Women like signs of money and education - things that indicate that not only is this guy going to have some resources, but he's also willing to share them.
Helen FisherScientists know that women gravitate to men who have a different immune system from theirs.
Helen FisherThe reason you take antidepressants is to feel calm. And romantic love is not calm -it's elation, it's mood swings, and you're killing all that when you take the drug.
Helen FisherResearch shows that couples who have a lot of similarities, including intellectual compatibility, end up staying together.
Helen FisherWomen have a better sense of smell than men do, and it's even sharper in the middle of their menstrual cycle, when estrogen levels peak and women are more likely to be deciding whether a man's attractive.
Helen FisherA lot of people have been romantically in love with somebody who they feel wasn't appropriate to marry.
Helen FisherJealousy can even be good for love. One partner may feel secretly flattered when the other is mildly jealous. And catching someone flirting with your beloved can spark the kind of lust and romance that reignites a relationship.
Helen FisherThere were real reasons that you were attracted to somebody originally. The brain doesn't pick willy-nilly. Unless you part ways hating each other for some reason, that mechanism could get triggered again. You can literally fall in love again.
Helen FisherIt certainly would have been adaptive for ancestral man to have a chubby wife during stressful times of famine. Not only would she have had more calories to burn, and thus more energy and endurance, but since fat stores estrogen, she would have remained fertile for longer.
Helen FisherHair that gleams can send a clear sign that you're young and in your prime, whatever your actual age.
Helen FisherNeither gender is routinely more jealous - although women are more willing to work to win back a lover, while men tend to flaunt their money and status and are more likely to walk out to protect their self-esteem or save face.
Helen FisherAs women in industrial societies join the paid workforce, they gain the economic means to depart unhappy marriages more easily.
Helen FisherAnthropologists have found evidence of romantic love in 170 societies. They've never found a society that did not have it.
Helen FisherAt first I assumed hate was the opposite of love. But it isn't. The opposite of love is indifference.
Helen FisherSometimes we fall in love with somebody who will probably never love us, for reasons having nothing to do with us but with their own mindset, their chemistry.
Helen FisherIn general, men are wired to notice obvious signs that convey interest in mating - a warm smile, for example - and ignore other subtleties, like if your lipstick is faded.
Helen FisherWomen are better at reading body language everywhere in the world. As a matter of fact, it's associated with the female hormone estrogen. Women are better at figuring out of tone of voice, reading your face and posture and gesture.
Helen FisherOf all the foods we share, there is nothing more primordial than meat. It's no surprise that meat-eaters still want a partner who will give, receive and share this primordial symbol of a budding partnership.
Helen FisherIf two very different people pool their DNA, they'll create more genetic variety, and their young will come to the job of parenting with a wider array of skills.
Helen FisherThere are cognitive processes and limbic reactions associated with basic emotions. And you can change brain chemistry, but you're still not going to change memories and experiences in a human being.
Helen FisherIt's almost as if men who get tribal tattoos are trying to signal that they are dangerous, they're to be respected, and they're powerful.
Helen FisherBarriers tend to intensify romance. It's called the 'Romeo and Juliet effect.' I call it 'frustration attraction.'
Helen FisherWomen have never been as interesting as they are now. Not at any time on this planet have women been so educated, so interesting, so capable.
Helen FisherTouch is the mother of the senses. Not only are women more sensitive when they touch, but they're also more sensitive to being touched.
Helen FisherThe only people you and I are likely to know in common are people in the news - politicians, journalists and celebrities.
Helen FisherYou can really get poked in the back and not feel it very much, but just a feather around your lips and you really do feel it.
Helen FisherMothers really were not built to raise babies not only by themselves, but with only a partner. For millions of years, a woman had much more than just her husband to help rear her young... This whole idea of 'it takes a village to raise a child' is exactly how we're supposed to live.
Helen FisherPeople have often asked me whether what I know about love has spoiled it for me. And I just simply say, 'Hardly.' You can know every single ingredient in a piece of chocolate cake, and then when you sit down and eat that cake, you can still feel that joy.
Helen Fisher