gillywin, what an appropriate question for something i've been pondering a lot recently.
I think in answer to part a, people who latch onto anything really are lacking a part of themselves, self-awareness or just the confidence to be alone.
most people like this i find view being alone as lonely, rathe r than valuing and enjoying time spent on their own.
These people will usually go for the "content" (and in worst cases even less than) people. By content, I refer to people who prima facie are generally compatible, but not really their ideal mate - due to lack of things in common, different levels of awareness/intelligence....different ways of viewing things... etc etc.
Also i think that they have "meaningful" and "everlasting" r/ships is a misconception - or more so that these r/ships may well be everlasting, but in many cases shouldn't be, but are held onto as a crutch rather than a functional partnership. It is just easier for them to be with people who challenge them less, and even easier to then stay with them.
Though i don't subscribe to this point of view - i can DEFINITELY understand the motives behind it.
Part b.
The cynics who hinder I feel are constantly searching for the "happy". The happy is your ultimate partner - the person who you feel connected to, are completely compatible, but convexly, challenge you more than most other people, and indeed can be extremely difficult to form a stable f/ship or r/ship with.
I think i'd put myself in this category - as certain elements of my personality definitely hinder me from being forthcoming with telling people how i really feel about them.
I think people like me refuse to settle for second best, and though may be willing to date a "content" to learn more about others and themselves, will rarely or only temporarily entertain the fantasy that they will have a lasting commitment to this person.
These are people who are willing to go that extra bit further to make a difficult r/ship work - but unfortunately often their own cynicism and also the fact that they choose volatile r/ships can be their undoing - and they end up losing the person.
Apologies for the pop psychology - i must confess it is a bit of a fetish of mine...

hope it made sense
