You see them often
In a 1950 study of Westgate, a student housing project at MIT, Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter and Kurt Back found that residents mostly became friends with the people who lived closest to them or whose doors they passed. Psychologists call this the propinquity effect and usually explain it with the mere-exposure effect: the more often we meet someone, the more we tend to like them.
In a 1992 classroom study, four women of similar appearance attended a lecture course 0, 5, 10 or 15 times. At the end of the term, students rated the women they had seen more often as more familiar and more attractive. The effect depends on the encounters being pleasant; repeated bad experiences push the other way.
You feel alike
Shared attitudes, values and interests are among the most consistent predictors of attraction. One twist matters: in a speed-dating study published in 2013, it was perceived similarity, not actual similarity, that predicted who felt drawn to whom after a short face-to-face meeting. Feeling understood seems to count for more than ticking the same boxes. Over time, a study of dating couples linked similar core values to stronger commitment.
You open up to each other, in turns
In 1997 the psychologist Arthur Aron and colleagues paired strangers and had them ask each other 36 questions over 45 minutes, starting light (“What would constitute a ‘perfect’ day for you?”) and growing steadily more personal. These pairs reported a bigger increase in closeness than pairs who asked each other 36 small-talk questions, whether or not they shared core beliefs.
A later study found that taking turns, rather than one person answering everything first, increased liking. The list became widely known as “the 36 questions to fall in love”, although the study measured closeness, not romance.
Kindness counts more than you might think
David Buss’s survey of more than 10,000 people in 37 cultures, published in 1989, is best known for the differences it found between what men and women want. Its quieter result is the more useful one: in every sample, both sexes ranked a kind and understanding partner, and an intelligent one, above good looks and earning power. Both sexes also wanted someone exciting, healthy and dependable.
Excitement can spill over
In a famous 1974 experiment, Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron had a woman approach men either right after they crossed the swaying Capilano Suspension Bridge in Canada or after they had time to rest. More of the men approached in the anxious moment called her afterwards. The usual explanation is misattribution of arousal: a racing heart from fear or exertion gets read as attraction.
A 1981 study added a caveat. Being stirred up made an attractive person seem more attractive, but an unattractive one less so. A thrilling date amplifies a spark rather than creating one.
And then there is your own pull
All of the above describes averages. What actually gets you first is personal: for one person it is being made to laugh, for another steady devotion, a deep conversation, quiet confidence, ambition or a sense of adventure.
Those are the six qualities the What Makes You Fall quiz ranks. Twelve everyday scenarios score each of them, so instead of a single label you get an order: what pulls you in first, what comes next and what matters least. It is a free self-reflection quiz for fun, not a psychological assessment.