All of us fall in love, but how many of us can actually predict whether a relationship will last or fail? Find out how to recognize love by asking the right people the right question.
Holding hands, patting each other appreciatively, heavy duty eye contact, they’re all signs of true love.
But do you know how to recognize love? Can you really recognize a couple who are in love with each other accurately?
Recognizing love
According to a study in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, it all depends on whether you’re in love yourself.
Single people can assess whether a couple is into each other most accurately. On the other hand, people who are already in love are the worst judges and have the worst romance radar!
The recognition test
Couples who were totally in love, and not-so-emotionally involved couples were filmed, and were shown to volunteers, both attached and those in love.
These volunteers observed the behavior and rated their level of attachment. In terms of knowing how to recognize love, single people hit the nail on the head twice as often as people in relationships, who often mistook casual couples’ affectionate body language like snuggling, a hand on the knee and intense eye contact as a sign that these two were smitten when they just weren’t.
Couples are so clueless in pinpointing who is head over heels, because they project their own upbeat attitude about love onto others. On the other hand, people who are not romantically involved are more cautious and more dispassionate about their judgments. [Read: How to know if you are in love]
So the next time you’re wondering “Are we meant for each other?” about your own budding romance, steer clear of your starry-eyed attached friends and ask your single pals what they think. [Read: Love at first sight – The real truth]
Whether they say this person’s The One or just for fun, they may well save you plenty of time trying to figure it out on your own.
After all, if you want to know how to recognize love, just ask a few single friends and you’ll know the truth!
