14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers have long been trying to come up with a “recipe” for true love, one that would guarantee that a marriage lasts a lifetime. Despite all their efforts, the conclusion has seemingly been that, no matter how they tried, no one could predict whether a marriage would pass the test of time or not. Now, a breakthrough study reveals exactly the contrary: there is a simple mathematical formula that can accurately predict the chances of survival of a marriage.
A team of British and US mathematicians have taken 700 newlyweds and, by analyzing their behaviors, have come up with the model that predicts whether a marriage can last or not. The model is 94% accurate, researchers say, and consists of devising five types of couples, some stable and some unstable, of which only one can guarantee that a pair reach old age together.
The testing consisted in taking each couple of newlyweds and presenting them with topics for discussion, which were likely to lead to an argument, such as money, in-laws and love-life issues. Their talk and reactions were filmed with hidden cameras, and then researchers analyzed the footage and comprised a graph. For the next 12 years, scientists monitored all the couples and noted which ones ended in divorce and which not. The conclusion, though, was just one: the mathematical model with which they had come up worked wonderfully in the majority of cases.
“If both partners are what we call validators – that is they are calm in discussions, have shared experiences and have shared attitudes – their marriage is stable.” Professor James Murray of Oxford University explains, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “What astonished me was that a discussion, sometimes highly charged and emotional, could so easily and usefully be encapsulated in what is actually a simple mathematical model of a couple’s interaction.” the Professor adds.
As opposed to newlyweds who were ranked as validators, avoiders and volatiles were unlikely to enjoy a happy marriage until “death do [them] part.” “Another surprising result was that marriages can be classified into only five general types, some of which are stable and others not. In fact some couples might as well get divorced right away.” the Professor further explains about the odds of these types of couples.