The Mentor and the Protégé is a romantic pattern that's about more than love for love's sake. In it, love grows out of deeper need to learn and understand other aspects of your life through the teachings of someone else.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: Love isn't the only thing you're after.

You want power, success, attention, maybe even fame. You want to be recognized, doted on, and adored for your talents. And the object of your desire is the person best suited to provide you with these things — a boss, a mentor, a teacher, or a troubled genius.

Similarly, the object of your affection can take the place of an absent parent or role model, providing security and nurturance. Whatever the reason, you're likely to feel a boost to your self-image when you're with this person.

Just as this romantic pattern overpowers you, you might wish to be overpowered by someone stronger, wiser, and more accomplished than yourself. Your romantic pattern starts out innocently enough. Did you recently take a job working for an amazing boss? Has a teacher or mentor taken a special interest in your work? Maybe a long-time family friend stopped by for a visit, and revealed a fascinating side you've never seen before. The attention this person gives you is just what you're craving. From there, it's not a huge leap to falling in love.

In "My Fair Lady" a bet to train a poor woman in the ways of high society blossoms into romance. An older gent tumbles head over heels for a much younger woman in "Gigi." When secretary Tess McGill (played by Melanie Griffith) finds out her boss has stolen her idea in the movie "Working Girl," she gets revenge not only by taking her boss's place but stealing her beau. Bridget Jones has an affair with her boss, and in "The Graduate" Benjamin Braddock is sleeping with the wife of his father's boss. Sometimes these affairs work out; sometimes they don't. But the familiarity of this classic pattern itself is what brings them to life. You undoubtedly have seen yourself in some of these entertainments.

How your romantic pattern affects you and your relationships
Falling for someone in a higher social, economic, or political position than you can also be a truly exciting adventure. While an affair with a teacher or boss usually doesn't always last forever, it can be an amazing learning experience. People who share your patterm feel an added confidence that comes from the feeling that they were appreciated in the eyes of someone they respected as an authority figure, someone wiser than they.

Someone as ambitious and independent as you isn't afraid to take some risks in love. Do you fantasize constantly about your boss, teacher, or successful mentor? Do you go out of your way to get noticed by him or her? You desire success in your career or your art, but are you also willing to get involved in a romance that isn't condoned by higher-ups? Would you hazard an affair with a married person, or give up a healthy relationship for what may only be a fling?

If you're in love with power, you will naturally be drawn to powerful people. If your main goal in life is to develop your talents, then obviously someone who can help you in that quest will have romantic appeal. Oftentimes, just being near someone who's admired can boost your own self-confidence and improve how others view you.

A relationship, romantic or otherwise, with a mentor can be inspiring. It can challenge you to push yourself harder and provide you with a rich and meaningful education. Regardless of how you choose to act on your romantic pattern, you are bound to be learning new things and moving forward during this period. Your ambition and dreams may lead to romance, but they will also take you far in life. If your romantic pattern is leading you to trouble, then recognizing it is the first step in moving away from its control. Psychologists and experts have helped thousands of people like yourself take a critical look at their romantic pattern and decide how to use it to improve their relationships or how to move on.

How to avoid common mistakes
When it comes to love, you may find that you are particularly impressionable. For that reason, it is possible that you might misinterpret desire for what a person has — power, success, fame, money — as love for that person. Check in with yourself: Is it the person you adore or what they represent? Be sure to build your confidence independently of this person to make sure you're not simply hitching a ride on their self-image. Don't become dependant.

Dating someone who is in a position of power over your life comes with inherent risks: What if the relationship goes sour and your mentor or boss turns enemy? But still, if you are honest with yourself and honest with your partner, you should be able to avoid situations that could lead to more dependent relationships than you want or deserve.

How to avoid common mistakes
When it comes to love, you may find that you are particularly impressionable. For that reason, it is possible that you might misinterpret desire for what a person has — power, success, fame, money — as love for that person. Check in with yourself: Is it the person you adore or what they represent? Be sure to build your confidence independently of this person to make sure you're not simply hitching a ride on their self-image. Don't become dependant.

Dating someone who is in a position of power over your life comes with inherent risks: What if the relationship goes sour and your mentor or boss turns enemy? But still, if you are honest with yourself and honest with your partner, you should be able to avoid situations that could lead to more dependent relationships than you want or deserve.

Writing your Own Script for Happiness

While the patterns are universal, your specific experiences within them are not. Use your romantic pattern to map out where you've been, and where you want to go. Take an honest look at your past relationships.

Want to make your self-analysis seem more real? Then write down the characteristics you share with your romantic pattern. Ask a friend who has known you through a number of relationships to help you identify parts about your pattern you don't see because they are too close to you still.

