Stress. It Does a Marriage Good.

Couples who report larger amounts of stress outside their marriages also tend to report less satisfaction within their marriages. You have probably heard the classic “joke” about a person being mad at the boss, but she can’t yell at her boss, so she goes home and yells at her husband, who, in turn, yells at their son, who then kicks the dog, who wonders what it did wrong. Perhaps not a very funny joke (or not funny at all), but it does illustrate a phenomenon that researchers call stress spillover: when stress from outside the marriage causes problems inside the marriage.

Click to read more ...

Facebook and Your Relationships - Take Stock

image source: takeadvantageoffacebook.comFacebook has finally gone public. Unless you're sitting on a stack of their stock, you'll never see a dime from it. But thanks to ScienceOfRelationships.com, at least you can be rich in knowledge about relationships. Here's a recap of some of our favorite articles about Facebook. 

1. Does the Green Eyed Monster have a Facebook Profile?
2. Read This Before Your Next Facebook Post
3. Does Facebook Cause Divorce and Infidelity?
4. How Does Social Media Influence Relationships?: The Morning Show Discussion
5. Get Your Facebook Profile Ready for Valentine’s Day
6. Are You Facebook "Official"?
7. I’m Watching You on Facebook: Attachment and Partner Surveillance

Is Watching The Bachelorette Bad for Your Relationship?

“Here for the right reasons”

“Last chance at love”

“Sent home broken-hearted”

If you recognize these phrases, you, like me, are guilty of watching The Bachelorette. Recently, one of our readers was curious about how pop culture influences relationships. The current season of The Bachelorette provides a great case study to answer this question. Is watching relationship “reality” TV like The Bachelorette bad for your real life relationships?

Click to read more ...

When Stress Hits, Call Your Mother. Don’t Text, Talk to Her. Really.

Happy Mother's Day!

You’ve had a crappy day. Maybe your boss yelled at you, you forgot to pay the mortgage, or you lost your keys. When life stresses you out, sometimes you need your momma. After all, how many times have you heard your mom say how nice it is to hear your voice? But recent research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that it may be you that benefits from hearing your mother’s voice.

Click to see more ...

One Tough Mutha: Lactation Facilitates Moms’ Aggressive Behavior

Happy Mother's Day!

If there’s one thing I learned from the old Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, it’s that mothers don’t look too kindly on people messing around with their babies. Across many non-human species, lactating moms’ maternal aggression has been well-documented. The general thinking is that because most young mammals are particularly vulnerable during the developmental period that coincides with lactation, nursing moms are capable of uncharacteristic levels of aggression if that’s what it takes to protect their youngins’. Interestingly, there’s been very little research to determine whether human moms are more likely to go all “Wild Kingdom” when lactating. Until now.

Click to read more ...

Who Says "I Love You" First in a Relationship?

image source: wideeyedandwild.comSocietal gender norms suggest that women should be most concerned with declarations of love, especially during the early, uncertain phase of relationships. After all, who are all those romantic comedies and chick flick movies marketed toward? But recent research demonstrates that in fact, it’s the men who are more likely to say “I love you” first in relationships. Not only that, but hearing “I love you” from a romantic partner for the first time makes men even happier than it makes women. And although this may not jive with gender stereotypes, it makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary perspective.

Click to read more...

Summer Lovin' or Summer Leavin'? Two Ways to Predict Break-up

Editor's note: Those of us who teach, or are students, at universities in the United States are counting the days until summer starts. So we figured this would be a good opportunity to dip into the vault and revisit this post by Dr. Gary Lewandowski on predicting breakup...

Summer is here…the beach, the pool, the mountains, picnics, fireworks, sitting around reading trashy novels, or perhaps just a little rest and relaxation. You might also consider adding a little summer romance to that list. Now, if you're already in a relationship, this might pose some problems, but hear me out. Whether you and your partner are graduating and heading off to different colleges, or just have different summer vacation plans, the summer may be a good time to take a break. Blasphemy! Well, maybe you would never consider it…but would your partner?

Click to read more ...

The Benefits of Vacation for Your Sex Life

If you are thinking about whether you should take a vacation this summer, you should consider the possible benefits of a vacation for your relationship. A recent article from CNN Health points out the benefits of vacation for your sex and love life.

One thing researchers know about sex is that context matters. Think “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas.” A vacation provides a break from work or school, a chance to relax and let loose, and the opportunity to explore a new part of the world...but does a vacation also bring more opportunities for sex?

Click here to read more ...

Q&A: Friends with Benefits?

A reader asked:

Where does science of relationships stand on the whole friends with benefits thing? Do you see it as more of a risk as opposed to a normal commited relationship?

Great question; this is something that a lot of people are interested in. Here are some of our past articles related to friends with benefits:

• Sex in Friendships, Friendship After Sex
• Friends with Benefits: Are They as Complicated in Real Life as They are in the Movies?
• Jersey Shore: Snooki and Vinny = "Friends with Benefits"
• Are You a Booty Call or a Friend with Benefits?
• From Friends to Lovers

From toothpastefordinner.com.

You Read it Here First: Women's Scarcity, Men's Spending

image source: smartsayingsfortoday.wordpress.comUSA Today just ran a story about the empirical finding that men tend to spend more and are increasingly willing to take on debt as women become scarce. Although we're glad to see this cool research making its way into the mainstream, the egoists in us would like to point out that we wrote about this research five months ago :-)

Click here to read our article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #1

We wrap up 2011 with one of our most popular articles to date. The top spot for our 2011 Editors' Choice Award series goes to Dr. Amy Muise, who reminds us that making a little noise is a good way to celebrate. Happy New Year Everybody!

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #2

Coming in at #2 is Dr. Justin Lehmiller's response to an SofR reader in which he helps her understand why she, now as an adult, finds herself attracted to women.

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #3

SofR's Samantha Joel reiterates one of the cardinal rules for those seeking a healthy relationship: Don't follow The Rules.

Click here to see the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #4

#4 in our 2011 Editors' Choice Award series goes to Dr. Gary Lewandowski for his research-based analysis of Coach Taylor and Tami's marriage from Friday Night Lights. "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" -- May do as much for your relationship as it does for one Texas High School football team.

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #5

#5 in our Editors' Choice series goes to Dr. Charlotte Markey for her candid discussion of when, how, and why you should talk to your kids about sex. 

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #6

What do mermaids have to do with attraction? Dr. Dylan Selterman explains in his review of classic research on the mere exposure effect.

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #7

Lucky #7 is a piece by Dr. Benjamin Le in which he investigates the bind many women find themselves in when they have to balance their scientific careers with their romantic relationships.

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #8

#8 goes to Dr. Brent Mattingly, who explores how food, sex, and impulse control are intimately related. Maybe that's why you saw mommy kissing Santa Claus. 

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #9

#9 in our 2011 Editors' Choice series goes to Dr. Tim Loving for his article on how parenthood affects couples' relationships.

Click here to read the article...

2011 Editors' Choice Awards: #10

To celebrate the end of the year and to highlight some of the excellent articles our contributors have written over the last 10 months (since we launched in February, more than 330,000 page views ago), we're re-running ten of the most popular articles of the year. Have a great holiday season!

The first 2011 Editors' Choice award goes to Dr. Sadie Leder for her article about love between your favorite sexy vampires.

Click here to read the article...