Attraction Explained: The science of how we form relationships

by Viren Swami

How much does appearance matter in the formation of romantic relationships? Do nice guys always finish last? Does playing hard-to-get ever work? What really makes for a good chat-up line? When it comes to relationships, theres no shortage of advice from self-help experts, pick-up artists, and glossy magazines. But modern-day myths of attraction often have no basis in fact or worse are rooted in little more than misogyny. In 'Attraction Explained', psychologist Viren Swami debunks these myths and draws on cutting-edge research to provide a ground-breaking and evidence-based account of relationship formation. At the core of this book is a very simple idea: there are no laws of attraction, no foolproof methods or strategies for getting someone to date you. But this isn't to say that theres nothing to be gained from studying attraction. Based on science rather than self-help cliches, Attraction Explained looks at how factors such as geography, appearance, personality, and similarity affect who we fall for and why.

Genres: Psychology, Relationships

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2016

Reviews

[Emil O. W. Kirkegaard]

Pretty dull popsci. Almost no numbers, no figures. Just study summary after another.

[Monika Bose]

It's a myth:stereotype buster for sure but doesn't have black and white answers due to the nature of the topic :)

[Alexandru]

Perfect combo: debunking myths & grounded in some of the latest research in the field

[Burak Kocabörek]

Summary: People tend to like those who are similar to themselves

[Alberto Tebaldi]

given my disastrous relationships life I decided to try this book: was not disappointed. I did not find the theories proposed ground-breaking but it helped me to better understand what drives us humans in our binding to each other.