- ISBN-109780142180471
- ISBN-13978-0142180471
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"I wish I had known years ago about the work Barbara Fredrickson… has done on fostering positive emotions, in particular her theory that accumulating ‘micro-moments of positivity,’ like my daily interaction with children, can, over time, result in greater overall well-being."—Jane Brody, New York Times
“Read this book and you’ll never think about love in the same way again!”—Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., author of The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness
“A radically new conception of love.”—The Atlantic
“Barbara Frederickson drives home the value of being warmhearted, making the scientific case that this variety of positivity benefits our health and our connections, as well as opening our live to new possibilities. Love 2.0 is a user-friendly manual for opening our hearts.”—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
“Barbara Fredrickson offers up nothing short of a revolution in Love 2.0....This line of work may end up changing both what we mean by love and what we take as evidence for love and its effects.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“No current book can hold a candle to Fredrickson’s Love 2.0 for its stunning combination of science, wisdom and poetry. I am tempted to say that there has not been a better book on love since the New Testament.”—George Vaillant, M.D., author of Spiritual Evolution and Triumphs of Experience
“Fredrickson is disassembling centuries of other notions of what love is, how to receive it, how to give it, and why it is so important in distinguishing humans from other mammals on earth.”—National Post
“A remarkable book on the supreme emotion called love, this beautiful volume captures the essence of love, in life, in science, between us, within us. Love has never been so well understood, so deeply expressed, as in the work of scientist Barbara Fredrickson.”—Joan Halifax, author of Being with Dying
"In this book, Barbara Fredrickson conveys a powerful new view of what we all want most deeply--love. Using rigorous science, practical exercises, and heartful daily life examples, Barbara shows us how to strengthen our capacity to more truly connect to ourselves and others. Love 2.0 moves the entire field of understanding and accessing love forward."—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness
“I’m in love with Love 2.0.”—Parents
"Lest this sound too “new age” to you, be prepared to have all of these exercises backed up by scientific evidence of their effectiveness. Fredrickson is, above all, a researcher. She assures her readers that what she is suggesting is “evidence-based” and is meant to increase loving feelings from the inside out, not to make people put on fake smiles or pretend to feel something they don’t. It’s this promise—and the science behind it—that makes Love 2.0 rise above other self help books."—Greater Good
‘This book may change your life. Really. Give Love 2.0 a chance.”—New Scientist
“What a wonderful book! Not only has Barbara Fredrickson dared to say that love is the most supreme among all emotions, but she offers a wealth of scientific evidence and inspiring stories demonstrating that affective resonance is a key factor for our happiness and that of others. This is a must-read for all those interested in psychology, health, longevity…and above all a meaningful life.”—Matthieu Ricard, author of Happiness and Why Meditate?
"Fredrickson shows us many more avenues of affection than just finding our one true love."—Mindful Magazine
“Barbara Fredrickson puts a new twist on love, illuminating how we can transform our lives by extending love to all of humanity - including ourselves. Based on solid research yet written in an easy-to-read manner, this book is full of practical exercises that can help the reader learn how to love more fully.”—Kristin Neff, Ph.D., author of Self-Compassion
"Love 2.0 [is] a fine addition to [the] essential books on the psychology of love."—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
“At last we can discuss the science of love. We can discuss the hormones involved, the way positive emotions can be strengthened, the relation between self-love and loving others. In this highly readable book, Barbara Frederickson offers expert guidance in this emerging field.”—Frans de Waal, Ph.D., author of The Age of Empathy
“Love 2.0 wakes us up to new possibilities from everyday connections. Barbara Fredrickson transforms how we view love….She expands possibilities of how to put more love moments in our lives, helping each of us to unlock resources that generate health, well-being and happiness for ourselves and for others.”—Jane Dutton, Ph.D., author of Energize your Workplace
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 0142180475
- Publisher : Plume; Reprint edition (December 31, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780142180471
- ISBN-13 : 978-0142180471
- Item Weight : 6.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 0.7 x 5.2 x 7.8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #208,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #569 in Emotional Mental Health
- #1,063 in Interpersonal Relations (Books)
- #2,988 in Happiness Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Barbara L. Fredrickson, PH.D., is Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology and principal investigator of the Positive Emotion and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a leading scholar within social psychology, affective science, and positive psychology.

