Mechanics over narratives

When assessing someone's romantic history, countable facts — number of partners, lengths of relationships, how partners were met — give more reliable information than people's retrospective explanations. Narratives are easy to spin, while mechanics are harder to fake and often better correlate with future relationship stability. — Shifting public and research attention toward measurable relationship mechanics would improve reporting, social-science design, and reduce reliance on contested personal narratives in debates about marriage and family policy.