If you’ve ever gotten out of a bad relationship and felt the need to date someone different than your usual “type,” you’re not alone. But according to new research from the University of Toronto, that may be easier said than done. Their new studyfinds people tend to look for love with the same “type” of person over and over again.
We feel like we date people who we have things in common with, but the research shows it’s actually our partners who tend to be pretty similar. It’s not their physical characteristics that are the same, but their personalities that are alike. And even when we try to date outside our type, it seems we keep coming back for more of the same.
Researchers suggest there’s a very practical reason people tend to date similar personality types. They say we learn strategies to work with our partner’s personalities and if our new partner has a personality like our ex’s, we can “transfer the skills” we learned from the old relationship to start the new one off right. So if you find that you’re having the same issues in relationship after relationship, this research could help you break out of that pattern and find lasting love.