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martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

A new study from the University of Florida, It's not me, it really is you [ufl.edu] offers an interesting perspective as to what makes or breaks relationships.

Attractive and smart but unlucky in love? New research suggests you might not have luck to blame but rather your own negative traits.

Researchers found that when evaluating potential mates, people give more weight to negative qualities than to positive ones. That is, even if someone has a number of positive qualities, one or two negative qualities can be enough for others to avoid pursuing romantic relationships with them.

[...] Using information from six independent studies, the researchers determined the top deal breakers for people who were making decisions about potential partners. Using those deal breakers, they were able to determine what effect age and gender have on determining which qualities are seen as deal breakers for different people.

The deal breakers are, in no particular order:

• unattractiveness
• unhealthy lifestyle
• undesirable personality traits
• differing religious beliefs
• limited social status
• differing mating strategies
• differing relationship goals

They also found that the effect of deal breakers is stronger for women and people in committed relationships. Does this explain the proverbial mom's basement dweller cliché?

An abstract [doi.org] is available; the full paper, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, is paywalled.

Original Submission