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Ladies, love at first sight does not exist – study


Britain’s Prince Harry, now engaged to American Suits actress Meghan Markle, says he knew she was the one the minute he laid eyes on her.

Are you also waiting to experience love at first sight the first time you meet your significant other?

Findings of a new study suggest that you may be mistaken as there is no such thing. If you have felt in the past, it is a purely physical attraction or lust.

For the study, researchers from University of Groningen in the Netherlands looked into the many factors that could influence this feeling of ‘love at first sight’.

They looked at the responses of 396 study subjects, all of whom were heterosexual and in their 20s.

DATING EVENTS

The experiment came in three parts. First was an online survey; next was a lab observation, and then a series of dating events including speed dating, face to face dating and informal dating gatherings where food was availed.

During the dates, study subjects were asked to fill out questionnaires with information on themselves and their dates before they interacted with them, including their physical attractiveness and the feelings of passion, intimacy and commitment, if any, that they evoked.

Of the 396 individuals, only 32 of them reported feeling love at first sight 49 times. Interestingly, they found that men, more than women, are likely to report experiencing love at first sight.

The researchers then found that physical attraction was strongly tied to these feelings of love at first sight.

On analysing the findings, the researchers concluded that these feelings of love at first sight which a lot of people in relationships claim have little to do with passion or actual feelings of love.

INITIAL ATTRACTION

That strong initial physical attraction is what many people term as love at first sight.

“These feelings of love at first sight do not seem to be marked by high passion for a person and do not seem to involve feelings of love at all, but a readiness to experience them at best,” the researchers write.

The next time you start feeling like a man could be the one, do not be in a rush to declare undying love for him.

Consider the possibility that you are likely just lusting after him. If, on the other hand, a man declares that he knew he loved you the instant he set his eyes on you, take it with a pinch of salt.