Finding true love linked to biological temperament
By IANSMonday, February 21, 2011
LONDON - Finding true love is a lot more dependent on our biological temperament that steers us towards a particular personality type, rather than a matter of chance, says a new study.
Helen Fisher, visiting associate professor in anthropology at Rutgers University in the US, seems to have uncovered the key to why some relationships work and others don’t.
After a study involving nearly 30,000 people, Fisher believes that attraction is closely linked to the chemistry of your personality type and how it matches - or clashes - with that of your chosen partner, the Daily Mail reports.
“There will always be magic to love, but knowledge is power,” says Fisher. “If you know who you are, what you seek and how you and others love, you can capture that magic, find and keep real love, and make your dreams come true.”
Fishers research indicates we can be divided into four very different personality types - explorers, builders, directors and negotiators.
They are based on the way our body produces and reacts to the brain chemicals dopamine and serotonin, and the hormones testosterone and oestrogen.
If dopamine tends to dominate your personality, Fisher believes you will have a tendency to seek novelty. People in this group are termed explorers.
When serotonin dominates, the guiding personality traits tend to be calmness, loyalty, a fondness of rules and facts, and order. Because this group tends to be skilled at building social networks, she calls this group builders.
Those with high levels of testosterone (whether male or female) fall into a section called directors because they are direct, decisive, tough-minded, exacting and good at strategic thinking.
Finally, personalities dominated by the hormone oestrogen (again, this affects men and women) are dubbed negotiators because they are highly imaginative and empathetic, with great verbal and social skills as well as being adept at connecting disparate facts.
Fisher believes we are all a combination of two personality types, but one will dominate, influencing our behaviour - including our choice of mate, according to her book “Why Him? Why Her?”
