Researchers from the University of Padua in Italy explored romantic compatibility by identifying 24 key factors that people consider when forming intimate relationships. The study findings appeared in the magazine Personality and Individual Differences. The researchers observed that individuals most often notice similarities in daily life, shared beliefs, and moral principles as the core elements of compatibility.
Across genders, men tended to place greater importance on emotional alignment and shared activities, while women focused more on a partner’s lifestyle, viewpoints, moral outlook, physical appearance, and empathic capacity. The authors suggest this pattern reflects traditional roles, where women have historically invested more in child rearing and thus become more discerning when selecting partners.
The researchers caution that most prior work highlights traits considered desirable in a mate, yet compatibility tends to be overlooked. They emphasize that the topic is nuanced: people may feel compatible not only through similarity across several traits but also when complementary differences exist in others. This complexity makes compatibility a richer, multidimensional construct than often assumed.
About 300 participants took part in the investigation, which filtered the 24 proposed points to reveal the most significant drivers of compatibility for the group. Among these were lifestyle alignment, shared opinions on meaningful issues, humor, origin, occupation, social status, personal values, and living environment. Overall, the participants preferred partners who shared their lifestyle, the issues they care about, and their moral stance. They showed relatively less concern for factors such as education level, religious affiliation, or intellectual prowess.
Ultimately, the study’s main takeaway is that people generally feel greater compatibility with partners who resemble them across many traits. In contrast, during shorter, casual relationships, appearance and intelligence tended to dominate participants’ concerns. This underscores how the sense of fit can shift with relationship intent and duration, highlighting the multifaceted nature of romantic attraction.