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Customers find the book insightful, with one noting how moments of positive resonance enrich our lives. Moreover, the readability receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as a readable dissertation that's worth careful reading. Additionally, the book's accessibility is praised, with customers appreciating its rich descriptions and illustrations.
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Customers find the book insightful and uplifting, with one customer highlighting its powerful tools for accessing positive emotions.
"...Love 2.0 has groundbreaking theory. It gives us, “a radically new conception of love.”—The Atlantic. “At last we can discuss the science of love…...." Read more
"...why we should share this experience every day, and she describes meditation practices that have been shown to improve our ability to achieve..." Read more
"...very unexpected moments or interactions that provide us with very positive feelings. Great, great concept that i needed to hear/read." Read more
"...I often experience positive resonance. This book helped me to understand and appreciate it. I also enjoyed the meditations shared in the book." Read more
Customers find the book readable, describing it as a brilliant and interesting dissertation.
"This is a wonderful book that touches the heart as well as the mind...." Read more
"...I find it very interesting, as she is saying that our concept of love can be very limited, to family and close friends...." Read more
"...Nice try." Read more
"This is a wonderful book with a lot of specific applications for the real world of how to create moments of positivity...." Read more
Customers find the book accessible, with rich descriptions and illustrations that make it simple to understand.
"...spiritual traditions, she found that love is as common as dust and easy to create. “So simple, so glorious [schlemiel#32*].”..." Read more
"...This book is so well written and accessible that I feel like I have been in a state of positivity resonance with Barbara Fredrickson during my..." Read more
"Fredrickson uses rich description and illustration to convey her empathy for the reader while she persistently signals her scientific discipline to..." Read more
"For a scientist, Barbara Fredrickson is an engaging writer and her topics are fascinating if you love research on what helps people thrive...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2014Parents Magazine and a goodly number of readers “Love Love 2.0”. Thirty seven of forty two [88%] Amazon readers ranked it 4 or 5 stars out of 5.
Framing
Love 2.0 has groundbreaking theory. It gives us, “a radically new conception of love.”—The Atlantic. “At last we can discuss the science of love…. the relation between self-love and loving others.”Frans de Waal [Writer/Researcher on primates/bonobos’ behavior]..
It is also practical. “Using rigorous science, practical exercises, and heartful daily life examples, Barbara shows us how to strengthen our capacity to more truly connect to ourselves and others."[spiritual leader] Sharon Salzberg.
Dr. Fredrickson, who has twice consulted with the Dalai Lama, is part of a cascade of scientists and spiritual leaders connecting neuro-science and larger-than-me purpose. She teaches that “love is the most supreme among all emotions…” [monk Matthieu Ricard]. Love 2.0 advises us not to put all of our love eggs in one relational basket. It “…drives home the [health] values of being warmhearted…. Love 2.0 is a user-friendly manual for opening our hearts.”—Daniel Goleman [Emotional Intelligence].
What story does this book change?
Personally, Love 2.0 confirms my gut feeling that the classical romantic Love story is harmful to actual human beings. Love 2.0 weighs in on the culture wars fought between the Master Narrative of Love and how our bodyminds actually work. Fredrickson asked, “What is love?” and found that there is no true-or-false Love. Like Dan Slater’s Love in the Time of Algorithms and some spiritual traditions, she found that love is as common as dust and easy to create. “So simple, so glorious [schlemiel#32*].”
My view is that this Master Narrative-- the narrative promoted by those who seek to be our Masters-- serves to keep us unhappy, unsatisfied, and buying many accessories to find True Love. Au contrair, readers of Love 2.0 learn that the easy form of love: “is contagious,” [ann-reads-it-all]… “changes your biochemistry,” [Deb- Palo Alto]...” literally makes people healthier,” [A.Logan] “… is an action.” [Sean Goh] Fredrickson’s writing teaches us to attend, and love well in humdrum, daily life. This “changes my life.” [Marcel Hochman]
Love 2.0 conveys that over-thinking, working hard, and spending money on dating services for romance/connection may not be needed. As MC Yogi sings in Just Love, “if you want love you need to give love away.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpVUih5nY9g ]
Love 2.0 has its perceived flaws, starting with its techie title. Fredrickson tries to use half of the book to teach readers mindfulness and Loving/Kindness Meditation; this may not be her strength. Juliet begs, “Get this woman an editor.” Love 2.0 mostly succeeds at popularizing Fredrickson’s lab’s work. Yet several readers found it to be a dry textbook, while Raj says it is “too repetitive and touchy feely.”
