E19: Dr. Helen Fisher, The Science Behind Romantic Love

Dr. Helen Fisher, Biological Anthropologist, is Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute and Chief Science Advisor to Match.com. She uses brain scanning (fMRI) to study the neural systems associated with the sex drive, romantic love, attachment, rejection, love addiction and long-term partnership happiness. She has written six books on lust, romance and attachment now sold in 25 countries— among them: Why We Love; Why Him, Why Her?; and Anatomy of Love (2nd Ed). She also studies courtship trends in the digital age, using a representative sample of 50,000 single Americans to examine hooking up, friends with benefits, video chatting and why today’s dating patterns may lead to decades of relative family stability—due to a trend she calls “slow love.” Using data collected from her biologically-based questionnaire, the Fisher Temperament Inventory, now taken by 15+ million people in 40 countries, she is also studying the biological basis of personality and is a pioneer in examining the neurochemistry of team-building, innovation and leadership to explain how people of different biological styles of thinking are predisposed to work, buy, innovate and lead. Fisher appears regularly on national and international TV, radio, print and podcasts. She is a TED All-Star with over 12 million views of her TED talks; a recipient of the American Anthropological Association’s Distinguished Service Award for her work at presenting anthropological data to the public; and was chosen in 2015 by Business Insider as one of “The Fifteen Most Amazing Women in Science.” Follow Dr. Helen Fisher on her website at HelenFisher.com Follow the My Fame Explained podcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.