Is There Really a Benefit to Being Nice to Others? Relationship Matters Podcast #21

In the 21^st installment of Sage’s Relationship Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Bjarne Holmes of Champlain College, Bonnie Le (a graduate student in Dr. Emily Impett's lab at the Univ. of Toronto) talks about the personal and interpersonal effects of having a communal orientation.

Communally oriented people care for the welfare and needs of others, and want others to care for them in return. Ms. Le explained, “In a communal orientation… we give because of need, we give because we care about the well being of other people. And so you don’t necessarily expect something in return when you’re giving help or care in a communal relationship or when you have a communal orientation, but you do expect that people will behave the same in return [eventually].”

Click to read more ...

To Self-Disclose or Not to Self-Disclose? Relationship Matters Podcast #20

In the 20^th installment of Sage’s Relationship Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Bjarne Holmes of Champlain College, Dr. Sue Sprecher (Illinois State University) and Stanislov Treger (DePaul University) talk about their work on self-disclosure during first encounters with strangers. Specifically, the researchers designed a series of experiments to determine whether people enjoy interacting with, and like, a stranger more when those people talk about themselves versus listen to the stranger do all the talking.

To test this question, Sprecher and Treger randomly assigned people to either talk to a stranger or listen to a stranger talk for 12 minutes. What did they find? Listeners, compared to talkers, were happier with the interaction, liked the stranger better, and felt closer to the stranger.

Click to read more ...

Insecure Attachment and Real vs. Perceived Threat in Relationships: Relationship Matters Podcast #19

Sage’s Relationship Matters podcast, hosted by Dr. Bjarne Holmes of Champlain College, launches the Spring 2013 season with the 19^th installment, discussing Dr. Geoff MacDonald’s (University of Toronto) recent work published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. In this episode, he tells us about how insecurely attached individuals, compared to the securely attached, perceive potential close relationships as socially threatening vs. rewarding. Although we all evaluate what we will get out of our interactions with others, anxiously attached people are more likely to perceive social interactions as threatening. “Anxious attachment seems to revolve around concerns for negative evaluation and rejection,” MacDonald notes during the podcast.

So should anxiously attached individuals fear rejection when initiating a new relationship?

Click to read more ...

"Relationship Matters": The Official Podcast Series of JSPR

We're excited to announce that we've partnered with SAGE publications to bring you "Relationship Matters", the official podcast series of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, produced by Dr. Bjarne Holmes. You can listen to the podcasts and download FREE .pdfs of the journal articles featured here.

Amy Muise + Dan Savage = Awesome

Our very own Dr. Amy Muise was interviewed by Dan Savage for his podcast, Savage Love, today. Click here to listen to the podcast (Amy is on between minutes 25 and 32). 

Read Amy's write-up about this research here.

"Conflict Avoidance": Relationship Matters Podcast #13

A new Relationship Matters (the official podcast of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships) has just been released. Dr. Tamara Afifi (Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) talks about why women find (conflict) avoidance more dissatisfying than men. Check it out here.

"Sexual Healing": Relationship Matters Podcast #12

A new Relationship Matters (the official podcast of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships) has just been released. Dr. Tsachi Ein-Dor (Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel) discusses research on how we use sex to feel better. Check it out here.

See our brief write-up of this work here.

"Personality and Marriage": Relationship Matters Podcast #11

A new Relationship Matters (the official podcast of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships) has just been released. Dr. Norm O'Rourke (of Simon Fraser University) discusses personality and marriage in heterosexual couples. Check it out here.

"Passionate Love": Relationship Matters Podcast #9

A new Relationship Matters (the official podcast of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships) has just been released. SofR's own Dr. Bjarne Holmes interviews Dr. Elaine Hatfield about her about her work on passion and sexual desire.

"Talking Sex": Relationship Matters Podcast #8

A new Relationship Matters (the official podcast of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships) has just been released. SofR's own Dr. Bjarne Holmes interviews Jennifer Montesi of Temple University about her research on sexual communication and satisfaction.

See all of our articles about sex here.

How Do I Change My Partner's Behavior?

Recently, I spoke with Dr. Nickola Overall for Relationship Matters, the official podcast series of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. The interview was about the exciting research she’s recently published that directly addresses the dos and don’ts in trying to change partner or your relationship.

Click to read more ...