Method and system for identifying people who are likely to have a successful relationship

A method, performed by a computer, for operating a matching service, said method comprising:

• obtaining first survey data from people in currently existing personal relationships, said first survey data being responsive to inquiries into matters that are relevant to personal relationships with other people;
• using the first survey data to determine a set of one or more factors associated with predicting satisfaction in a personal relationship, including determining for each of the set of factors a corresponding function of one or more variables;
• maintaining a database of match candidates;
• gathering second survey data from a user candidate, said second survey data being responsive to inquiries into matters that are relevant to the formation of personal relationships with other people;
• and
• automatically identifying, based at least upon said set of factors and said second survey data, at least one of said match candidates for a personal relationship with said user candidate.

A method, performed by a computer, for operating a matching service, said method comprising:

• processing first survey data from people in currently existing personal relationships to identify a set of one or more factors associated with predicting satisfaction in a personal relationship, including determining for each of the set of factors a corresponding function of one or more variables;
• gathering second survey data from a user candidate, said second survey data being responsive to inquiries into matters that are relevant to the formation of personal relationships with other people;
• and
• automatically estimating, in response to the set of one or more factors and said second survey data, personal relationship satisfaction between said user candidate and one or more match candidates.

A system for operating a matching service, comprising:

• a database configured to maintain match candidates;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• obtain first survey data from non-candidate survey participants, said first survey data being responsive to inquiries into matters that are relevant to personal relationships with other people;
• use the first survey data to determine a set of one or more factors associated with predicting satisfaction in a personal relationship, including determining for each of the set of factors a corresponding function of one or more variables;
• gather second survey data from a user candidate, said second survey data being responsive to inquiries into matters that are relevant to the formation of personal relationships with other people;
• and
• automatically identifying, based at least upon said set of factors and said second survey data, at least one of said match candidates for a personal relationship with said user candidate.

A system for selecting matches for a user, comprising:

• a database configured to store:
• information associated with one or more people who are potential matches;
• and
• information associated with personal relationships obtained from one or more survey participants, including at least one survey participant who is not one of the people who are potential matches and who is not a user being matched;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• using the information obtained from the one or more survey participants to determine a set of one or more factors associated with predicting satisfaction in a personal relationship, including determining for each of the set of factors a corresponding function of one or more variables;
• and
• automatically selecting matches, if any, for a personal relationship with the user being matched from the people who are potential matches based at least in part on the set of factors.