神马文学网如何选择人生伴侣的真正原因
来源：百度文库 编辑：神马文学网 时间：2024/04/29 03:00:30
如何选择人生伴侣的真正原因
—— 我们为什么爱 我们爱谁好
父母亲的影响
你是否曾经尝试着了解一对已婚夫妇，他们似乎不仅仅是相互适应配合对方，更是共同愉悦，你却说不清楚这是为什么？
我认识一对夫妇，丈夫曾经是个身材强壮魁伟的运动员、一名成功的推销员及小里格联盟的教练。每周星期六与朋友们积极活跃在旋轮俱乐部或者打高尔夫球。但是，他的妻子身材小巧玲珑，性格恬静，是一个不折不扣的家庭主妇，他甚至不喜欢外出就餐。
是什么神秘的力量促使我们爱一个人，又是什么神秘的力量拆散可能有着相同愿望而且不带任何偏见的另一半。
我们理想中的完美伴侣受许多因素影响，最值得探讨的是约翰霍普金斯大学名誉医学心理学教授及儿科专家约翰·莫尼所倡导的“爱情地图”，在我们大脑反映我们喜恶的一组信息编码。它显示了我们所钟情伴侣的头发、眼睛颜色、声音、体味及体型信息。它也记录了吸引我们的伴侣的个性是热情友好型或者是强健沉默型。
总之，我们寻求最接近“爱情地图”的那些人，成为我们的朋友，“爱情地图”很大程度上取决于童年。孩子成长到8岁时，理想中的伴侣已经开始索绕在其头脑。
当我公开演讲时常常提问观众中的夫妇们是什么原因促使他们约会或者走进婚姻的殿堂。答案多种多样，从她身体强健且个性独立到我偏爱的红头发的人，我喜欢他很幽默，开开心心，笑容满面，人生自然相伴相依了。
我相信他们的回答，但是我明白如果我要求同样的男男女女描述一下他们的母亲，发现他们理想中的伴侣与他们的母亲有许多相似之处。是的，我们的母亲，我们人生中第一个真正的关爱我们的人——“爱情地图”当然应该浓墨重彩。
当我们幼小时，母亲的言行举止是我们关注的中心，我们也是母亲关注的重点。因此，母亲的性格在我们人生的旅途上留下了不可磨灭的印象，我们永远忘不了母亲的表情、体型、个性和幽默感。如果我们的母亲热情大方，成年后我们将会被热情大方的异性所吸引，寻找热情大方型伴侣；如果我们的母亲强健正直，我们将会寻找强健正直型伴侣。
母亲对男孩子们有着特别的影响，她不仅引导他们寻找伴侣，而且通常也影响他们如何与女性交往。如果女朋友热情漂亮，男孩们将认为正合母亲的心愿。因此，他们就可能生活幸福，百头谐老。
反之，母亲性格抑郁，时而热情友好时而冷酷无情，可能导致男孩“舞会上坐冷板凳”。由于她母亲的性格让他无所适从，因此他害怕承担家庭责任而远离女朋友。
母亲的品质很大程度上决定了怎样的异性朋友被我们吸引；父亲，我们生活中的第一位影响我们与异性交往的男子汉，其对于孩子的个性成长以及孩子选择幸福的婚姻生活将产生巨大的影响。
母亲仅仅影响儿子对女性的一般情感，父亲则影响女儿对男性的一般情感。如果父亲慷慨表扬女儿表明女儿受到了尊重，她与男性交往时就会自我感觉良好。但是如果父亲冷酷无情，女儿就会变得不那么可爱和风趣了。
此外，大多数人在成长过程中都有相似的社会背景。我们依恋同一个城市的人们，我们交往的朋友具有相同的教育背景和职业目标。因此，我们希望与他人友好相处，其乐融融，尤其是与类似我们家庭背景的人交朋友。
互补的需要
下面谈谈对立，对立双方真的能够相互吸引吗？肯定如此还是毫无可能呢？我们常常顾影自怜，比如，按照自然法则吸引异性，通常就会门当户对。
美国西北大学终身社会学教授罗伯特·温奇在他的研究中指出：我们选择婚姻伴侣牵涉到一系列社会背景的异同之处，而且他认为我们寻找人生伴侣与两人社会背景及性格上的互补密不可分。健谈者往往会吸引一个倾听型伴侣，性格暴躁者可能会寻求一个唯唯诺诺、言听计从的伴侣。
