You know the stereotypes.

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus.

Love is a battlefield.

And in the search for romance, there are natural winners and losers.

Young, attractive women and powerful wealthy men will always hold the upper hand.

These ideas permeate popular culture, and their proponents say that evolution itself made us this way.

And who can argue with science?

But psychologists who study close relationships have found that this view of human partnering doesn't accurately reflect what actually makes people fall in love or stay committed to their partners.

Today we're going to talk about the science of love and bonding. Are there real gender differences in what men and women are looking

for in relationships, or is that just a myth? What makes two people compatible, and is it possible

to predict which couples will make it? How have dating apps changed the landscape of love and relationships?

And if you're on the apps, how can you use them better?

Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association

that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.

I'm Kim Mills.

My guest today is Dr. Paul Eastwick, a professor of psychology at the University of California

Davis, where he leads the attraction and relationships research laboratory.

His research looks at how people form romantic relationships

and the psychological mechanisms that help romantic partners stay committed to each other.

Last year, we spoke with him and his colleague, Dr. Eli Finkel,

about their podcast, Love Factually,

which analyzes romantic comedies through the

...