Have you always wondered if love at first sight really exists? According to a recent Dutch study, you have to believe not.
Love at first sight in Notting Hill, Love at first sight in Manhattan … These romantic comedies that make us dream with their magnificent love stories are legion. Without speaking about Romeo and Juliet, one of the most famous masterpieces of all time, whose plot is based on love at first sight. But does this phenomenon exist outside of cinema screens or theater scenes? Dutch scientists from the University of Groningen have looked into the matter. And their answer is categorical: no. To reach this conclusion, the authors of the study published in the journalPsychophysiology surveyed 396 participants, 60% of whom were women.
Most of the volunteers were young hetero Dutch and German students. The latter responded to an online survey whose questions related to their current love situation (couple or single). Respondents were then asked to view photos of strangers and rate their attraction to them by rating them. Any feeling of love, intimacy, passion, or eroticism counted as a criterion of appreciation. The researchers analyzed the responses obtained with those of two previous studies carried out on singles as part of ” speed-dating “,
“Love at first sight is neither passionate love nor love in general”
In compiling the results of the three studies, the researchers identified only 49 lightning strike experiences, reported by 32 participants (mostly men). None of these lightning romantic encounters occurred in the context of speed-dating, notes the study. In addition, the love at first sight mentioned by these men tends more to a strong physical attraction than feelings of real love. “Our results suggest that love, at first sight, does not resemble passionate love or love in general,” conclude the scientists.
According to the researchers, what we call “love at first sight” would, therefore, result in more from a strong physical attraction than from an authentic feeling of love. However, the study authors note a disturbing fact: participants who were in a relationship at the time of the study and who think they fell in love with their current partner; they mentioned higher levels of passion in their relationship compared to those who feel they haven’t fallen in love at first sight.
