Do people subconsciously choose partners with similar DNA before falling in love?
Upon seeing this question, did you immediately compare your appearance with your partner's? Have you noticed any similarities?
According to a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder, people tend to be attracted to heterosexual individuals with similar DNA traits, including religion, age, ethnicity, income, body type, and education.
Benjamin Domingue, a researcher at the Institute of Behavioral Science, further pointed out that this phenomenon is closely related to genetics. To understand why, they conducted a study on genomic similarity.
In the study, Domingue and Associate Professor Jason Boardman used genomic data collected by the Health and Retirement Study, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.
The researchers examined the genomes of 825 non-Hispanic white American couples, specifically focusing on their "single nucleotide polymorphisms," which are common variations in human DNA.
The study found that comparing the DNA differences between married couples and two randomly selected respondents yielded very clear results: nearly 90% of married couples had very few differences in "single nucleotide polymorphisms."
The researchers further compared the degree of genetic similarity between married couples with their similar educational attainment. They found that education accounted for more than one-third of genetic similarity, indicating a significant influence on heterosexual relationships.
Why not compare your religion, age, ethnicity, income, body type, and education level with your partner's to see how similar you are, and share it with us!
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