Finally, be truthful with yourself. Have the courage to face what you really want in life. But before you allow yourself to default to the aspirations you had 5 years ago, figure out if your goals have changed. When you see the patterns emerging on paper in front of you, you can make a conscious decision to continue with a given pattern, or to change direction. If you are brave enough to face your desires, and are honest enough to share those dreams with your partner, you are well on your way to something you've been waiting for your entire life — true love.

You create your own destiny. Knowing what your romantic pattern is gives you the power to embrace it or move on. And ultimately, knowing your romantic pattern will allow you to more fully enjoy the most amazing of human relationship — love.

The Other Romantic Patterns and How They Affect Us

Now you know how your romantic pattern has played out in your life. But, at some point, you may be affected by another pattern. That's because the elements of these patterns are universal and traits of one pattern are not always so far from the characteristics of another.

As circumstances surrounding your relationships change, you may start to see shades of the other patterns bleed into your life. With that in mind, here they are, ranked in order of how influential they currently are to you. Once you understand them, you can recognize their hold on you, and make a conscious decision to stick with them, or break away.

Love Conquers All
At its core, the romantic pattern called Love Conquers All, is romantic, triumphant, and full of courage to face yourself with honesty.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: A tug of war between the desire for the love of your life, and a fear of commitment.

You may also find that challenges come from family and society — even yourself. Do loved ones disapprove of your partner, raise concerns you hadn't previously cared that much about?

Turning points may also stem from previous obligations at work, or in promises you've made to others. Do you reschedule or delay plans with your partner because you feel the need to honor responsibilities at the office? Do you prioritize taking care of a friend in need over the needs of your mate?

Ambition to be loyal to loved ones, move ahead at work, improve your home, see the world — these are all good things. But sometimes, they take precedence over your love life — whether you are conscious of it or not.

You scored an 8 on the Love Conquers All story:

Romantic Rescue
Love is all-powerful in the Romantic Rescue pattern. It is the catalyst for change within yourself as well as the means through which you discover if your partner is who you want and need them to be.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: A desire to save your partner from his own self-destruction, or the desire to be saved by someone for the same reason.

Some people adopt the hero role in this pattern — nursing an ailing partner back to health, saving them from a string of previously destructive relationships, maybe even saving them from a physical danger. Others cast themselves as those in need of rescue — relying on their partners to swoop in and save them from whatever ill-fate's been visited upon them, either real or imagined.

You scored an 8 on the Romantic Rescue story:

Second Chances
The Second Chances pattern is rooted in nostalgia — whether you're longing for the ex you haven't seen in a year, or are reminiscing about the crush you never connected with 10 years ago.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: A longing to recapture someone or something that can reconnect you to a time in your life when love was a larger focus.

Whether you do it consciously or not, most people who migrate towards the Second Chances pattern either want to revise a past decision, confront someone they couldn't at the time, or revert back to a specific point in time.

You scored a 7 on the Second Chances story:

Establishing Independence
The Establishing Independence pattern that grips you begins with desire — not only for someone different, but for exciting life changes as well.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: You are looking for a shift in the types of people you pursue and how you define yourself relative to other people.

These transformations can come in the package of another person — perhaps a soul mate — but more likely someone you've selected because they're different from the people or partners you are accustomed to.

You scored a 7 on the Establishing Independence story:

Loving Too Much
The Loving Too Much pattern stems from your overflowing love and hope. However, it can be muddied by misguided feelings, expectations and sometimes, an unrequited desire.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: You're most attracted to people who are usually just out of reach.

These people are all the more alluring for it — like those early crushes on teen idols. The less available your partner is, both emotionally and physically, the more desirable they become.

You daydream, and your imagination fills in the details that reality hasn't provided. Do you ever seek out indirect contact with this person, visiting his workplace or getting to know his friends? Do you find yourself dreaming about marriage after a second date, or perhaps after a quick affair?

You scored a 7 on the Loving Too Much story:

Rags to Riches
Cinderella is the archetype of your Rags to Riches pattern, a story that's been retold throughout history in books, movies, poems, and songs. For you, love is more important than expectations, stereotypes and what other people think is good for you. Ah, the American Dream of self-determination. It's the stuff from which true fairytales are made.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: Feeling the need to get your due.

Have you or your partner been discriminated against? Have people done their best to keep you apart? People with the strength of character to pursue their loves despite obstacles and adversity often find themselves in this pattern.

You scored a 5 on the Rags to Riches story:

Love vs. Honor
Love vs. Honor is the most dramatic pattern of all — defined by an innate tug of war between what you want to do and what you think you should do.

But, here's the recurring pattern you may see in your relationships: There is something coming between you and love.

Perhaps it's a religious conviction, a previous commitment, family, patriotic duty, or deep belief that good things only come at a terrible price.

You tend to put others' needs before your own. Romance is not your number one priority, though in the back of your mind you are holding out for a soul mate.

You scored a 4 on the Love vs. Honor story:

History of The Test

Why This Test?
Throughout the history of our site, users have written to thank us for helping them — helping them understand aspects of their personalities they previously had been unable to pinpoint. And as they took more and more of our tests, they came to understand more and more about themselves and how they relate to others.

