1. Chapter 1 of STRANGERS: some people, other people

2. Some people, other people
Some people feel mutual attraction,
Other people feel mutual dislike.
Some people will make a connection,
Other people will just take a hike
Some people will get it together,
Other people will keep it apart.
Some people are right for each other,
Other people are wrong from the start.
Some people just fit well together,
Other people don’t fit well at all.
Some people make each other larger,
Other people make each other small.

3. Do opposites attract. Or do similars attract instead
Do opposites attract? Or do similars attract instead? How can we find the answer?
Aphorisms
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
“Opposites attract”
Both aphorisms can’t be unequivocally true
Is one aphorism generally true and the other generally false?
If so, which one is generally true and which one is generally false?
Or, are both of them false?

4. Do opposites attract. Or do similars attract instead
Do opposites attract? Or do similars attract instead? How can we find the answer?
Popular culture
Stories, books, plays, movies
Esau and Jacob, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Scarlett O’Hara and Melanie Hamilton, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, Harold and Maude
Henry Higgins and Eliza Dolittle, Edward Lewis and Vivian Ward
Reality television
Narcissists
Playing for the camera
Episodes editing for dramatic effect

5. Psychological research
Do opposites attract? Or do similars attract instead? How can we find the answer?
Psychological research
Hypothetical scenario studies
You can’t trust them
People tell you how they think they would act, often without knowing how they would actually act
Observational studies
Systematically mix and match participants based on some aspect of their personalities
Record their behavior in a “neutral” environment
Analyze the resulting behavioral and self-report data