Opposites don't attract: A new study on how attraction works

Lots of people have heard that "opposites attract", but is it actually true?

Well, a new study says that it isn't - it's still better for most people to form relationships with someone who shares their beliefs and hobbies.

Let's find out more about it.

More about the study

A study claims that, contrary to the saying that "opposites attract," partners tend to be more similar than different when it comes to various traits in a good relationship.

This study analyzed over 130 traits and millions of different couples spanning more than a hundred years.

The findings showed that between 82% and 90% of traits, ranging from political beliefs to age of first intimacy, demonstrated that partners tend to be pretty much similar.

Only 3% of traits, in one part of the analysis, indicated that people tended to partner with those who were significantly different from them.

The research also has implications for various genetic studies, challenging the assumption that human mating is random, as "assortative mating," where people with similar traits partner up, can affect genetic research findings.

The study reviewed data from as far back as 1903 and also used a dataset of almost 80,000 opposite-sex pairs in the UK to analyze various traits.

Why it's important to know

This study found that in relationships, many traits are similar between partners. For example, things like political beliefs or religion tend to be alike in couples. Some traits, like height, weight, and personality, are not as similar but still somewhat alike.

In simple terms, this research shows that most people end up with partners who are like them in many ways. This goes against the idea that opposites attract.
 

• Related news:
• research
• couple
• relationship
• attraction
• 9 September 2023

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