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eharmony Study Shows One in Seven Brits Shows Signs of 'Romantic Fatalism'
This is according to a new social science study from the experts at eharmony, who in collaboration with a cognitive psychologist from Queen Mary University of London , explored how representations of love in popular culture have impacted modern romantic expectations and behaviours.
The researchers applied a self-efficacy questionnaire - which measured how far people believe their own actions can result in a positive outcome when seeking a relationship. Further questions measured 'romantic fatalism', the view that fate will deliver people their own Prince or Princess Charming.
The results showed that people who most strongly believe in the role of fate in romance are 18% less likely to be in a relationship than people who had a low fatalism score.
Looking in more detail at the characters people in the survey considered 'most romantically influential', protagonists from fairytales including Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and Cinderella all featured in the top ten . The three female leads are well known in popular culture and their largely passive approach to finding love could be argued to have contributed to the views of people affected by romantic fatalism.
To find out more, or for additional support and advice visit: https://www.eharmony.co.uk/dating-advice/dating/
On behalf of eharmony, in November 2017 Nelson Research recruited 2000 UK adults aged 18+, who were asked to provide detailed information on attitudes towards relationships, romance and romantic stories. These findings were then mapped against 11 individual statements that attempt to capture self-efficacy in relationship-seeking and romantic fatalism. Cognitive Psychologist, Dr. Magda Osman from Queen Mary University of London , provided additional insight to the study. Supplementary data was also collected in online interviews conducted by Opinium during December 2018 .