即使是耄耋老人，切身体会婚姻历程后忠告我们：选择人生伴侣一定要心意相通，或者，恰如温奇的观察：多数白头偕老的伴侣们可能源自相似的社会背景和不同的个性特征。
因此，生活中有许多来自不同社会背景的情侣们步入婚姻的殿堂，而且姻缘美满，一生幸福。我认识一个家住芝加哥的传统的爱尔兰家庭背景的工人，深深爱上了一个信奉浸信会的非裔美国籍的女子。当他们结婚时，他们的亲朋好友都认为这个家庭摇摇欲坠。但是时过境迁25年后，他们的小日子依然如故：红红火火，且幸福美满。
原来该名女子喜欢她胸怀爱心、为人厚道的婆母，婆母勤恳踏实地料理家务，常去教会担当志愿者或者帮助那些需要帮助的人们。因此，她不考虑她与丈夫在种族、宗教信仰和其它许多社会背景方面的巨大差异而仍对丈夫一往情深——“千里共婵娟”。
犹太人乔治·伯伦与爱尔兰天主教徒格瑞斯·爱伦喜结连理，他过去常常引以自豪地说：他的婚姻就象他终爱的一场优美动听的乐曲，尽管格瑞斯风趣滑稽有余。他们俩共同拥有一定的社会异同：同乡且家庭贫困。然而，他们第一次同台演出促成其终生相伴。他们俩纯粹属于互补型夫妇：男人直心直肠，女人婉转幽默。
世界上有一些“与众不同的夫妇”，几乎痛苦终生，比如一些骄人的年轻人结婚后变成了平庸的奴仆，人们戏称类似的爱情交易是半斤对八两，即公平合理。
当男人或者女人拥有某项特定资产，包括知识水平高、美貌超群、使人神魂颠倒的个性，或者腰缠万贯等选择人生伴侣就可以优势互补，取长补短。例如：美貌超群者常与有权有钱的纨绔子弟匹配，富裕家庭的草包常与贫穷家庭才貌双全者般配。
事实上，几乎任何夫妻都可能天长地久，和谐美满。我的邻居驻足于一个晚会，晚会上，一个将近50岁的男人罗伯特冲口而出：“如果你的女儿计划嫁给一个年轻人并且愿意作家庭主妇，你对此有什么看法？”
“除非你的女儿喜欢烹饪。”我说道“我想她是昏了头”。
“正是”，他的妻子随即高声附合。“罗伯特，你的问题真幼稚，你该洗洗脑了。这事关键在于他们两情相悦，互相爱慕而已。”
我试图安慰罗伯特，指出年轻人选中她们的女儿作为人生伴侣，原因是他们的女儿拥有他妈妈公正大方的性格。
难道世界上真有一见钟情吗？又难道没有吗？无数的男男女女们坠入爱河，人们可能会立刻发现这些情侣们有着独一无二的相似之处。最普遍可能性是同读一本书或者是同乡。同时，他们互相尊重对方并承认对方有别于已的性格特点以便弥补自己性格上的不足。
在那个度日如年的周末，我巧遇一个手握爱情魔杖的人，当时我就读康奈尔大学，是大学二年级学生，恰恰我患了重感冒，心情忐忑地与家人前往可特斯可山度假，我无奈地决定到处走走，心想总比孤孤单单的独自呆在客房里好。
当天晚上我正准备去晚餐，我的妹妹匆匆忙忙地冲上楼梯向我大喊：“只要你走进餐厅，你就会遇到你要下嫁的白马王子”。
当时我认为是妹妹“瞎胡闹”，但是事实证明我妹妹没有比这更金口玉言的了，我一看见他就赏心悦目。他也就读康奈儿大学，医学院预科生，顺便提及一下，他也患了重感冒，我与弥尔顿遂一见钟情。
弥尔顿与我同甘共苦牵手人生39年，直到他1989年离开人世。爱的洗礼历历在目，正如，里奇·弗洛姆所说的“夫妻双方感情磨擦碰撞，直至合二为一”，纵然我们俩各自不断变化、日益发展和昼夜兼程地努力践行生活的方方面面。Have you ever known a married couple that just didn't seem as though they should fit together--yet they are both happy in the marriage, and you can't figure out why?
