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The Dinner Date

The Dinner Date - The Anatomy of Love Assuming that the initial courtship ritual is successful, potential lovers will likely move on to the next step, the dinner date. Food has been a major element in romance since the dawn of human existence. At one time, men needed to demonstrate that they were avid hunters and providers in order to attract a mate…. Read more »

How Means-Goals Relations Analysis Could Improve Your Relationship

means-goals to improve your relationship Means-goals relations analysis is a method of looking at relationships based on how well the partners help each other to achieve their life goals. Each person is the means to the other’s goals. Relationships are analyzed according to goals theory, which basically states that: • means are assessed according to their instrumentality in reaching goals… Read more »

Romantic Love, a Universal Trait

Romantic Love Romance plays out in innumerable different ways. There is no “right” way to fall in love or to proceed with a relationship. Some people have many different partners. Some marriages are arranged. Some people are workaholics who find love an inconvenience or distraction, and some prioritize finding love above all other parts of life. Regardless… Read more »

Love Maps

Love Maps Your choice of romantic partner might seem mind-boggling to your friends, and could even catch you by surprise. After all, as the old saying goes, “the heart wants what the heart wants.” However, it turns out that what the heart wants tends to follow what is known as your love map. This is an unconscious… Read more »

Falling in Love

Falling in Love Romantic love is as ancient as time itself, and it has long been considered the province of philosophers and poets. After all, it causes waves of euphoria and torment that seem to come crashing down at the slightest provocation, defying all reason or logic. It tends to manifest just at the moment we aren’t looking… Read more »

Technology Hasn’t Changed Love.

Helen Fisher’s Ted Summit talk “Technology Hasn’t Changed Love. Here’s Why.” (recorded June 2016 in Banff, Canada) discusses how, even though we have developed new ways to court each other using technology, the fundamental priciples of love remain the same. Helen discusses how our faster connections actually lead us to a new form of courtship… Read more »

7 Essentials To Know About Forgiveness

Facts about forgiveness Forgiving is never easy, and forgetting is even harder. Yet a lack of forgiveness can torpedo a relationship, drain your energy, and increase your tendency to build unhealthy emotional walls around yourself. True forgiveness soothes the mind and soul, builds bridges, and helps you move forward in an emotionally healthy way. Many people have a… Read more »

The Best Ways to Deal With Regret

How to deal with regret Regret is one of the most powerful human emotions. It is difficult to forget and tough to overcome. Yet when left unchecked, regret can become paralyzing. It can lock you up inside your own mind, weighing you down with fear, anger, and sadness. Despite the challenges, then, it is crucial to find ways to deal… Read more »

7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Decide if Your Love Could Last

Questions about love During the heady early days of a relationship, it is incredibly easy to mistake passion for lasting love. You might feel as if the whole world revolves around your partner, stare longingly into the distance when he is away, and feel butterflies in your stomach before each date. Yet, while passion is an important element… Read more »

Scientifically Proven Ways to Be More Attractive

Proven ways to be more attractive They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet this is not entirely true. While every person certainly has his or her own preferences regarding physical type, dress, and other external factors, some people simply present a magnetism that cuts across individual preferences and allows them to charm everyone in the room…. Read more »

6 Common Reasons Why Relationships Fail

why relationships fail While some people are fiercely dedicated to the single life, human nature and evolutionary biology mean that the vast majority of people crave an intimate relationship. Yet sustaining those relationships is not easy. Roughly 40 percent of first marriages fail, while subsequent marriages are even less likely to succeed. The reasons are as varied as… Read more »

7 Qualities That Should Be Non-Negotiable in a Partner

non-negotiable partner qualities Every person and every relationship is an individual, and what is a deal breaker for you might be a must-have quality for someone else. It is important to make your own list of ideal qualities for a potential mate to possess, and to identify which ones are absolutely essential to you. However, no matter who… Read more »

6 Scientifically Proven Facts About Love

facts about love Love is tough to narrow down. Poets write about it, philosophers discuss it, musicians sing about it, and most humans crave it, but actually defining love is complex. Once you have it, you will know it, but holding onto it is not always easy. Fortunately, science can help us define love, find it, and even… Read more »

7 Surprising Scientific Facts About Love and Attraction

Love and attraction are arguably the most confusing of all human emotions. Poets write about them, philosophers ponder them, and virtually all humans actively seek them. Self-help guides and magazines are filled with tips, tricks, and suggestions to help you find the right mate, but the advice can be conflicting. Love and attraction have been… Read more »

The 36 Questions- How to fall in love

Because “the development of a close relationship is sustained, escalating, reciprocal, personal self-disclosure” researchers tried this series of 36 questions to induce romantic feelings.  They were partially successful.  It turns out that many people have used the questions to increase closeness in a current relationship. They had fun doing it.  You might like to try it. The… Read more »

Is It Possible to Fall in Love at First Sight?

Fall in Love at First Sight History is filled with examples of lovers who claim to have fallen in love at first sight. It might even have happened to you—seeing a mysterious, magnetic stranger across the room, you feel irresistibly drawn to that person. You might even be compelled to start a conversation that lasts all night. By morning, you are… Read more »

5 Signs You’re Dating a Narcissist

Dating a narcissist Narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD, is a psychiatric condition that can be both baffling and devastating to others. It is marked by grandiosity, a constant need to be the center of attention, and near-total self-absorption. When others fail to live up to their impossible demands, narcissists employ more than a few psychologically manipulative tricks to… Read more »

The Biochemistry of Date Night

The Biochemistry of Date Night Date night has long been a catch phrase for couples hoping to rekindle romance, keep the passion alive, or simply reconnect with each other away from the stresses and struggles of daily life. We know that it works, but until recently, we did not necessarily know why. Now, however, science… Read more »

Take a Second Look

Romantic love can come slowly.  We now know what happens in the brain when you first meet someone new: two small factories that lie behind your forehead leap into action.   One brain region tries to decide if this person is physically attractive enough to be an acceptable partner in your bed. The second brain region… Read more »

Gift Giving

Gift giving time is here. Maybe you’re thinking about a last-minute gift. Oh my. Scientists know a lot about giving gifts to grandma, your school chums, your office buddies, even your spouse. You can’t go wrong if you give them what they want. As it turns out, the thought’s not always the thing; it’s often… Read more »

The Science of Heartbreak

Science of Heartbreak Heartbreak is a natural part of life, as you try out different partners in your search for “the one.” Some relationships end fairly calmly and rationally, while others flame out in a spectacular emotional display. Either way, though, you will go through a grieving process. Even if your head knows that the breakup was for… Read more »