Some reviewers grasp Love 2.0, while also noting “I believe in love…described in the Bible, or as the Greeks defined it.” [Sam] This interesting juxtaposition of Love 2.0 and traditional views points out how each of our Stories of Love is so limbicly central to us and deep-rooted**. No one wants to change her/his own core way-of-being and way-of-doing, even when it might make us happier and more connected.
Love 2.0 suggest that we might be rewarded for painful changes.
--------------------------------------------------------------
*names not otherwise identified are from public Amazon.com readers’ reviews of Love 2.0.
** See General Theory of Love for a wonderful explanation of the triune brain and how the limbic self trumps the neo-cortex every time.
http://positivityresonance.com/index.html is Barbara Fredrickson’s web site.
(thank you to Kim Friedman Landau for her guidance)
- Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2013This is a wonderful book that touches the heart as well as the mind. In it, Barbara Fredrickson offers a new and useful concept of love as "positivity resonance". Although it sounds like the topic for a physics seminar, the experience will be instantly recognizable to most readers. Positivity resonance occurs when 2 or more beings each share a moment of positive emotion that reinforces itself (resonance) to produce certain measurable results. Although Fredrickson is a scientist, she treats this concept and its implications in a thoroughly gentle and humane way. She explains why we should share this experience every day, and she describes meditation practices that have been shown to improve our ability to achieve positivity resonance. This book is so well written and accessible that I feel like I have been in a state of positivity resonance with Barbara Fredrickson during my entire reading of the book!
- Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2014I was reading another of the author's books, when I noticed this title as well. I find it very interesting, as she is saying that our concept of love can be very limited, to family and close friends. Not so, according to Fredrickson, that we can experience loving feelings, even if for a few brief moments, with people who we don't even know. It can just be a brief encounter that brought about a very positive emotional connection. When you start to pay attention to this notion, it improves your outlook on how we can have very unexpected moments or interactions that provide us with very positive feelings. Great, great concept that i needed to hear/read.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2025This book has provided me a different view of the value of love in our lives. I often experience positive resonance. This book helped me to understand and appreciate it. I also enjoyed the meditations shared in the book.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2013Fredrickson uses rich description and illustration to convey her empathy for the reader while she persistently signals her scientific discipline to lay out the easy to understand empirical basis for her conclusions and theory. "Positivity Resonance" is a useful idea that supports a realistic appreciation for the love experience and loving connections among people. There is a little chink in the armor however. I fail to see how the title's reference to a new iteration or generation of a computer program fits the psychological theory building mission of Fredrickson and her team.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013All one can say so far is :heady psychologist mumbo jumbo.
More head/ cerebralsy than heart.
Clearly psychology is impotent without the heart....the same might be said for this book. Nice try.
Top reviews from other countries
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GlikaneraReviewed in Italy on September 7, 20145.0 out of 5 stars Love:2.0
Un ottimo libro che, in maniera sintetica e pratica definisce cosa significa provare un "micro-momento" di amore"; perchè l'amore fa bene - sia alla salute fisica che psichica - e, infine perché e come possiamo coltivarlo.
Il tutto scritto con un linguaggio semplice e scorrevole e con una delle migliori organizzazioni di contenuto che io abbia mai incontrato. Merita quindi anche la lode.
Frank CalbergReviewed in Germany on August 27, 20235.0 out of 5 stars Love 2.0
Takeaways from reading the book:
What are concrete actions to express love?
- Page 15: Laugh with a person.
- Pages 15 and 67: Smile to a person.
- Pages 15 and 69: Nod your head to a person.
- Page 15: Hug a person.
- Page 15: Share a story with a person.
- Pages 20 and 100: Make eye contact with a person.
