Top 10 Articles About Weddings and Marriage

Wedding season is just around the corner, so you might want to check out the wedding announcements section at the Onion and read up on our favorite wedding- and marriage-related articles:

1. From Bride to Blues: Examining the Prevalence of Post-Nuptial Depression
2. Bridesmaids and the Changing Role of the Bachelorette Party
3. Got “Cold Feet”? Watch Out for Marital Woes Ahead
4. For Better or Worse…In Marriage, Men May Get More of the Better
5. I Do, or Do Not, Take Your Name in Marriage
6. Our Stuff: Household Objects Indicate Relationship Quality
7. The Top 20 Most Desired Personality Traits in a Future Spouse
8. Wanna Make You Feel Wanted: Husbands’ Sensitive Support Predicts Relationship Outcomes
9. Who Has the Busier Bedroom: Single People or Married Couples?
10. Sustainable Marriage Quiz

10 Things that TV and Movies Teach Us about Relationships

My mom used to say that watching TV would “rot your brain.” While I think she was probably right (fun fact: moms are always right), on occasion TV and movies can teach us a thing or two about our relationships. Here are ten relationship lessons that the writers at ScienceofRelationships.com have culled from TV shows and movies like Twilight, Mad Men, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory and many others:

1. Expose Yourself, Get Liked

In this case, “expose” means that you should be in close proximity so that the person sees you and can interact with you (so please keep your pants on). On How I Met Your Mother, Barney describes this idea in his “Mermaid Theory.” Read more here.

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Beyond Sex Organs: 11 Meaningful Facts about Single People

In a previous post, I critiqued the recently-released report of the “Singles in America” survey. The report is the third annual attempt of Match.com to perpetuate the myth that what single people care about, more than anything else, is becoming unsingle. The company pretends to don the mantle of science, and gets lots of media attention, so it is important to take the report apart claim by claim, rather than just dismissing it out of hand.

The Huffington Post took the press release from Match.com and turned it into a slide show with the title, 10 things you didn’t know about single people. The 10 things included such topics as sexting, sex, more sex, snooping in a partner’s Facebook or email account, hiding things online, dating, and more dating.

Real single people live bigger, more interesting, and more meaningful lives than those very circumscribed topics would suggest. So here, in tribute to the real lives of single people, are 10 meaningful things you might want to know about them.

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30 Things You Should Know About Sex (2012 Edition)

Was 2012 a sexy year for you? It sure was here at ScienceOfRelationships.com. Here are the highlights of our "Year in Sex":

1. Supersize Me: Does Penis Size Matter to Women?
2. Getting Her There: When Are Women Most Likely To Have Orgasms?
3. The Ins and Outs of Sexual Frequency
4. Breaking It Off: Sex-Positive Shops and the Women’s Sex Toy Revolution
5. Is Masturbation Bad For Your Health and Your Relationship?
6. Monkey See, Monkey Do (and by “Do” We Mean “Have Sex”)

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: Recap

Thanks to all of our fans, readers, and contributors for making 2012 a banner year at ScienceOfRelationships.com. We have some outstanding new articles coming in the new year, but here's one last chance to see our "best of" 2012:

1. The More the Merrier?
2. Note to Gotye: It's Probably Better that She Cut You Off
3. Sex in Friendships, Friendship After Sex
4. Let's Talk About Sex...During Sex
5. The Dependency Paradox
6. Body and Mind: How Seemingly Unrelated Physical Experiences Affect Our Relationships
7. Four Signs that Don Draper is Avoidantly Attached
8. Could You Be Loved, and Give Love? Cultural Differences in Pursuing a Partner
9. Bringing Home More Than Just the Bacon: When Work Life Collides with Home Life
10. Now or Later? The Ideal Age to Say “I Do”
11. The Seasons for Sex
12. Breaking Up Bad: The Best and Worst Ways to Break Up
13. How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Show You the Ways
14. Your Partner and You: One Shared Brain
15. Note to Parents of Adolescent Kids: Stay Out if You Want "In"
16. When Are Pick Up Lines Most Effective?
17. How to Make “Couple Friends” (and Why You Should)
18. Evidence to Support a Valid Online Dating Matching Algorithm: My Wish List
19. Pheromone Parties: The Sweet Smell of a Future Partner
20. So Many Fish in the (Online) Sea: Is All This Choice a Good Thing?

