Parental characteristics and partner choice: some evidence for Oedipal imprinting

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Do girls fall in love with an image of their father? This study tested the hypothesis that, in choosing a partner, people tend to replicate the physical and mental attributes of their opposite-sex parent more than of the same-sex parent. A sample of 314 women, mostly in their late teens and describing themselves as ''in love'', supplied details of their boyfriends and parents. A tendency for the boyfriend''s eye color to match that of the father more than of the mother was found, as well as a tendency for girls to replicate the age and dominance relationships of the parental partnership in their own relationship. These effects were very small and of marginal significance.

This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit: