Scientists are genuinely divided on this question.

What's still open

What the evidence found 3 findings
Based on 15 sources:
Pew Research Center blog View
PsyPost news View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Psychology and Mental Science Facebook Group blog View
International Journal of Psychology peer-reviewed View
Living with Limerence blog View
Facebook post blog View
Gottman Institute institutional View
PMC - NIH peer-reviewed View
Quizlet study materials unknown View
Brunel University thesis institutional View
Medium blog blog View
PMC/NCBI peer-reviewed View
Core Factors institutional View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
Based on 14 sources:
PMC article on spousal similarity in outlook on life peer-reviewed View
PsyPost article on similarity in romantic couples news View
ResearchGate study on effects of similarity peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate publication on Homophily in Anonymous Online Community peer-reviewed View
Journal publication on friendship networks and racial homophily peer-reviewed View
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General peer-reviewed View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
Loyola University Chicago Dissertation institutional View
ScienceDirect peer-reviewed View
Human Rights Watch institutional View
Quora blog View
Human Rights Watch institutional View
PMC/NIH publication peer-reviewed View
APA Bulletin peer-reviewed View
Based on 11 sources:
PMC Article peer-reviewed View
Psychology Today blog View
PMC Article peer-reviewed View
PMC peer-reviewed View
PMC peer-reviewed View
PMC peer-reviewed View
PMC peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences peer-reviewed View
Frontiers in Psychology peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
What research hasn't answered 3 gaps
PMC article on spousal similarity in outlook on life peer-reviewed View
PsyPost article on similarity in romantic couples news View
ResearchGate study on effects of similarity peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate publication on Homophily in Anonymous Online Community peer-reviewed View
Journal publication on friendship networks and racial homophily peer-reviewed View
Sources 18 findings
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
National Survey of Families and Households argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
argumentation Unknown
argumentation Unknown
argumentation Unknown
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Generated by reaso.ai's editorial pipeline: claim restated, scientific consensus classified via 3-run majority vote, 18 findings enriched with attribution and study type, narrative written in neutral voice. No individual researcher has signed off on this specific analysis — see methodology for how the pipeline works. Built with Claude Sonnet by Anthropic. Updated April 16, 2026. How we do this →

Written by AI. Sources are linked for verification.