[Women] tend to collect more pieces of data when they think, put them into more complex patterns, see more options and outcomes. They tend to be contextual, holistic thinkers.
Helen FisherRead
What our grandmothers told us about playing hard to get is true. The whole point of the game is to impress and capture. It's not about honesty. Many men and women, when they're playing the courtship game, deceive so they can win. Novelty, excitement and danger drive up dopamine in the brain. And both sexes brag.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the deceptive nature of courtship, where individuals often use tactics rather than honesty to attract others.
In this quote, Helen Fisher observes that traditional advice about 'playing hard to get' holds true in modern courtship practices. She suggests that many individuals engage in deceptive behaviors during courtship, valuing novelty and excitement over honesty. The interplay of these dynamics can elevate the thrill of attraction, albeit at the cost of authenticity. As people strive to impress each other, the stakes often involve exaggeration and manipulation in the pursuit of winning someone's affection.
Themes
CourtshipDeceptionRelationshipsLoveGamesExcitementHonesty
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about dating strategies, one might say: 'As Helen Fisher suggests, sometimes we play hard to get.'
More from Helen Fisher
All quotes →People live for love. They kill for love. They die for love. They have songs, poems, novels, sculptures, paintings, myths, legends. It's one of the most powerful brain systems on Earth for both great joy and great sorrow.
Helen FisherRead
Your sweetheart calls you by another's name. His eyes linger too long on your best friend. He talks with excitement about a girl at work. And the fire catches. Jealousy - that sickening combination of possessiveness, suspicion, rage, and humiliation - can overtake your mind and threaten your very core as you contemplate your rival.
Helen FisherRead
Any kind of novelty or excitement drives up dopamine in the brain, and dopamine is associated with romantic love.
Helen FisherRead
Most of us make up our minds in the first three minutes of meeting someone whether there's a potential for a relationship.
Helen FisherRead
People 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 FisherRead
Similar quotes
True empathy is always free of any evaluative or diagnostic quality. This comes across to the recipient with some surprise. "If I am not being judged, perhaps I am not so evil or abnormal as I have thought".
Carl RogersRead
So what’s wrong if there happens to be one guy in the world who enjoys trying to understand you?
Haruki MurakamiRead
What editors are obliged to appear to say that men want from women is actually what their advertisers want from women.
Naomi WolfRead
Dating is pressure and tension. What is a date, really, but a job interview that lasts all night?
Jerry SeinfeldRead
What interests me is why men think of women as witches. It's because they're so fascinating and exasperating, so other.
John UpdikeRead
If the other person injures you, you may forget the injury; but if you injure him you will always remember.
Khalil GibranRead