Affective individualism is an alleged process that occurred in industrialized countries in the 1700s, though its existence remains controversial.
The theory argues that, up to that point, the extended family and the wider community represented very strong ties for people, which made the nuclear family a smaller role in emotional fulfillment. This meant that marriages and procreation were often instrumental.
However, with the rise of affective individualism, families started to change in several ways:
- The nuclear family became more important, and the centre of family life.
- Having children became less instrumental an more driven by affective reasons.
- Marriages were more and more commonly based on love, as opposed to convenience.
- Sex became more important as a source of pleasure, and not only as an instrument for reproduction.
It is also argued that these changes, which for the most part accompanied industrialization, helped the development of capitalism.
