Love and social context

I guess we knew from reading history that conceptions of love vary from society to society. And this article Spaniards Prefer Love To Be Passionate, Study Shows tells of some recent research in Europe giving a bit of a cross-cultural study: "Spaniards of all ages, in the main, have a 'romantic' conception of love. They see it as an irresistible passion, which involves great intimacy and a strong physical attraction, which is classified as 'Eros' love. Far fewer of them view the sentiment as a lasting commitment based on closeness, friendship, companionship and affection (amiable or 'storge' love), a model which is more common in the north of Europe."
So when we teach about love and talk about love we should be aware of this: it's not just a case of taking on board the idea of four loves (and there is not such a clear-cut differentiation of vocabulary as CS Lewis might be read to say), but the habitual ways we might think about it. I'm just wondering how far the result quoted might go back in history (certainly seems to relate to Cervantes' Don Quijote); for example, does this impinge on the mystical poetry St John of the Cross? There's a first-sight case to think it might.