- Pages 24 and 177: Slow down.
- Pages 24 and 181: Be present - physically and emotionally.
- Page 29: Sing a song with a person.
- Pages 29 and 72: Dance with a person.
- Page 34: Take a walk / hike with a person.
- Page 69: Make open, friendly hand gestures like an outstretched palm.
- Page 69: Lean towards a person.
- Page 69: Do things in synchrony.
- Page 72: Go canoeing with a person.
- Page 75: Say thank you.
- Pages 100 and 148 Touch a person.
- Page 145: Sit beside a person.
- Page 145: Listen to a person.
- Page 145: Do a task for a person.
- Page 148: Breathe with another person.
- Page 155: Celebrate good fortunes of other people and wish that their good fortunes may continue. To do that, awaken to the insight that everybody, just like you, yearns to be happy, and that for every person, suffering and good fortune come and go.
What are obstacles to love?
- Page 19: Feeling unsafe is an obstacle to love.
- Page 140: Comparing ourselves to others and/or ranking people fuels greed, which constricts love's radius and reduces the happiness that people feel.
- Page 140: Greed makes you cling tightly to your own good outcomes and denies the inherent oneness across all people.
What is self love?
- Page 112: Self love is the foundation for all other forms of love.
- Page 112: Self love means that you believe that you are worthy of love.
- Page 112: Self love means that you believe that you are not more special than others.
- Page 114: A human being is neither beneath nor above others. Self-diminishment as well as self-aggrandizement deny that. All people are fundamentally the same when it comes to their ability to think, feel and yearn for love. Everyone deserves acceptance, respect and love - even with our many imperfections.
- Page 117: Look at a photo of yourself. Name some values which describe you in positive ways. If you have difficulty doing that, imagine how a person, who cares for you, might see you.
- Page 128: When things go wrong, do you focus on a) what went right or b) what went wrong?
- Page 128: True positivity comes from a deeply felt sense of safety and takes root in your heart.
- Page 131: Each day you can choose gentleness instead of harshness, openness instead of tightness, flexibility instead of rigidity and/or an inner smile instead of an inner scowl. That is what it means to be a true friend to yourself.
- Page 133: Accept all parts of yourself. Like everyone else, you are unique mixture of good and bad, of success and failure.
- Page 137: Tune in to the messages your body sends you.
- Page 143: When you feel pain, take care of yourself.
- Page 143: When you feel pain, imagine yourself connected with others, who also feel pain for the same reason. Say to yourself, "May I, together with all those, who feel pain for this reason, find peace." "This too shall pass." "We are in this together."
v.subramanianReviewed in India on February 17, 20175.0 out of 5 stars LOVE - Religion of the world.
.An important guide to psychologists. The entire Part II (guidance) should be studied and put into practice,
Mrs. Nancy H. RadfordReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 20155.0 out of 5 stars Love the book, not sure about the title
Loved the book and have great admiration for Barbara Fredrickson, but feel the title will put off a lot of people. This is a shame--I can understand why she wanted to call it that, but perhaps the subtitle would be better as the title. Putting the claim of "reinventing love" before the explanation is challenging and may even seem arrogant, but if you can get past the title and actually read the book, you will find that it is a new concept of love. It is one which is much more in tune with reality and explains how the romantic version of love limits us from experiencing and revelling in the micromoments of connectivity. William Feather said "Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it." If you replace the word "happiness" with "love" that helps you understand why this book is so important. It is interesting to compare with CS Lewis's The Four Loves.
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Marcel HochmanReviewed in France on January 4, 20145.0 out of 5 stars Magnifique !
Barbara Frederickson a fait le lien entre l'approche scientifique de la psychologie positive et la lovingkindness meditation (LKM) qui complète la pratique de la mindfulness meditation (curieusement appelée méditation de pleine conscience en français alors que mindfulness signifie plutôt attention).
Son livre est à la fois rigoureux et inspiré.
Avec les deux livres de Shawn Achor et Love 2.0, j'ai les outils qui me manquaient pour m'engager pleinement dans la LKM et la psychologie positive. Merci à tous deux.
Pour passer à la pratique, il y a des méditations guidées sur le site [...]