2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #1

With the launch of her column Adventures in Dating: Memoirs of a Single Mom this year, Dr. Jennifer Harman has let readers take a peek in her heart, and bedroom, as she chronicles through a scientific lens her return to the dating world. We've been introduced to men such as The Consultant, Mr. Metal Mouth, The Question Mark, Mr. Scuba Man, and The Cheapskate, and learned new terms like Insanimus Guano and Premature Sextaculation. All in all, it's been a fun and educational year. But our favorite from Adventures in Dating... is when Dr. Harman was challenged to reflect on her feelings about polyamory.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #2

Maybe the only thing more popular than ScienceOfRelationship.com over the last couple of years has been Gotye's catchy song (and video) "Somebody That I Used To Know." And although he exclaims to his lost love "that you didn't need to cut me off," Dr. Sadie Leder explains that it's probably better that she did.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #3

The third spot on the 2012 Editors' Choice Awards goes to Drs. Laura Vanderdrift and Justin Lehmiller, for their answer to a reader's question about how to navigate a "friends with benefits" relationship. What happens once sex invades a friendship, and what do people ultimately want to happen after hooking up with a friend? See what science has to say...

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #4

We know you like to talk about sex, and the only thing better than talking about sex is talking about sex while you have sex. In one of our most popular articles of the year, Dr. Amy Muise explores how communication in the heat of the moment is related to sexual satisfaction.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #5

"I love you so much and never want to be apart." "I love you but could use a little space." These quotations reflect two opposite, but common, reactions people have to relationship partners. Such sentiments demonstrate how people both need to connect with others while simultaneously maintaining independence. But how do we balance these opposing needs? Dr. Dylan Selterman explains this "dependency paradox" from the perspective of attachment theory.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #6

Relationships are complicated. So it seems ridiculous to think that sitting in an unsteady chair, moving in the same direciton as someone, or drinking a hot beverage could influence your relationships. Well, think again. Read this article by Dr. Brent Mattingly in which he discusses how psychological research on embodiment explains how subtle experiences can have a real influence on your relationships.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #7

It's the holiday season, and that means Don Draper is on the prowl. In our #7 article of 2012, Samantha Joel explores how our favorite advertising exectutive's childhood experiences shaped his attachment style and became the root of many of his "bad" behaviors. So pour yourself a Manhattan (or a Vodka gimlet) and delve into the life of Don Draper.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #8

With all of her travels, Dr. Michelle Kaufman has become our globetrotting international correspondent, stamping her passport while writing about Korea, Tanzania, Thailand, and Ethiopa in the past year. Have you ever wondered how other cultures' relationships compare to your own? Click below to find out. 

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #9

Going to work sucks. It is bad enough that you have to put up with your inept boss and annoying coworkers, but what happens to your relationship when work follows you home? Dr. Helen Lee Lin explains how bringing that negativity home from the office with you can harm your relationship.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #10

In the United States, people have been waiting until they are older to tie the knot. With each passing year, perhaps you are wondering: Is there an ideal age to get married? Sonia Ip has the answer.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #11

'Tis the season for sex? Yep. Drs. Patrick and Charlotte Markey explain that winter and summer are the peak seasons for sexual desire, at least according to Google. So stop searching for porn and click below to read this article. PS: It is currrently winter or summer (depending on your current hemisphere) so after reading this article, go do your part for science. 

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #12

Unfortunately, not all relationships stand the test of time. If your relationship needs to end, you should figure out the best way to close it out. Rather than guess your way through it, take the pressure off by letting science and John Sakaluk plan your exit strategy.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #13

With the holiday season upon us, how are you showing your partner some love? As you may expect, men and women show love in different ways. Let Elizabeth Schoenfeld count the ways as she discusses the evidence from the kitchen and the bedroom.

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #14

How is your relationship partner like Google? Stan Treger describes the cognitive strategies couples use as they become closer and rely on their "shared brain."

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2012 Editors' Choice Awards: #15

Where's the line between showing interest in your teenagers' lives versus invading their privacy? Dr. Tim Loving reports on a new study that suggests that the more you pry, the more they hide.

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