READING 1: FRIENDS GLOBAL: 12 SBT: UNIT 1: RELATIONSHIPS
[A] Although couples will rarely believe it, scientific factors have a lot to do with falling in love. Research has shown that scent plays an important role in choosing a mate. Other experiments have demonstrated that love is caused by combinations of chemicals in the brain. Furthermore, New York psychologist Arthur Aron applied the principles of science to demonstrate that the process of falling in love could be speeded up... to just 45 minutes!
[B] Some scientists claim that we take between ninety seconds and four minutes to decide if we fancy someone. However, the leap from being attracted to someone to falling in love with them is a big one, and Aron wanted to find out if the closeness associated with feelings of being in love could be created artificially.
[C] Aron produced a paper that included 36 questions designed to encourage intimacy if couples answered them together. The questions came in three sets with each set covering increasingly intimate ground. They covered many personal opinions and experiences; for example, 'Would you like to be famous?", 'What does friendship mean to you?" and 'When did you last cry in front of another person?" After answering the questions together, the couples were directed to stare into each other's eyes for four minutes without saying anything.
[D] Aron tested his questions on pairs of strangers and then asked them to stare at each other. All of the participants reported feeling close to their partners and many of them swapped contact details after the experiment. So if you're keen on someone and would like to get closer to them, it would seem that Aron's questions could help you to achieve your objective.
