Cultural Models of Everyday Love in Contemporary Spain: A Mixed-Methods Cultural Consensus Study

Love can emerge through moments and interactions in our daily lives, varying across different cultural contexts. Using a sequential mixed-method approach guided by Cultural Consensus Theory (CCT; Romney et al., 1986), we examined the shared agreement on which daily life experiences evoke loving feelings in Spanish culture across two studies. In Study 1, we conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 54), two-person group interviews (n = 6), and focus groups (3–5 participants; n = 40) to explore how love manifests across different relationships in daily life in Spain. Through qualitative thematic analysis, we identified recurring experiences, centering around explicit affection, instrumental support and dependable care, quality time, and thoughtful, attentive actions. This analysis informed the development of the 61-item Felt Love Questionnaire for Spain (FLQ-Spain), which collects everyday experiences with the potential to make people feel loved within the Spanish context. In Study 2, we administered the FLQ-Spain to a representative sample of Spaniards (N = 502) to assess how likely these experiences are to elicit loving feelings in the Spanish culture. Results from cognitive psychometric analysis revealed a shared agreement in the responses. ‘Highly likely’ loving eliciting experiences were characterized by support and dependability, sharing quality time, and explicit expressions of love—and particularly so within close ties such as family, partners, and friends. Results also showed that controlling or possessive behaviors from romantic partners or familial ties were unlikely to elicit love. This investigation contributes to the understanding of the shared beliefs in love in everyday life based on the perspectives of Spanish culture.