I know of one couple: He is a burly ex-athlete who, in addition to being a successful salesman, coached Little League, was active in his Rotary Club and played golf every Saturday with friends. Meanwhile, his wife is petite, quiet and a complete homebody. She doesn't even like to go out to dinner.
What mysterious force drives us into the arms of one person, while pushing us away from another who might appear equally desirable to any unbiased observer?
Of the many factors influencing our idea of the perfect mate, one of the most telling, according to John Money, professor emeritus of medical psychology and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, is what he calls our 'lovemap'--a group of messages encoded in our brains that describes our likes and dislikes. It shows our preferences in hair and eye color, in voice, smell, body build. It also records the kind of personality that appeals to us, whether it's the warm and friendly type or the strong, silent type.
In short, we fall for and pursue those people who most clearly fit our lovemap. And this lovemap is largely determined in childhood. By age eight, the pattern for our ideal mate has already begun to float around in our brains.
When I lecture, I often ask couples in the audience what drew them to their dates or mates. Answers range from 'She's strong and independent' and 'I go for redheads' to 'I love his sense of humor' and 'That crooked smile, that's what did it.'
I believe what they say. But I also know that if I were to ask those same men and women to describe their mothers, there would be many similarities between their ideal mates and their moms. Yes, our mothers--the first real love of our lives--write a significant portion of our lovemap.
When we're little, our mother is the center of our attention, and we are the center of hers. So our mother's characteristics leave an indelible impression, and we are forever after attracted to people with her facial features, body type, personality, even sense of humor. If our mother was warm and giving, as adults we tend to be attracted to people who are warm and giving. If our mother was strong and even-tempered, we are going to be attracted to a fair-minded strength in our mates.
The mother has an additional influence on her sons: she not only gives them clues to what they will find attractive in a mate, but also affects how they feel about women in general. So if she is warm and nice, her sons are going to think that's the way women are. They will likely grow up warm and responsive lovers and also be cooperative around the house.
Conversely, a mother who has a depressive personality, and is sometimes friendly but then suddenly turns cold and rejecting, may raise a man who becomes a 'dance-away lover.' Because he's been so scared about love from his mother, he is afraid of commitment and may pull away from a girlfriend for this reason.
While the mother determines in large part what qualities attract us in a mate, it's the father--the first male in our lives--who influences how we relate to the opposite sex. Fathers have an enormous effect on their children's personalities and chances of marital happiness.
Just as mothers influence their son's general feelings toward women, fathers influence their daughter's general feelings about men. If a father lavishes praise on his daughter and demonstrates that she is a worthwhile person, she'll feel very good about herself in relation to men. But if the father is cold, critical or absent, the daughter will tend to feel she's not very lovable or attractive.
What about opposites? Are they really attracted to each other? Yes and no. In many ways we want a mirror image of ourselves. Physically attractive people, for example, are usually drawn to a partner who's equally attractive.
In addition, most of us grow up with people of similar social circumstances. We hang around with people in the same town; our friends have about the same educational backgrounds and career goals. We tend to be most comfortable with these people, and therefore we tend to link up with others whose families are often much like our own.
Robert Winch, a longtime sociology professor at Northwestern University, stated in his research that our choice of a marriage partner involves a number of social similarities. But he also maintained that we look for someone with complementary needs. A talker is attracted to someone who likes to listen, or an aggressive personality may seek out a more passive partner.
It's rather like the old, but perceptive, saying on the subject of marriage that advises future partners to make sure that the holes in one's head fit the bumps in the other's. Or, as Winch observed, it's the balancing out of sociological likenesses and psychological differences that seems to point the way for the most solid lifelong romance.
However, there are instances where people of different social backgrounds end up getting married and being extremely happy. I know of one man, a factory worker from a traditional Irish family in Chicago, who fell in love with an African-American Baptist. When they got married, their friends and relatives predicted a quick failure. But 25 years later, the marriage is still strong.
It turns out that the woman was like her mother-in-law--a loving and caring person, the type who rolls up her sleeves and volunteers to work at church or help out people in need. This is the quality that her husband fell for, and it made color and religion and any other social factors irrelevant to him.
Or as George Burns, who was Jewish and married the Irish Catholic Gracie Allen, used to say: his marriage was his favorite gig, even though it was Gracie who got all the laughs. The two of them did share certain social similarities--both grew up in the city, in large but poor families. Yet what really drew them together was evident from the first time they went on stage together. They complemented each other perfectly: he was the straight man, and she delivered the punch lines.
