Emotional intimacy is a dimension of
interpersonal intimacyIntimacy generally refers to the feeling of being in a close personal association and belonging together. It is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of entering deeply or closely into relationship through knowledge and experience of the other. Genuine intimacy in...
that varies in degree and over time, much like
physical intimacyPhysical intimacy is sensual proximity and/or touching. It can be enjoyed by itself and/or be an expression of feelings which people have for one another...
.
AffectAffect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism’s interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect." The affective domain...
,
emotionAn emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Emotions are subjective experiences, often associated with mood, temperament, personality, and disposition. The English word 'emotion' is derived from the French word émouvoir...
and
feelingFeeling is the nominalization of "to feel". The word was first used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of touch either through experience or perception. The word is also used to describe experiences, other than the physical sensation of touch, such as "a feeling of warmth"...
may refer to different phenomena. Emotional intimacy may refer to any or all of those in both a lay or a professional context.
Emotional intimacy can be
observedIn experimental research, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observing will make on the phenomenon being observed...
in terms of verbal and non-verbal communication. The degree of comfort, effectiveness and mutual experience of
closenessThe term proxemics was introduced by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1966. Proxemics is the study of set measurable distances between people as they interact...
might indicate emotional intimacy between individuals.
Emotional intimacy is a dimension of
interpersonal intimacyIntimacy generally refers to the feeling of being in a close personal association and belonging together. It is a familiar and very close affective connection with another as a result of entering deeply or closely into relationship through knowledge and experience of the other. Genuine intimacy in...
that varies in degree and over time, much like
physical intimacyPhysical intimacy is sensual proximity and/or touching. It can be enjoyed by itself and/or be an expression of feelings which people have for one another...
.
AffectAffect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism’s interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect." The affective domain...
,
emotionAn emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Emotions are subjective experiences, often associated with mood, temperament, personality, and disposition. The English word 'emotion' is derived from the French word émouvoir...
and
feelingFeeling is the nominalization of "to feel". The word was first used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of touch either through experience or perception. The word is also used to describe experiences, other than the physical sensation of touch, such as "a feeling of warmth"...
may refer to different phenomena. Emotional intimacy may refer to any or all of those in both a lay or a professional context.
Emotional intimacy can be
observedIn experimental research, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observing will make on the phenomenon being observed...
in terms of verbal and non-verbal communication. The degree of comfort, effectiveness and mutual experience of
closenessThe term proxemics was introduced by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1966. Proxemics is the study of set measurable distances between people as they interact...
might indicate emotional intimacy between individuals. Intimate
communication Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules. Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of...
is both expressed (e.g. talking) and implied (e.g. friends sitting close on a park bench in silence). Emotional intimacy depends primarily on
trustSome philosophers argue that trust is more than a relationship of reliance. Philosophers such as Annette Baier have made a difference between trust and reliance by saying that trust can be betrayed, while reliance can only be disappointed...
, as well as the nature of the relationship and the culture in which it is observed. Depending on the background and
conventionsA convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
of the participants, emotional intimacy might involve disclosing
thoughtThought and thinking are mental forms and processes, respectively . Thinking allows beings to model the world and to deal with it according to their objectives, plans, ends and desires. Words referring to similar concepts and processes include cognition, sentience, consciousness, idea, and...
s,
feelingFeeling is the nominalization of "to feel". The word was first used in the English language to describe the physical sensation of touch either through experience or perception. The word is also used to describe experiences, other than the physical sensation of touch, such as "a feeling of warmth"...
s and
emotionAn emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior. Emotions are subjective experiences, often associated with mood, temperament, personality, and disposition. The English word 'emotion' is derived from the French word émouvoir...
s in order to reach an understanding, offer mutual support or build a sense of community. Or it might involve sharing a duty, without commentary.
Compare
physical intimacyPhysical intimacy is sensual proximity and/or touching. It can be enjoyed by itself and/or be an expression of feelings which people have for one another...
,
sympathySympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. It also can mean being affected by feelings or emotions. Thus the essence of sympathy is that one has a strong concern for the other person...
,
empathyEmpathy, which literally translates as 'in feeling', is the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes".-Etymology:...
.
See also
- Compassion
Compassion is a human emotion prompted by the pain of others. More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. It is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism...
- Acceptance
Acceptance usually refers to cases where a person experiences a situation or condition without attempting to change it, protest, or exit. The term is used in spirituality, in Eastern religious concepts such as Buddhist mindfulness, and in human psychology...
- Liking
- Love
Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction...
- Emotional intelligence
Emotional Intelligence describes the ability, capacity, skill or, in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups. Different models have been proposed for the definition of EI and disagreement exists...