Research

• Theory based on research with 94 couples at Duke University

  Some short term (<18months) and some long term (>18months)
• Given a questionnaire over a 7 month period
• Found personality, similarity and agreement on basic values to be the most important factor in the short term

  More similar the couple, the stronger the relationship
• Complementarity of needs was found to be the best predictor of long term commitment
• Important filters:

  • Social demography
  • Similarity in attitudes, beliefs, values
  • Physical attractiveness
  • Complementarity of emotional needs Applying these filters - we end up narrowing down onto a few likely prospects