There are certainly such 'odd couples' who could scarcely be happier. We all know some drop-dead beautiful person married to an unusually plain wallflower. This is a trade-off some call the equity theory.
When men and women possess a particular asset, such as high intelligence, unusual beauty, a personality that makes others swoon, or a hefty bankroll that has the same effect, some decide to trade their assets for someone else's strong points. The raging beauty may trade her luster for the power and security that come with big bucks. The not-so-talented fellow from a good family may swap his pedigree for a poor but brilliantly talented mate.
Indeed, almost any combination can survive and thrive. Once, some neighbors of mine stopped by for a friendly social engagement. During the evening Robert, a man in his 50s, suddenly blurted out, 'What would you say if your daughter planned to marry someone who has a ponytail and insisted on doing the cooking?'
'Unless your daughter loves cooking,' I responded, 'I'd say she was darn lucky.'
'Exactly,' his wife agreed. 'It's really your problem, Robert--that old macho thing rearing its head again. The point is, they're in love.'
I tried to reassure Robert, pointing out that the young man their daughter had picked out seemed to be a relaxed, nonjudgmental sort of person--a trait he shared with her own mother.
Is there such a thing as love at first sight? Why not? When people become love-struck, what happens in that instant is the couple probably discovers a unique something they have in common. It could be something as mundane as they both were reading the same book or were born in the same town. At the same time they recognize some trait in the other that complements their own personality.
I happen to be one of those who was struck by the magic wand. On that fateful weekend, while I was a sophomore at Cornell University, I had a terrible cold and hesitated to join my family on vacation in the Catskill Mountains. Finally I decided anything would be better than sitting alone in my dormitory room.
That night as I was preparing to go to dinner, my sister rushed up the stairs and said, 'When you walk into that dining room, you're going to meet the man you'll marry.'
I think I said something like 'Buzz off!' But my sister couldn't have been more right. I knew it from the moment I saw him, and the memory still gives me goose flesh. He was a premed student, also at Cornell, who incidentally also had a bad cold. I fell in love with Milton the instant I met him.
Milt and I were married for 39 years, until his death in 1989. And all that time we experienced a love that Erich Fromm called a 'feeling of fusion, of oneness,' even while we both continued to change, grow and fulfill our lives.
—— 我们为什么爱 我们爱谁好
父母亲的影响
你是否曾经尝试着了解一对已婚夫妇，他们似乎不仅仅是相互适应配合对方，更是共同愉悦，你却说不清楚这是为什么？
我认识一对夫妇，丈夫曾经是个身材强壮魁伟的运动员、一名成功的推销员及小里格联盟的教练。每周星期六与朋友们积极活跃在旋轮俱乐部或者打高尔夫球。但是，他的妻子身材小巧玲珑，性格恬静，是一个不折不扣的家庭主妇，他甚至不喜欢外出就餐。
