There's a little pop-psychology book that my marriage counselor made my wife and I read called The Five Languages of Love. The five languages are: Gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and physical touch. Everyone has some version of those according to the author. I kind of skimmed it but when I took the quiz at the end which explained my love languages it was close enough so I would put some stock in it.
I'm familiar with this pop-psych idea. It does have a degree of credence though. For example, gifts are not important to me. If a long term partner gave me jewelry or flowers on a significant event, I'd be pretty disappointed. I would much rather go out to do something with that person. It's definitely about understanding what your partner values, even if it is kind of a hokey concept.
Agreed. And I would, as a man, really like getting a ring or a watch or clothing as a gift because when I wear it then I can think of who gave it to me and I get to use it every day. As a wise man said, "Different strokes for different folks."
Yeah, we went over this back in my high school AP Psychology class like a decade ago, so my memory might be fuzzy, but it really did seem to fit well. And I think it's important to note that you're unlikely to have one language, but value certain languages above others. And it's useful to find out which languages your SO prefers, as I've had relationships where we were feeling unloved, only to find out that we were showing our love the way we understood it, instead of how the other did.