If you listen to the psychology research, falling in love isn't a matter of destiny — it's a mixture of biology, upbringing, and context.
But that doesn't make it any less mysterious.
Since your partner plays a significant role in your long-term health, happiness, and career prospects, we've scoured the studies and collected some of the reasons two people click.
SEE ALSO: Science says parents of successful kids have these 11 things in common
If you're really, really alike.
Decades of studies have shown that the cliché that "opposites attract" is totally off.
"Partners who are similar in broad dispositions, like personality, are more likely to feel the same way in their day-to-day lives,"said Gian Gonzaga, lead author of a study of couples who met on eHarmony. "This may make it easier for partners to understand each other."
If you share three basic compatibilities.
According to the work of Canadian psychologist Eric Berne, the best-matched couples vibe on three different levels.
His popular books about the model became best sellers, namely "The Games People Play." Drawing somewhat on Sigmund Freud, his theory argued that every person has three "ego states":
• The parent: What you've been taught
• The child: What you have felt
• The adult: What you have learned
When two people are really compatible, they connect along each tier. Couples therapist Peter Pearson gave us a few questions for figuring out compatibility at each level:
• The parent: Do you have similar values and beliefs about the world?
• The child: Do you have fun together? Can you be spontaneous? Do you think your partner's hot? Do you like to travel together?
• The adult: Does each person think the other is bright? Are you good at solving problems together?
If you stare into each others' eyes for two minutes
University of Massachusetts psychologist Joan Kellerman asked 72 unacquainted undergrads to pair off and stare into each others eyes for two minutes.
"They later reported they had increased feelings of passionate love and affection towards the other person,"Scientific American reports. "This suggests that long periods of eye contact can connect you to someone and even ignite feelings of love inside you for that person you have never previously met."
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