是什么神秘的力量促使我们爱一个人，又是什么神秘的力量拆散可能有着相同愿望而且不带任何偏见的另一半。
我们理想中的完美伴侣受许多因素影响，最值得探讨的是约翰霍普金斯大学名誉医学心理学教授及儿科专家约翰·莫尼所倡导的“爱情地图”，在我们大脑反映我们喜恶的一组信息编码。它显示了我们所钟情伴侣的头发、眼睛颜色、声音、体味及体型信息。它也记录了吸引我们的伴侣的个性是热情友好型或者是强健沉默型。
总之，我们寻求最接近“爱情地图”的那些人，成为我们的朋友，“爱情地图”很大程度上取决于童年。孩子成长到8岁时，理想中的伴侣已经开始索绕在其头脑。
当我公开演讲时常常提问观众中的夫妇们是什么原因促使他们约会或者走进婚姻的殿堂。答案多种多样，从她身体强健且个性独立到我偏爱的红头发的人，我喜欢他很幽默，开开心心，笑容满面，人生自然相伴相依了。
我相信他们的回答，但是我明白如果我要求同样的男男女女描述一下他们的母亲，发现他们理想中的伴侣与他们的母亲有许多相似之处。是的，我们的母亲，我们人生中第一个真正的关爱我们的人——“爱情地图”当然应该浓墨重彩。
当我们幼小时，母亲的言行举止是我们关注的中心，我们也是母亲关注的重点。因此，母亲的性格在我们人生的旅途上留下了不可磨灭的印象，我们永远忘不了母亲的表情、体型、个性和幽默感。如果我们的母亲热情大方，成年后我们将会被热情大方的异性所吸引，寻找热情大方型伴侣；如果我们的母亲强健正直，我们将会寻找强健正直型伴侣。
母亲对男孩子们有着特别的影响，她不仅引导他们寻找伴侣，而且通常也影响他们如何与女性交往。如果女朋友热情漂亮，男孩们将认为正合母亲的心愿。因此，他们就可能生活幸福，百头谐老。
反之，母亲性格抑郁，时而热情友好时而冷酷无情，可能导致男孩“舞会上坐冷板凳”。由于她母亲的性格让他无所适从，因此他害怕承担家庭责任而远离女朋友。
母亲的品质很大程度上决定了怎样的异性朋友被我们吸引；父亲，我们生活中的第一位影响我们与异性交往的男子汉，其对于孩子的个性成长以及孩子选择幸福的婚姻生活将产生巨大的影响。
母亲仅仅影响儿子对女性的一般情感，父亲则影响女儿对男性的一般情感。如果父亲慷慨表扬女儿表明女儿受到了尊重，她与男性交往时就会自我感觉良好。但是如果父亲冷酷无情，女儿就会变得不那么可爱和风趣了。
此外，大多数人在成长过程中都有相似的社会背景。我们依恋同一个城市的人们，我们交往的朋友具有相同的教育背景和职业目标。因此，我们希望与他人友好相处，其乐融融，尤其是与类似我们家庭背景的人交朋友。
互补的需要
下面谈谈对立，对立双方真的能够相互吸引吗？肯定如此还是毫无可能呢？我们常常顾影自怜，比如，按照自然法则吸引异性，通常就会门当户对。
美国西北大学终身社会学教授罗伯特·温奇在他的研究中指出：我们选择婚姻伴侣牵涉到一系列社会背景的异同之处，而且他认为我们寻找人生伴侣与两人社会背景及性格上的互补密不可分。健谈者往往会吸引一个倾听型伴侣，性格暴躁者可能会寻求一个唯唯诺诺、言听计从的伴侣。
即使是耄耋老人，切身体会婚姻历程后忠告我们：选择人生伴侣一定要心意相通，或者，恰如温奇的观察：多数白头偕老的伴侣们可能源自相似的社会背景和不同的个性特征。
因此，生活中有许多来自不同社会背景的情侣们步入婚姻的殿堂，而且姻缘美满，一生幸福。我认识一个家住芝加哥的传统的爱尔兰家庭背景的工人，深深爱上了一个信奉浸信会的非裔美国籍的女子。当他们结婚时，他们的亲朋好友都认为这个家庭摇摇欲坠。但是时过境迁25年后，他们的小日子依然如故：红红火火，且幸福美满。
原来该名女子喜欢她胸怀爱心、为人厚道的婆母，婆母勤恳踏实地料理家务，常去教会担当志愿者或者帮助那些需要帮助的人们。因此，她不考虑她与丈夫在种族、宗教信仰和其它许多社会背景方面的巨大差异而仍对丈夫一往情深——“千里共婵娟”。
犹太人乔治·伯伦与爱尔兰天主教徒格瑞斯·爱伦喜结连理，他过去常常引以自豪地说：他的婚姻就象他终爱的一场优美动听的乐曲，尽管格瑞斯风趣滑稽有余。他们俩共同拥有一定的社会异同：同乡且家庭贫困。然而，他们第一次同台演出促成其终生相伴。他们俩纯粹属于互补型夫妇：男人直心直肠，女人婉转幽默。
世界上有一些“与众不同的夫妇”，几乎痛苦终生，比如一些骄人的年轻人结婚后变成了平庸的奴仆，人们戏称类似的爱情交易是半斤对八两，即公平合理。
当男人或者女人拥有某项特定资产，包括知识水平高、美貌超群、使人神魂颠倒的个性，或者腰缠万贯等选择人生伴侣就可以优势互补，取长补短。例如：美貌超群者常与有权有钱的纨绔子弟匹配，富裕家庭的草包常与贫穷家庭才貌双全者般配。
事实上，几乎任何夫妻都可能天长地久，和谐美满。我的邻居驻足于一个晚会，晚会上，一个将近50岁的男人罗伯特冲口而出：“如果你的女儿计划嫁给一个年轻人并且愿意作家庭主妇，你对此有什么看法？”
“除非你的女儿喜欢烹饪。”我说道“我想她是昏了头”。
“正是”，他的妻子随即高声附合。“罗伯特，你的问题真幼稚，你该洗洗脑了。这事关键在于他们两情相悦，互相爱慕而已。”
我试图安慰罗伯特，指出年轻人选中她们的女儿作为人生伴侣，原因是他们的女儿拥有他妈妈公正大方的性格。
难道世界上真有一见钟情吗？又难道没有吗？无数的男男女女们坠入爱河，人们可能会立刻发现这些情侣们有着独一无二的相似之处。最普遍可能性是同读一本书或者是同乡。同时，他们互相尊重对方并承认对方有别于已的性格特点以便弥补自己性格上的不足。
在那个度日如年的周末，我巧遇一个手握爱情魔杖的人，当时我就读康奈尔大学，是大学二年级学生，恰恰我患了重感冒，心情忐忑地与家人前往可特斯可山度假，我无奈地决定到处走走，心想总比孤孤单单的独自呆在客房里好。
当天晚上我正准备去晚餐，我的妹妹匆匆忙忙地冲上楼梯向我大喊：“只要你走进餐厅，你就会遇到你要下嫁的白马王子”。
当时我认为是妹妹“瞎胡闹”，但是事实证明我妹妹没有比这更金口玉言的了，我一看见他就赏心悦目。他也就读康奈儿大学，医学院预科生，顺便提及一下，他也患了重感冒，我与弥尔顿遂一见钟情。
弥尔顿与我同甘共苦牵手人生39年，直到他1989年离开人世。爱的洗礼历历在目，正如，里奇·弗洛姆所说的“夫妻双方感情磨擦碰撞，直至合二为一”，纵然我们俩各自不断变化、日益发展和昼夜兼程地努力践行生活的方方面面。Have you ever known a married couple that just didn't seem as though they should fit together--yet they are both happy in the marriage, and you can't figure out why?
I know of one couple: He is a burly ex-athlete who, in addition to being a successful salesman, coached Little League, was active in his Rotary Club and played golf every Saturday with friends. Meanwhile, his wife is petite, quiet and a complete homebody. She doesn't even like to go out to dinner.