When we thought about how else we could help people, we wanted to find a subject that was universal — a subject that intrigues everyone. What we came up with was the latest test to arm you with a knowledge that you can put to immediate use in your life, and more specifically, your love life.

Stories about love are universal throughout the world. The general ideas and motivations behind all the romantic patterns you'll find in different cultures in different countries echo the 8 themes you'll see in this test.

How is this possible? How do we know this? For years, researchers across various disciplines have been tracing the subject of recurring life themes, stories, and roles. Take for example, anthropologist Joseph Campbell. His book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" traces the theme and role of "Hero." What he found was that whether you are studying the myths from the African savannah, the European forests, the Asian mountains, or the American cities, there is one hero archetype. This character is a constant in what he represents, in the stories he plays out.

Love is a Universal Theme
Another great, cross-cultural theme is that of love. It is constant, as is how it plays out in people's lives. Want to know about how you love? What your relationships say about you? How you find yourself in relationships at all? Then take a look around you. Though specific details about how you met someone, what they're like, and what you're like together are unique, there are 8 main themes that help explain some of the overarching elements of any romantic relationship.

Have you ever identified with a friend who's embarked on a relationship similar to one you've experienced? Do you wonder why you identify so strongly with the heroines in some movies or books over others? That's probably because no matter where you come from, no matter what your background, your relationships, current and past, can be mapped to the same 8 themes of love that have ruled people since the beginning of time. They're stories you can see in the Bible, you can see in history, and you can see all around you played out by friends, families and yourself.

By recognizing the elements of the story, placing your specific details into the template, you can better understand your own romantic pattern, and can determine whether it is a good pattern for you to pursue at any point in time. After looking at research, looking at available sources on the topic, and thinking a lot about relationship issues, we created this test for you.

Love does indeed, make the world go 'round. And your romantic pattern is more universal than you think.

What Love Does to Us
The human being is the most rational creature on the planet. It is our ability to reason that raises us to the highest level of the animal kingdom. The human in love, however, is a different beast altogether, existing somewhere between a guppy and a wood tick in terms of rational thoughts.

Whether it's locking your keys in your car, singing in public or talking to yourself in the mirror, we all agree that love makes man and womankind do some pretty unusual things. Unfortunately it can also cause us to act against our best interest, something we intelligent creatures are not used to doing. Staying in a relationship passed our welcome, getting into relationships with the wrong people, we've experienced that at one point or another.

So, if love does cause a kind of short circuit in our ability to reason, how can we enjoy the thrilling free fall of an affair without crash landing in enemy territory? There must be a way to bridge the gap between our wildest desires and our better interests.

Love on the Brain
Most of us like to keep the division of labor well defined when it comes to the internal workings of love. The heart handles emotional matters while the brain is responsible for remembering his phone number and keeping your tongue in line when he sits down next to you. But let's get realistic; the heart is really just a feisty little muscle that pumps blood. It's the brain that runs the show.

The Alligator, the Gorilla and the Computer
Since the early 1950's, scientists studying the human brain have theorized that there may be more than one command center in our heads. These experts believe that the brain found in modern man's cranium is really three brains in one.

The most primitive part of our brain resembles that of a reptile, controlling all the basic functions of the body — heartbeat, breathing pattern, survival instincts, etc. The next lobe of the brain is called the limbic region found only in mammals. It is here that the pain and pleasure centers live. The limbic region controls how we feel, our current moods and "emotional memory." Finally, the neo-cortex, or rational mind, comprises the third lobe of the brain. Unique to humans, the neo-cortex processes all the signals from our five senses — smell, sight, taste, touch and sound. It also is in charge of our reasoning and opinions much like a super-computer crunches numbers.

Why Love Trumps Reason
No information can reach the rational part of your brain without first passing through the limbic region. Therefore this passion center of the brain has the power to control rational thought and color it with emotional hues when confronted with extreme situations like love or danger.

What people refer to as love at first sight or the excitement of a new relationship is really the release of hormones and endorphins triggered by the limbic region of the brain without permission of the neo-cortex. It is an emotional hijacking of the rational brain and it feels strange, wonderful and crazy all at once.

What's Love Got to Do With It?
Even though all this science makes the book of love seem as pre-scripted as a color-by-numbers book, it doesn't have to take all the fun out of falling in love. Physiology and neurology do their part to explain behavioral patterns that have existed since Adam asked Eve, "hey, come here often?" Recognizing the patterns won't turn your love life into a cliché. Instead, it points out clues about your own body and mind.

Think of Emode's Romantic Pattern test as a bridge between the logical neo-cortex and the emotional limbic region of the brain. The more you understand where your own experience fits into the eight basic romantic patterns, the sooner your logical brain can lend a hand to one of the most illogical and absolutely amazing aspects of life: love.