Relationships

Emotional Relationship Motives Rated Higher Than Instrumental Reasons in Greek-Speaking Adults

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Emotional Relationship Motives Rated Higher Than Instrumental Reasons in Greek-Speaking Adults

TL;DR: A 2026 mixed-methods study in Evolutionary Psychological Science found that 621 Greek-speaking adults rated emotional motives for lasting relationships—such as attraction, love, companionship, and support—much higher than instrumental motives such as money, social pressure, or revenge (3.30 vs 1.39 on a five-point scale). The convenience-sample survey describes stated motivations, not what causes relationships to …

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High-Conflict Divorce Linked to Higher Healthcare Use Over 10 Years

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High-Conflict Divorce Linked to Higher Healthcare Use Over 10 Years

TL;DR: A 2026 Danish register study in British Journal of Health Psychology found that higher divorce conflict was linked to more prescriptions, more primary care visits, and higher hospitalisation odds across the years around legal divorce. Key Findings 1,784 Danish divorcees: Researchers linked divorce-conflict survey data to national registers covering medicine prescriptions, primary care visits, …

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Person-First Language May Reduce Forensic Mental Health Stigma

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Person-First Language May Reduce Forensic Mental Health Stigma

TL;DR: A 2026 BJPsych Bulletin paper argues that person-first language in forensic mental health services may reduce stigma, social distance, and pessimism when it is used carefully rather than as a substitute for structural change. Key Findings Forensic mental health focus: The editorial examines labels used for people receiving care at the intersection of psychiatry …

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Nucleus Accumbens-Ventral Pallidum Pathway Regulated Rat Social Play

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Nucleus Accumbens-Ventral Pallidum Pathway Regulated Rat Social Play

TL;DR: A 2026 rat study in Brain Structure and Function found that ventral pallidum activity supports juvenile social play, while activating inhibitory nucleus accumbens inputs to the ventral pallidum reduced play behavior in both male and female rats. Key Findings Ventral pallidum inactivation: Bilateral muscimol microinfusion into the ventral pallidum reduced juvenile rat social play, …

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Young Men Reported More Dominance-Seeking Moral Grandstanding

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Young Men Reported More Dominance-Seeking Moral Grandstanding

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Political Psychology found that men ages 18 to 35 reported the highest levels of dominance-seeking moral grandstanding, a form of moral expression aimed at putting opponents down rather than only defending a belief. Key Findings Dominance-seeking moral grandstanding was highest among men ages 18 to 35. Four-country survey: 8,420 adults …

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Nazi Propaganda Images Reduced Guilt and Shame in German Viewers

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Nazi Propaganda Images Reduced Guilt and Shame in German Viewers

TL;DR: A 2026 study in European Journal of Social Psychology found that adding flattering Nazi-era propaganda images to atrocity photographs reduced several immediate negative emotions in German viewers across the combined evidence, even though the clearest guilt effect did not replicate in the online sample. Key Findings Mixed-image condition: Participants saw atrocity photographs alone or …

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Identity Politics Accounted for Progressive Well-Being Gap

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Identity Politics Accounted for Progressive Well-Being Gap

TL;DR: A 2024 study in Sociological Forum found that identity-politics measures statistically explained much of the link between progressive ideology and lower self-reported well-being in the 2021 Baylor Religion Survey. Key Findings Well-being gap: Progressive ideology was associated with more depression, more anxiety, and lower sense of control. Identity-politics measures: Racial-inequality protest willingness and support …

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Dark Triad Traits Linked to Aggressive Relationship Expectations

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Dark Triad Traits Linked to Aggressive Relationship Expectations

TL;DR: A 2025 study in Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy linked higher Dark Triad traits, a personality cluster covering psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, with more aggressive relationship expectations and greater self-reported sexual coercion in a 624-person online survey. Key Findings The survey included 624 adults: participants completed personality, attachment, relationship-expectation, and sexual-aggression questionnaires. Dark …

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Partner Resource Allocation to a Rival Triggered Romantic Jealousy

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Partner Resource Allocation to a Rival Triggered Romantic Jealousy

TL;DR: A 2025 study in Evolution and Human Behavior found that both men and women reported the strongest romantic jealousy when a partner actively gave most of a money allocation to an opposite-sex rival. Key Findings Partner investment was the strongest trigger: Jealousy rose most when participants saw their partner give 75% of the available …

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Female Authority Figure Drew Equal Obedience in Milgram Replication

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Female Authority Figure Drew Equal Obedience in Milgram Replication

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Social Psychology found that a female professor and a male professor produced almost identical obedience in a modern Milgram-style replication, suggesting professional authority mattered more than the authority figure’s gender. Key Findings Authority gender: 88% of participants obeyed every instruction from a female professor, versus 90% with a male professor. …

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