What mysterious force drives us into the arms of one person, while pushing us away from another who might appear equally desirable to any unbiased observer?
Of the many factors influencing our idea of the perfect mate, one of the most telling, according to John Money, professor emeritus of medical psychology and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, is what he calls our 'lovemap'--a group of messages encoded in our brains that describes our likes and dislikes. It shows our preferences in hair and eye color, in voice, smell, body build. It also records the kind of personality that appeals to us, whether it's the warm and friendly type or the strong, silent type.
In short, we fall for and pursue those people who most clearly fit our lovemap. And this lovemap is largely determined in childhood. By age eight, the pattern for our ideal mate has already begun to float around in our brains.
When I lecture, I often ask couples in the audience what drew them to their dates or mates. Answers range from 'She's strong and independent' and 'I go for redheads' to 'I love his sense of humor' and 'That crooked smile, that's what did it.'
I believe what they say. But I also know that if I were to ask those same men and women to describe their mothers, there would be many similarities between their ideal mates and their moms. Yes, our mothers--the first real love of our lives--write a significant portion of our lovemap.
When we're little, our mother is the center of our attention, and we are the center of hers. So our mother's characteristics leave an indelible impression, and we are forever after attracted to people with her facial features, body type, personality, even sense of humor. If our mother was warm and giving, as adults we tend to be attracted to people who are warm and giving. If our mother was strong and even-tempered, we are going to be attracted to a fair-minded strength in our mates.
The mother has an additional influence on her sons: she not only gives them clues to what they will find attractive in a mate, but also affects how they feel about women in general. So if she is warm and nice, her sons are going to think that's the way women are. They will likely grow up warm and responsive lovers and also be cooperative around the house.
Conversely, a mother who has a depressive personality, and is sometimes friendly but then suddenly turns cold and rejecting, may raise a man who becomes a 'dance-away lover.' Because he's been so scared about love from his mother, he is afraid of commitment and may pull away from a girlfriend for this reason.
While the mother determines in large part what qualities attract us in a mate, it's the father--the first male in our lives--who influences how we relate to the opposite sex. Fathers have an enormous effect on their children's personalities and chances of marital happiness.
