By Emily Murray

The question every partner-less person dreads is “why are you single?” As a society we tend to agree that those who are the most physically attractive and have great careers are the first to be taken off the market. This can be very discouraging for those who feel they don’t measure up to the standards of their peers. According to a new study however, attraction isn’t as shallow as most of us thought.

The research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin discovered through a serious of three studies that what makes someone a good candidate for a mate actually changes the longer someone knows them.

In the first study, participants were asked to rate people they had never met before on how desirable they would be as a partner. Results were similar across the board and were pretty predictable. Those who fit the standard for attractiveness were generally ranked about the rest.

In the second study, participants ranked people they personally knew for about three months and then a third rating those they had known for a minimum of three years. In these two studies, results were spread across the board since personalities and experiences were weighed in to the rating. No longer did the results have a trend like physical attractiveness for example. While we have all heard the saying “beauty is skin deep,” results like these prove that not everyone who is classically perceived as good looking with be viewed as a catch one personality weighs in.

While nearly all were in agreement about who was desirable as a partner by ranking strangers, the rating of those familiar to them prove that everyone is attracted to unique qualities. For those who are impatiently waiting for the love of their life to appear, some peace of mind can be gained by scientific research that proved there really IS someone out there for everyone!