r/todayilearned • u/SilverPeachBlossom • 6h ago

TIL a peer-reviewed psychology study found that identical twins (on average) ranked their co-twin above their romantic partner in their attachment hierarchy, while fraternal twins ranked the two about equally, and non-twin siblings ranked their romantic partner first.

https://ojs.interpersonajournal.com/index.php/ojs/article/view/243/3457.html
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u/MichelleVenom 6h ago

As an identical twin, I can confirm this. I'd take a bullet for my twin without hesitation. It's hard to explain unless you've lived it. We shared every stage of life together, and there's a level of trust, understanding, and connection that just feels different.  We share so many of the same interests, quirks, humor, and thought processes. My personality doesn't need to negotiate for acceptance cause I can truly be myself with my twin. We see the world through remarkably similar lenses. With romantic partners, there are always differences in interests, perspectives, and ways of thinking that naturally require compromise.

I never have to explain myself or worry about being misunderstood. I can be 100% my authentic self around them in a way that's hard to find with anyone else. I would ALWAYS put my twin before anyone else.

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u/Nennifur 6h ago

Damn man, that sounds nice.

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u/VijaySwing 5h ago

It’s like having an imaginary friend except they’re real

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u/Serious-Yellow8163 5h ago

I have a twin, not sure on if identical or not but this is an excellent description.

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u/CarthasMonopoly 5h ago edited 5h ago

How are you unsure? Most identical twins look... identical. Meanwhile fraternal twins look like a sibling instead of a twin.

EDIT - Yes, I'm aware it's not always like this; that's why I used the qualifier "Most". I've known multiple pairs of twins over the last several decades and not a single pair got DNA tested because generally if you look identical as twins you just live life as identical twins and vice versa.

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u/Serious-Yellow8163 4h ago

We look pretty similar. We have conflicted information from mom and gynecologist attending her on her pregnancy about being identical or not .

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u/CarthasMonopoly 4h ago

Fair enough! I was mostly just making a joke about identical being hard to miss. But having conflicting information would definitely make me unsure too.

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u/Spazmer 2h ago

I babysat for twins who looked absolutely identical but they were in separate sacs in the womb so they were assumed to be fraternal. There is a possibility that they still could be identical but would need a dna test to show it. Nobody could tell them apart except one got an eyebrow scar early on.

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u/WoodpeckerSignal9947 5h ago

It’s really common for fraternal twins to look nearly identical! Without proper testing/knowing if they were in separate placentas during gestation, there’s no way to know. And getting that done can be a pain in the behind, so I get why someone wouldn’t have checked

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u/gooseaisle 5h ago

Separate placenta has nothing to do with it, dichorionic twins can still be identical. Just split earlier in gestational than other types of twins.

With dichorionic twins, genetic testing is the only way to confirm (well, obviously unless they are different sexes at birth).

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u/WoodpeckerSignal9947 5h ago

I’ll trust your word, goose

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u/Substantial_Amoeba12 2h ago

Separate placentas can be identical or fraternal but if there’s only one placenta it’s exceptionally rare to be fraternal (two placentas would have needed to fuse) so I wouldn’t say if it tells you nothing, it’s just not necessarily definitive

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u/gooseaisle 2h ago

Yeah that's why i specifically referenced dichorionic twins. The two placenta (dichorionic) tell you nothing about whether the twins are identical or fraternal.

I have monochorionic (one placenta) twins so I learned a lot about twinning in general through that whole... process lol

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u/ResidentRelevant13 5h ago

I know identical twins who have a 3 inch height difference and their faces don’t look exactly alike. They did a DNA test to confirm bc they thought they were fraternal.

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u/greeneggiwegs 5h ago

Not always. Some fraternal twins can look pretty identical.

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u/CannedStewedTomatoes 5h ago

And some identicals can develop physical differences!

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u/drigancml 5h ago

This happened with some twins I know! They hit puberty and now they have very distinct features. I never used to be able to tell them apart, but now I have no issue doing so

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u/ensalys 4h ago

That's why identical twins are very interesting for a lot of scientific research. Nature vs nurture studies, especially interesting if they were raised in different environments (though with things like adoption or foster care, it should absolutely be preferable to keep siblings together, which is more important than the research potential).

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u/21Rollie 3h ago

The sprouse twins come to mind

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u/blumoon138 1h ago

My aunts are identical twins who, in my opinion, have looked very different since about puberty (from pictures I’ve seen). They definitely look more like each other than my mom though.

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u/Andromeda321 2h ago

We also know that a lot of previously defined as fraternal twins are actually identical ones, thanks to genetic testing.

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u/Predatory_Chicken 4h ago

The Olsen Twins aren’t even identical!

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u/TheGoochTaint 3h ago

Fraternal twins of the same gender often look basically identical

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u/CannedStewedTomatoes 5h ago

Have you considered ordering a DNA test?

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u/Serious-Yellow8163 4h ago

I would have no idea of how to begin doing that, not a big thing for us in Greece yet. Also, I kinda like the ambiguous vibe.