| Finding someone with whom you want to start up a close relationship is hard, but making the relationship lifelong may be much harder. There is hardly a relationship without conflicts. The way in which we deal with these conflict situations will determine our personalities. Some couples will endure harder challenges and this may either cause them to better their relationship or force them apart. Then there are the families that have large conflicts that happen because of children becoming teenagers. Regardless of the cause, conflict is inevitable and we all need to face it sooner or later. Learning to resolve conflict situations and working on the relationship using diverse methods is necessary to save the relationship.
Evolutionary psychologists examined "mate retention strategies" in American ladies and men and found these strategies include being excessively watchful and threatening violence. Men's and ladies' tactics applied to save relationships differ.
According to the results of a study carried out of 214 married people by researchers from the University of Texas, men use their social standing and financial success as a tactic to keep their mate interested in them more often. Men also admitted to keep their wives interested by making promises of change and threatening sexual betrayal.
Ladies were also more likely than men to work on their physical look, thus keeping men interested.
With regard to marital infidelity, it was found out that if a man suspected that his wife was unfaithful, he would try to keep his wife from public activities, threaten punishment and criticize other men. Interestingly, ladies who suspected that their husbands were having a love affair did not work on the relationship any harder than those without suspicions.
Unfortunately, some male strategies included behaviors that are identified as early indicators of the physical abuse of spouses, said the psychologists. For example, in an earlier study, 72% of women requiring medical assistance admitted that their husbands limited their contact with family members and friends, insisted on knowing the ladies' whereabouts and called women names. |