Just as mothers influence their son's general feelings toward women, fathers influence their daughter's general feelings about men. If a father lavishes praise on his daughter and demonstrates that she is a worthwhile person, she'll feel very good about herself in relation to men. But if the father is cold, critical or absent, the daughter will tend to feel she's not very lovable or attractive.
What about opposites? Are they really attracted to each other? Yes and no. In many ways we want a mirror image of ourselves. Physically attractive people, for example, are usually drawn to a partner who's equally attractive.
In addition, most of us grow up with people of similar social circumstances. We hang around with people in the same town; our friends have about the same educational backgrounds and career goals. We tend to be most comfortable with these people, and therefore we tend to link up with others whose families are often much like our own.
Robert Winch, a longtime sociology professor at Northwestern University, stated in his research that our choice of a marriage partner involves a number of social similarities. But he also maintained that we look for someone with complementary needs. A talker is attracted to someone who likes to listen, or an aggressive personality may seek out a more passive partner.
It's rather like the old, but perceptive, saying on the subject of marriage that advises future partners to make sure that the holes in one's head fit the bumps in the other's. Or, as Winch observed, it's the balancing out of sociological likenesses and psychological differences that seems to point the way for the most solid lifelong romance.
However, there are instances where people of different social backgrounds end up getting married and being extremely happy. I know of one man, a factory worker from a traditional Irish family in Chicago, who fell in love with an African-American Baptist. When they got married, their friends and relatives predicted a quick failure. But 25 years later, the marriage is still strong.
It turns out that the woman was like her mother-in-law--a loving and caring person, the type who rolls up her sleeves and volunteers to work at church or help out people in need. This is the quality that her husband fell for, and it made color and religion and any other social factors irrelevant to him.
Or as George Burns, who was Jewish and married the Irish Catholic Gracie Allen, used to say: his marriage was his favorite gig, even though it was Gracie who got all the laughs. The two of them did share certain social similarities--both grew up in the city, in large but poor families. Yet what really drew them together was evident from the first time they went on stage together. They complemented each other perfectly: he was the straight man, and she delivered the punch lines.
There are certainly such 'odd couples' who could scarcely be happier. We all know some drop-dead beautiful person married to an unusually plain wallflower. This is a trade-off some call the equity theory.
When men and women possess a particular asset, such as high intelligence, unusual beauty, a personality that makes others swoon, or a hefty bankroll that has the same effect, some decide to trade their assets for someone else's strong points. The raging beauty may trade her luster for the power and security that come with big bucks. The not-so-talented fellow from a good family may swap his pedigree for a poor but brilliantly talented mate.
Indeed, almost any combination can survive and thrive. Once, some neighbors of mine stopped by for a friendly social engagement. During the evening Robert, a man in his 50s, suddenly blurted out, 'What would you say if your daughter planned to marry someone who has a ponytail and insisted on doing the cooking?'
'Unless your daughter loves cooking,' I responded, 'I'd say she was darn lucky.'
'Exactly,' his wife agreed. 'It's really your problem, Robert--that old macho thing rearing its head again. The point is, they're in love.'
I tried to reassure Robert, pointing out that the young man their daughter had picked out seemed to be a relaxed, nonjudgmental sort of person--a trait he shared with her own mother.
Is there such a thing as love at first sight? Why not? When people become love-struck, what happens in that instant is the couple probably discovers a unique something they have in common. It could be something as mundane as they both were reading the same book or were born in the same town. At the same time they recognize some trait in the other that complements their own personality.
I happen to be one of those who was struck by the magic wand. On that fateful weekend, while I was a sophomore at Cornell University, I had a terrible cold and hesitated to join my family on vacation in the Catskill Mountains. Finally I decided anything would be better than sitting alone in my dormitory room.
That night as I was preparing to go to dinner, my sister rushed up the stairs and said, 'When you walk into that dining room, you're going to meet the man you'll marry.'
I think I said something like 'Buzz off!' But my sister couldn't have been more right. I knew it from the moment I saw him, and the memory still gives me goose flesh. He was a premed student, also at Cornell, who incidentally also had a bad cold. I fell in love with Milton the instant I met him.
Milt and I were married for 39 years, until his death in 1989. And all that time we experienced a love that Erich Fromm called a 'feeling of fusion, of oneness,' even while we both continued to change, grow and fulfill our lives.