There is more than one pathway to romance, but relationship science does not reflect this reality. Our research reveals that relationship initiation studies published in popular journals (Study 1) and cited in popular textbooks (Study 2) overwhelmingly focus on romance that sparks between strangers and largely overlook romance that develops between friends. This limited focus might be justified if friends-first initiation was rare or undesirable, but our research reveals the opposite. In a meta-analysis of seven samples of university students and crowdsourced adults (Study 3; N = 1,897), two thirds reported friends-first initiation, and friends-first initiation was the preferred method of initiation among university students (Study 4). These studies affirm that friends-first initiation is a prevalent and preferred method of romantic relationship initiation that has been overlooked by relationship science. We discuss possible reasons for this oversight and consider the implications for dominant theories of relationship initiation.

通往浪漫的途径不止一条，但关系科学并不能反映这一现实。我们的研究表明，在流行期刊上发表的关系启动研究（研究 1）和在流行教科书中引用的关系启动研究（研究 2）绝大多数都集中在陌生人之间引发的浪漫，而在很大程度上忽略了朋友之间发展的浪漫。如果朋友优先的启蒙很少或不受欢迎，这种有限的关注可能是合理的，但我们的研究表明相反。在对七个大学生和众包成年人样本的荟萃分析中（研究 3；N= 1,897），三分之二的人报告朋友优先启蒙，而朋友优先启蒙是大学生首选的启蒙方法（研究 4）。这些研究证实，以朋友为先的启蒙是一种流行且首选的恋爱关系启蒙方法，但已被关系科学所忽视。我们讨论了这种疏忽的可能原因，并考虑了对关系启动的主导理论的影响。