Once a year, Western culture acknowledges the day of the groundhog. A tradition remaining from the pioneer days of our young country, the Pennsylvania Dutch lore correlates clear skies and the arrival of springtime, to the emergence of a certain special marmot. Groundhog Day an annual, cyclical event. Year after year, decade after decade, the groundhog ascends and descends.

We have all fallen into the trap of “groundhog dating” more times than we would like to admit. It is a formidable risk to be open to changes in our habits when it comes to seeking partnership, we can often become tied into our own cyclical patterns of dating the same type.

Much like this fabled groundhog, humans have a way of getting stuck in cycles for years, waiting for the skies to clear. Modern-day dating can be a finicky and confusing mess. It is not uncommon then, to find ourselves ending up in the same type of date, with the same type of person, dealing with the same bag of issues.

How do we navigate the maze that is dating, and ascend towards better dates instead of descending into our old habitual dating patterns?

The strategy to ungluing ourselves from the unhealthy “types” that we hold on to so tightly, is actually to cut right to the chase by being honest with yourself about what type of person will bring the best out of you, and discover for yourself, with the assistance of your genotype, who your most compatible match truly is.

One of the most extensively researched topics of genetics concerns the relation between a person’s genetic makeup, and their attraction predictability. The major histocompatibility complex, called HLA in humans, is also a crucial genetic piece of information of the immune system (a.k.a. your attraction genes). In fact, this factor of immunologic compatibility is what animals primarily depend on to discern who their most compatible mate is.

It’s time to tap into your animal instincts.

In short, genetics has such an influence in how we differentiate between the ones who we want and the ones who we do not, that it is actually genetically hardwired into us on a subconscious level. Psychology Today published an article titled Why We Want Who We Want, analyzing the reasons behind what drives both men and women’s match preferences, and why. Dr. Madeleine Fugere, author of The Social Psychology of Attraction and Romantic Relationships, and a professor of psychology at Eastern Connecticut State University, debunked a previously popular misconception about physical attractiveness, and compatibility. “In reality, you only have to be moderately attractive to be attractive to most of the population,” Fugere revealed. While attractiveness may be an important factor of evolution, and certainly one that can up your chances of eventually mating, the concept that you must be of above average attractiveness in order to find a suitable mate is only a reflection of modern society’s bias, and not at all the biological truth of this complex process.

Next time you’re beating yourself in front of the mirror, remember this!

Why then, in spite of this evidence do we take to the Snapchat filter on days that we are feeling particularly under the weather? Have you noticed the picture perfect selfies while surfing through your timeline? Typically these selfies are captioned with witty quotes to complete the image of an above-average persona. Someone with whom you feel absolutely no bond or relation because they are just that; a picture-perfect persona on the screen of your phone, unattainable.

Real human connection is hard to beat, there is nothing so equally satisfying as finding another human who also enjoys spontaneously breaking out into song mid-car-ride, a person who is not afraid to express their true selves, on and off-screen. Your attraction genes will reveal to you who is your good match on a cellular level, but it is up to you in your conquest for love to understand your groundhog dating patterns that keep you in the cold. Let me ask you…

…are your choices more often based more on romantic myths rather than pragmatic possibilities?

Opposites attract is a saying that doesn’t sound sensible until you’re talking about your HLA genes, also called the “attraction gene” keeps up with the demands of our immune system. Our immune system wants to be paired with an immune system that has what ours lacks, and vice-versa.  It’s fecundity time folks, this compatibility in your immune systems has been linked to a higher success rate for pregnancy in women, meaning the better your “match” is on Pheramor, the fewer problems you and your potential forever date will experience with conceiving (and you will rarely be sick at the same time!).

What does this mean? #LoveIsAScience

Your chances for groundhog dating reduces if you get off your cellular and get into your cellular. DNA powered dating offers a clear foundation that cuts through the unfinished business from our relationships with our parents or former partners that shape the behavior we have towards dating, love, and the true intimacy that bonds humans.

Fall for DNA and download Pheramor today!

Sources:

1. Citation: Scientific Reports, “Influence of HLA on Human Partnership and Sexual Satisfaction” J. Kromer, T. Hummel, D. Pietrowski, A. S. Giani, J. Sauter, G. Ehninger, A. H. Schmidt & I. Croy. Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 32550 (2016).
2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201707/why-we-want-who-we-want
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0162309588900258
4. https://psycnet.apa.org/search/display?id=55b4c9e9-c067-3990-3626-85f44420663f&recordId=10&tab=PA&page=1&display=25&sort=PublicationYearMSSort%20desc,AuthorSort%20asc&sr=1