The love and emotional life and our propensity to start relationships as a couple has to do with many elements: the number of people we usually deal with on a daily basis, our social skills, our interests, etc.
However, there are indications that show that, in addition to the aspects of our personality that are part of us due to the experiences we have lived and the learning we have done, genetics also influence
Of course, some of these genetic aspects have to do with our appearance and the way we fit into certain standards of beauty. But our chances of being in a relationship can also be affected by genes through another way: psychologically.
The gene that regulates the beginning of relationships
Although our health and the appearance of our body influences the degree to which we are predisposed to having a partner, there are aspects of personality greatly influenced by our genes that also play a role.
It is clear that it is always problematic and confusing to study how genetics influence our behavior, but it is increasingly likely that more will be known about the detailed ways in which our DNA predisposes us to find a partner. In fact, a study carried out in 2014 provided some clues about this link related to the world of love and couples
Serotonin and love
There are several hormones produced by the human body that have been associated with the establishment of bonds of affection and love. Serotonin, which also acts as a neurotransmitter in our nervous system, is one of these types of substances.
Specifically, it has been seen that An increase in serotonin levels enhances the appearance of sexual desire and actions that express affection (such as looking into each other’s eyes for a long time, caressing or hugging). In addition, it reduces aggressiveness levels.
The genetics behind love
A group of researchers from Peking and Henan universities investigated how the genes behind the mechanisms that serotonin uses to influence our behavior may play a role in our chances of having a partner.
Specifically, they studied the effects that different variants (alleles) of the 5-HT1A gene which when expressed causes the receptors that serotonin uses to trigger processes in organs and neurons to be built in one way or another.
Conducting the research
To carry out the study, the researchers recruited a series of more than 500 students, from whom they took hair samples.
From these DNA samples, they saw that, indeed, the fact that each of these people had one 5-HT1A variant or another had a relationship with their romantic situation.
People carrying an allele of the gene that was called G produced less serotonin than those who had the variant called C. That meant that, if what was known about serotonin was true, people who had the G allele would have less chance of having a partner.
Was this reflected in the sentimental situation of the volunteers? Indeed, around 50% of people with the C allele had a partner, while this only occurred with 39% of carriers of the G allele
A temperamental personality
Furthermore, people carrying the G variant were more prone to neuroticism and sudden mood swings in general and they felt less comfortable in intimate situations or with a partner, compared to people with the C allele. In addition, they were also more likely to develop depression.
This inclination towards emotional instability can make it more difficult to maintain relationships or that they do not even start because of the problems that are urgent at the beginning.
Genetics is not everything
Of course, genetics is not everything, although it does play a role. That means that having one or another type of DNA does not make a person predestined to have a partner or to be single; Learning remains a crucial aspect.
Although theory-based debates often treat learning and genetics as if they were different things, in reality they always work together: where there is learning there are genes, and where there is learning there are genes, and In psychology, these genes are expressed through actions that arise, in part, due to learning past
In the case at hand, for example, people with the G allele may be more predisposed to being single not because their DNA prevents them from forming a relationship but because through learning they see that potential partners tend not to fit their personality, which makes them learn not to seek satisfaction by searching for a partner at all costs.
In that sense, not having a partner is a decision that genes influence, but it is not an inevitable destiny; It is simply the result of a balance of costs and benefits.
