19 Jun Boosting happiness in relationships
And following on from the previous happiness research story, here are some more practical tips for boosting happiness in your relationships…
In relationships that have the most happiness, a partner reacts with excitement and esteem to his mate’s positive news the “active-constructive” response. Three other types of responses are linked to less satisfying relationships and more likelihood of a split.
Here are the four responses to news of a promotion at work:
ê¢__‘Ô¢ Active-constructive: “That’s great! You’ll do very well, and I’m so proud of you.”
ê¢__‘Ô¢ Passive-constructive: “That’s good news.”
ê¢__‘Ô¢ Active-destructive: “That sounds like a lot of responsibility. You will probably have to work even longer hours now.”
ê¢__‘Ô¢ Passive-destructive: “Well, wait until you hear what happened to me today.”
Source: Shelly Gable, psychologist at the University of California-Santa Barbara