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New study disproves age-old notion that ‘opposites attract’
A 2023 study revealed that when it comes to finding our life partners the phrase ‘Opposites attract’ isn’t quite true. The study concluded that the saying ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ was the more appropriate saying to describe how people choose their partners. It also explains how couples become more alike over time.
When it comes to describing romantic relationships and dating or explaining how people find their significant other, the saying, “Opposites attract” has been used quite frequently. However, a new study about couples completely disagrees with the age-old saying. The study conducted at University of Colorado Boulder, US states that couples are vastly more alike than they are different.
Up to 89% of a couple’s traits are similar
The study was published in Nature Human Behaviour journal on August 31. One of its authors, a doctoral candidate Tanya Horowitz said, “Our findings demonstrate that birds of a feather are indeed more likely to flock together.” The long-standing study analyzed more than 130 traits in millions of couples over more than a century.
It concluded that between 82% and 89% of traits in couples which ranged from political leanings, religiosity, alcohol consumption, IQ, age of first intercourse as well and level of education tended to be more similar than different in most couples. People partnered with those who were opposite to them for only 3% of traits.
The researchers not only conducted a new analysis to reach this conclusion but also accessed previous research that was conducted in 1903. Hence the latest study’s conclusion was reached taking into consideration the data received from millions of male-female married couples, co-parents, engaged couples, as well as cohabitating pairs.
If zero on the scale meant there is no correlation and 1 meant couples the trait always matches, the correlation for political values was .58 which is more than 50%. The age of their first intercourse also had a high correlation of 0.4. Moreover having a substance abuse disorder stood at 0.43. Same-sex couples were not included in this research and a separate one is being conducted for them. However, another recent study suggested same-sex couples methods can improve sharing of chores in heterosexual couples.
Opposites may attract but only rarely
The researchers of the study found “no compelling evidence” on any trait that proved that “Opposites attract.” However, while using a UK Biobank sample, they came across a handful of traits such as chronotype (being a morning lark or night owl), the habit of worrying and hearing difficulty where the notion “Opposites attract” applied.
However, more research is needed to solidify these findings. As per the study, even lesser-studied traits such as the number of sexual partners and being breastfed as a child showed that people choose someone more alike than the opposite.
Do long-term couples begin to look alike?
The Independent notes that in 1978, a study suggested that couples’ faces were not similar at the time of marriage but became increasingly similar after. Their hypothesis suggested that couples began to look alike because they occupy the same environments, engage in the same activities, eat the same food, and mimic each others emotional expressions. As per the research, all of this influenced facial features.
However, a new study by researchers at Stanford University published in Scientific Reports in 2020 stated they did not find evidence for the convergence in physical appearance hypothesis: Spouses faces did not become more similar with time.
