Love at First Sight Isn’t Real! It’s Just LUST, According to Experts

We often hear about “love at first sight” in love songs and romantic movies. But do we really believe that it’s possible to fall in love with someone after just seeing him or her for the first time?

While most people are divided about this subject, experts actually have conducted a research about it and according to them, love at first sight is – surprise, surprise – NOT real.

In a study published in the Journal of the International Association for Relationship Research, “love at first sight,” or “LAFS” is described as almost always merely “a strong initial attraction.” In short, the feeling is only tied to physical attraction – or lust.

The researchers followed “a series of 500 dating encounters from 200 participants” and polled them about their “different feelings of attraction to their respective romantic partner for each encounter,” according to a Readers Digest report.

The participants, the article said, were composed of heterosexual Dutch and German students in their mid-20s and the research was made of three parts – an online survey, a laboratory study, and 3 dating encounters that lasted at least 90 minutes each.

RD further tells us:

“After the dating encounters, the participants were asked if they felt something like LAFS during the date and to what degree they found their counterpart physically attractive (eros). The ‘love components’ that were measured were ‘intimacy,’ ‘commitment’ and ‘passion.’

“Of all the encounters, LAFS was reported 49 total times by just 32 participants. And the vast majority of the time LAFS was reported, key love components, specifically commitment and intimacy, were missing from the romantic pairing. However, in almost every case of LAFS, the participant’s feelings of physical attraction to their counterpart was noticeably spiked.”

Interestingly, the study was composed of 60% women but most of those who said they experienced LAFS were the men. And in most instances, LAFS was “not reciprocated,” specified RD.