Relationships Information and Tips

79 couples were studied & rated for responses to various kinds of positive & negative information. Responses were coded as enthusiastic or passive, & destructive or constructive. Enthusiastic & constructive responses were not only found to be the best overall, but had greater impact for the lovely of the relationship than the best responses to negative information. The best your partner can do [whey you are upset] is bring you back to an average state not-upset state, said UCLA psychology professor Shelly Gable, the study's lead researcher. Positive events offer a lot more opportunity for growth in a relationship because there is a lot less on the line in terms of stress & self-esteem.

How a mate responds to positive events may have more to do to deepen marital ties than how one responds to negative news, according to research reported in The Monitor on Psychology (Jan. 2007). To put it another way, enthusiastic support to lovely news by one spouse led to higher relationship satisfaction than did compassionate responses to bad news.