36 Questions that will make you fall in love

At last the secret to falling in love has been revealed. Well, at least according to the recently popularised results of a 1997 study on what makes us fall for our partners. 

The premise is simple. Asking 36 well chosen questions will lead to increased vulnerability, closeness and falling in love. 

The questions could provide inspiration for date conversation

In 1997, a psychologist named Doctor Arthur Aron devised an experiment that he thought could make any couple fall in love. He provided 71 pairs of strangers with a set of probing questions. He called it The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness.

The questions varied in intensity, from, "what would be your perfect day?" to the somewhat darker, "do you have a hunch about how you will die?". Doctor Aron speculated that having asked one another the questions, and then stared into each another's eyes for four consecutive minutes, the couple would not be able to help falling head over heels in love. 

Dr Aron's research was so successful that six months after the experiment two of the couples went on to get married. He belived that his experiment had finally proved that 'reciprocal self-disclosure' was just as important, if not more so, as common interests, joint expectations and chemistry. 

But perhaps what the experiment really shows, is the importance of communication. Talking through the big things and laughing at the smaller ones. Here's how one set of strangers got on with the experiment. 

 

Set one

1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want as a dinner guest?

2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

3. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

4. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?

5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

7. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

8. Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.

9. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

10. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

11. Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.

12. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

 

Set two

13. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

14. Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?

15. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

16. What do you value most in a friendship?

17. What is your most treasured memory?

18. What is your most terrible memory?

19. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?

20. What does friendship mean to you?

21. What roles do love and affection play in your life?

22. Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of five items.

23. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s?

24. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?

 

Set three

25. Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling..."

26. Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone I could share... with"

27. If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.

28. Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met.

29. Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.

30. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?

31. Tell your partner something that you like about them already.

32. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?

33. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?

34. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?

35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?

36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.

 

Why not try out these questions yourself with Reader's Digest Dating?