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You are in a relationship, and you can’t stop arguing? You love your partner but you have quarrels every day? You think that you have tried everything you could to solve your problems, but it is still not enough? Have you tried though to be more optimistic?

Srivastava et al., conducted a study to test whether optimistic people would have better relationships. They did this by stating two hypotheses: 1) optimists and their partners would have a more satisfying relationship, are defined by better conflict resolution and last longer, and 2) the reason why optimists have better relationship outcomes is that they perceive their partners as more supportive. To what we already know, optimism is associated with positive outcomes in relationships. The study was divided in 3 parts with a part 1 examining the optimism of both partners, their perceived support and their relationships satisfaction. The part 2 reported how couples reacted to conflicts and how well they were feeling the conflict was resolved one week later and the last part was about the relationship maintenance 1 year later.

The results showed that their hypotheses were correct and that optimism was a key to long-lasting relationships. So what are you waiting for? Try to be more optimistic with your partner!

Reference:

Srivastava, S., McGonigal, K. M., Richards, J. M., Butler, E. A., & Gross, J. J. (2006). Optimism in close relationships : How seeing things in a positive light makes them so. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(1), 143‑153. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.143