Pacific Standard May-June 2013 Cover

Who’s Happier on Valentine’s Day? The Single or the Hitched?

February 14, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
(PHOTO: OLARU RADIAN-ALEXANDRU/SHUTTERSTOCK)

It’s Valentine’s Day, which means you’re either nibbling on a chocolate truffle—nothing says “I love you” and “I forgot to make us dinner reservations” like a Godiva gift box—or spooning Ben and Jerry’s straight from the carton. And chances are, you wouldn’t have it any other way. Coupled? You wish your friends would hurry up and find Mr. Right, already. (After all, they’re not getting any younger.) Single? You don’t see a diamond ring—you see an iron ball and chain. “We often become evangelists for our own lifestyles,” writes a trio of psychologists in a ... Read More

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Contemplating Crushes: A Scholarly Look at Love

February 13, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
(PHOTO: MMX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

You’re The One That I Want The idea that opposites attract is a long-time movie standby: Just think of Danny and Sandy from Grease (well, at least before she bought leather pants and got a perm). Sadly, this may be misleading to romantic hopefuls. A study published in Personality and Individual Differences reveals that similarities in personality may help predict longevity in relationships. Close to 5,000 couples were tracked over a five-year period, their personalities assessed at the beginning and end of this time. The results revealed that initial evidence of personality congruence ... Read More

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Marry You? Let Me Consult My Brain Scan

February 12, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
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As Valentine’s Day approaches, some who find themselves in the ecstasy of a new romance will find their joy tempered by a nagging thought: “But will our love last?” Recently published research suggests that, when it comes to predicting persistent passion, the best crystal ball may turn out to be a brain scan. In the journal Neuroscience Letters, a research team led by Stony Brook University psychologist Xiaomeng Xu provides “preliminary evidence that neural responses in the early stages of romantic love can predict relationship stability and quality up to 40 months ... Read More

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A Labor of Love, or Love Via Labor?

February 12, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment

Pride Do you find yourself showing off that recently constructed wardrobe? Maybe the shelves don’t line up and you would never place the vase holding grandmother’s ashes on one of them, but you built it with your own two hands and love it like people love their ugly dogs. If this rings true, you might exemplify the “Ikea Effect”—the idea that labor itself leads to love. NPR’s Shankar Vedantam reported this week on work by researchers from Harvard, the University of California, San Diego, and Duke who examined why, when people assembled IKEA products, their DIY attempts gave ... Read More

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Men: Want More Sex? Don’t Do the Laundry!

February 12, 2013 • By • Leave a Comment
(PHOTO: GUALTIERO BOFFI/SHUTTERSTOCK)

When it comes to sex, don’t believe everything you read on the Web. As we discussed earlier, the myth of “sexercise” persists online despite physicians’ assessment that rolling in the sheets is hardly an efficient way to burn calories. Now, a trio of sociologists, writing in American Sociological Review, takes on the notion that men who do more housework lead healthier sex lives, a bit of pop wisdom that went viral in 2009 thanks to the CBSNews.com article, “Men: Want More Sex? Do the Laundry!” In fact, the authors argue, that write-up was based in part on an unpublished ... Read More

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Oxytocin Levels Predict Longevity of Love Affairs

February 13, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
Oxytocin Levels Predict Longevity of Love Affairs

There’s nothing like the bliss of a new romance. And yet, many experiencing such rapture find it disrupted by a nagging question: How do we know our love will last? Newly published research suggests a possible answer: Get your oxytocin levels checked. A team of researchers led by Ruth Feldman of the Gonda Brain Sciences Center of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University have just published a study examining the role oxytocin, commonly called the “cuddle hormone,” plays in the early stages of romantic relationships. While differentiating cause and effect is tricky, the researchers find a ... Read More

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Valentine Presents Cause Anxiety at the Gift Counter

February 12, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment

Have you bought that special someone a Valentine's Day gift yet? If so, was the process of picking out a present joyful, or stressful? If you chose the latter, you are far from alone. According to newly published research, "at least half of the population perceives gifting their romantic partners as more of an obligation, and less of a pleasure." Writing in the Journal of Business Research, Hieu Nguyen of California State University, Long Beach, and James Munch of Wright State University describe the psychological factors that underlie this discomfort, and they provide provocative advice ... Read More

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Valentine’s Day in the Lab

February 12, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment

Could Valentine's Day, a holiday meant to celebrate romantic relationships, somehow bring about their untimely end? A 2004 study at Arizona State suggests the answer is yes: Researchers found that Cupid's arrow may actually shoot down some not-so-strong relationships. Katherine A. Morse and Steven L. Neuberg surveyed students about their relationships one week before and one week after Valentine's Day. They found that couples were more likely to break up during the holiday period than those surveyed at different times in the year. "Valentine's Day facilitates the downward trajectory from ... Read More

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