Today's title was borrowed from a recent post in ScienceDaily.com. And, according to them and some recent research from Northwestern University and Texas A&M University, the answer is NO.
You probably don't really know what you want in a partner. No one does.
"People have ideas about the abstract qualities they're looking for in a romantic partner," said Eastwick, assistant professor of psychology at Texas A&M University and lead author of the study. "But once you actually meet somebody face to face, those ideal preferences for traits tend to be quite flexible."
The idea is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, said Finkel, associate professor of psychology at Northwestern University and co-author of the study.
"People are not simply the average of their traits," he said. "Knowing that somebody is persistent, ambitious and sexy does not tell you what that person is actually like. It doesn't make sense for us to search for partners that way."
So, to recap, don't be surprised if the person you eventually meet and fall madly in love with doesn't resemble your preconcieved notions of who might make up your ideal mate. Something to think about before your next first date.
