Also, this is noteworthy:
Why Him? Why Her? explains the hormonal forces that trigger humans to be romantically attracted to some people and not to others (a phenomenon also documented in the animal world). Fisher posits that each of us gets dosed in the womb with different levels of hormones that impel us toward one of four basic personality types:
The Explorer—the libidinous, creative adventurer who acts “on the spur of the moment.” Operative neurochemical: dopamine.
The Builder—the much calmer person who has “traditional values.” The Builder also “would rather have loyal friends than interesting friends,” enjoys routines, and places a high priority on taking care of his or her possessions. Operative neurotransmitter: serotonin.
The Director—the “analytical and logical” thinker who enjoys a good argument. The Director wants to discover all the features of his or her new camera or computer. Operative hormone: testosterone.
The Negotiator—the touchy-feely communicator who imagines “both wonderful and horrible things happening” to him- or herself. Operative hormone: estrogen, then oxytocin.
Fisher reviewed personality data from 39,913 members of Chemistry.com. Explorers made up 26 percent of the sample, Builders 28.6 percent, Directors 16.3 percent, Negotiators 29.1 percent. While Explorers tend to be attracted to Explorers, and Builders tend to be attracted to Builders, Directors are attracted to Negotiators, and vice versa.
(but, I also am guilty of believing marriage is forever, love can last forever, and all that Disney stuff. so congrats to Jess & Eric!~ teehee)
My barber today-- Italian 71 year old-- was telling me he rarely eats out because he loves cooking and washing dishes with his wife. That every night he learns more about her as they eat at home, even at his age. So, yeah, pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteSlate's gabfest discusses this article as their third topic this week (29th minute in).
I always think about reading the Atlantic but never do-- it's so good.
You gonna be that barber in 45 years, Eric? :):)
ReplyDeleteI feel like this division of personality types (by the way, I don't quite understand the Negotiator one) is like astrology- in reality, most people fall in between these categories, not completely in one or the other. After this one, I read another article in the Atlantic about marriage, and it made the point that people make the mistake of assuming they know someone completely after a couple decades of marriage. I bet that Bob the Builder husband has more to him than just cooking, cycling, and building things. People are not the sum of their hobbies.
I think what intrigued me about the personality types was the link to the level of a dominant hormone while in the womb.
ReplyDeleteI read a sex evolution book that noted that homosexuals had high levels of testosterone while in the womb at a certain point in the pregnancy.
It is of interest to me to see more studies similar to these.