Evolutionary psychology may explain why magical thinking is so central to love.
In our current age of science, many people see supernatural forces as illusions rooted in wishful thinking. However, love remains a profound exception to humanity’s trend toward rationality.
People are used to seeing romantic love presented as a force cosmically bound to one’s destiny, as it is on the reality show “The Bachelor.” It’s an idea that is at the same time laughable and uncannily relatable for anyone who has been in love and felt their pairing compellingly “meant to be.” Our research suggests that these magical notions of fated love and unique soulmates are very common and deeply felt.
As psychology researchers curious about why human beings think, feel, and behave in the ways they do, we ask a fundamental question: Why does love feel magical? We hope that answering this question might shed some light on the quandaries that have long plagued people in love. Should you blindly trust your heart to lead you to happiness, despite the chaos that’s as much a part of love as bliss is? Or should you instead skeptically regard the tendency to magical thinking about love, striving for rationality in the search for a fulfilling relationship?
Source: SciTechDaily
Published in Evolution, Psychology, Science, The Conversation, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara
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