Forget the proverbial wisdom: Opposites don't really attract, study finds

What draw We has choose romantic the partners? A scanning new meta-analysis suggests We gravitate towards certain sharing features. Muramasa

There is rarely time has to write about each cool science-y history that come OUR path. SO This year, were once Again running A special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting A science history that fell through THE cracks In 2023, each day Since December 25 through January 5. Today: A wide meta-analysis extending on A century of studies find that opposites don't do it Really attract When he come has choose A boyfriend.

We have all heard THE common popular wisdom that When he come has forming romantic partnerships, opposites attract. Researchers has THE University of Colorado, Rock, combat that This proverbial wisdom East largely FAKE, base on THE results of their scanning September study, published In THE newspaper Nature Human Behavior. THE saying, "birds of A feather herd together," East A more apt addition of how We choose OUR partners.

"These results suggest that even In situations Or We feel as We to have A choice about OUR relationships, there can be mechanisms event behind THE scenes of which We are not fully aware," said co-author Tanya Horwitz, A psychology And neuroscience diploma student has UCB. "Were hoping people can to use This data has TO DO their own analyzes And learn more about how And Why people END up In THE relationships they do."

Horwitz And al. led A systematic goodbye of Peer-reviewed studies In THE English language involving comparisons of THE even Or similar complex features In the partners, all published Before August 17, 2022, with THE the oldest date 1903. They excluded same sex/gender the partners, maintain that these partnerships guaranteed A separated analysis Since THE patterns could to differ significantly. THE meta-analysis concentrate on 22 distinct features. THE team Also led A raw data analysis of A additional 133 features, drawing Since THE from the United Kingdom Biobank database, A of THE the biggest And most detailed In THE world For health related information on more that 500,000 people. All said, THE study encompassed millions of couples extending on A century: co-parents, engaged pairs, married pairs, And cohabit pairs.

THE personality features included were base on THE supposedly Big Five basic personality features: neuroticism, extroversion, opening, approval, And awareness. (THE Big Five East Currently THE professional standard For social psychologists WHO study personality. Here is A GOOD summary of What those features mean has psychologists.) THE other features studied included such things as educative realization, IQ score, policy values, religiosity, problematic alcohol to use, while drinking, leaving smoking, departure smoking, quantity of smoking, smoking Status, substance to use mess, BMI, height, from waist to hip report, depression, diabetes, generalized anxiety, if they were breastfed as A child, And age of First of all reports, among others.

THE meta-analysis And Biobank analysis revealed that THE The Strongest correlations For couples were For birth year And features as policy And religious attitudes, educative realization, And certain IQ measures. Couples tender has be similar When he come has their substance to use, Also: heavy drinkers tender has be with other heavy drinkers, And abstinent tender has pair with companion abstainers. There were A handle of features among THE Biobank couples Or opposites did seem has attract, most notably if A East A Morning person Or A night owl, tendency has worry, And hearing difficulty.

THE the weakest correlations were For features as height, weight, medical terms, And personality features, although these were always Above all positive, apart Since extroversion, which somewhat surprisingly watch almost No correlation. "People to have all these theories that extroverts as introverts Or extroverts as other extroverts, but THE do of THE matter East that It is about as return A piece of money," said Horwitz. “Extroverts are in the same way likely has END up with extroverts as with introverts."

Horwitz And al. warned that even THE The Strongest correlations they find were always enough modest. ...