Online Talks: How to Choose a Partner

Dr Glenn Wilson is one of Britain’s best known psychologists, specialising in personality, social attitudes and sexual behaviour. He was previously Visiting Professor at Gresham College, London and Adjunct Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. He was a pioneer of evolutionary approaches to human mating and dating behaviour, attracting some hostility when this was unfashionable in the 1970s. In 1983, he introduced the 2D/4D finger ratio as a marker of prenatal testosterone, research on which has burgeoned in recent years. Together with colleagues in the UK and Russia, he has shown how brain activity relates to personality and can be used to identify sexual preferences. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and makes frequent TV appearances in news and documentary programmes.

How to choose a partner: The Science of Matchmaking

How do we pick our partner? And what are the mistakes we often make? Dr Glenn Wilson, dubbed “the father of modern compatibility testing” (James Houran, Online Dating Magazine) describes how couples usually get together and why some are doomed to failure.

Immediate attraction is usually obvious but other factors are more important in determining whether a coupling will be happy and long-lasting. The popular idea that “opposites attract” is true only in a limited way. Similarity is the more valid principle; people gravitate towards, and are happier with, those who are like themselves in certain important ways, physical, emotional and psychological.

Dr Wilson describes the development of the Compatibility Quotient (CQ), which is published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. This has application for many purposes, such as computer dating, prenuptial counselling, choosing a housemate, or assessing one’s prospects with a potential partner. Advice is given as to where this test can be obtained for personal or professional use.