Shared talking styles herald new and lasting romance
In dating game, conversationally aligned players often pair up
By Bruce Bower
A subtle, surprisingly mundane type of banter lies at the heart of romance. Love’s flames get fanned when a man and woman similarly employ words such as I, it, but and under in everyday conversations, a new study suggests.
Conversation partners’ related use of function words — such as pronouns, articles, conjunctions, prepositions and negations — augurs well for mutual romantic interest and stable relationships, says a team led by graduate student Molly Ireland and psychologist James Pennebaker, both of the University of Texas at Austin.