Science of Relationships has a great post on the characteristics of places where people tend to meet each other. This is a topic we’ve been thinking about for a while at Interpersonal Science: the media and popular culture tell us that people meet in bars, but how often does this really happen? This post suggests that three characteristics (repeated exposure, similar interests, and shared social networks) play an important role. And what about bars? They aren’t by default likely to have these three things working in your favor (sure you can find a bar for folks with similar interests, like a sports bar that supports your local team, but this is an exception, not the rule).

Have a look at the original post and give these three characteristics a thought next time you are looking for a new girlfriend/boyfriend:

There are lots of places where you can find a partner. Online, offline, next door, or at a bar, coffee shop, supermarket, etc. etc. Really the list is endless. A lot of sites will try to give a “top ten list of where individuals meet.” But really, it isn’t the place that matters but rather the interpersonal dynamics. So here are the top 3 basic principles at play during initial encounters. If you have these, it you can meet someone anywhere.

Read the rest of the post at the original site, and be sure to visit Science of Relationships!

Some great new research out of Univ. of VA and Harvard was just summarized in a post on Science of Relationships. As we pointed out in a Web Serial, we tend to be more attracted people who like us back (all other things, such as physical attraction, held equal). This new research adds an interesting twist: women (men were not included in the study) are more attracted to men who show some ambiguity when initially getting to know each other.

Have a look at the post:

Are you more likely to be attracted to someone who is into you? Or do you like those that don’t reciprocate your interest? This is one of those cases where your intuitions might be wrong. You need to be cool and downplay your interest in someone to get them to like you, right? Nope; it turns out that there’s a lot of research showing that we tend to like those people who like us right back.

Read the rest of the post at the original site, and be sure to visit Science of Relationships!