Social services minister Kevin Andrews claims his A$20 million Stronger Relationships Trial will save the government money in the long run by reducing family breakdown. But will it work? The trial, which…
In 1972, a study showed scientific support for the so-called “Romeo and Juliet effect”: that the more parents interfere in a couple’s relationship, the more intense their romantic bond becomes and the…
In their latest book, Think Like a Freak, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner urge readers to think about the world differently by training readers’ brains to approach problems in unique ways. In the final…
Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin seemed to have the perfect marriage until their “conscious uncoupling” earlier this year. Was the split destined to happen? What…
Whether it is red roses for Valentine’s Day or a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers as a bride walks down the aisle, flowers are inextricably linked with relationships. But can the mere presence of flowers influence…
Arguments with the people we are close to can have a serious impact on our health and mortality rate, a new study has confirmed. The link between having supportive friends and family and serious health…
Many social situations can provoke anxiety. Be it a networking event for work or having unannounced guests, these kind of interactions can cause even the most outgoing among us to feel unsettled. But do…
Holding hands with someone you love in public may seem like a carefree display of affection, but for people in same sex relationships it is still a risky thing to do. Despite progress in our attitudes…
People tend to see their own lifestyle as being the ideal lifestyle. A single person may question why anyone would choose to shackle themselves to one partner rather than live it up with the single life…
Couples’ unconscious feelings can be used to better predict their future happiness than what they actually say, according to a study of newlyweds. The study, published in Science, followed 135 couples…
On a TV show or in a movie, if a guy and a girl are at a party and one approaches the other to strike up a conversation, chances are that it was the guy who approached the girl. That is because we have…
Can a floundering relationship be saved in eight weeks using “science”? Premiering tonight, the new ABC series Making Couples Happy sets out to answer this very question. The show follows four “ordinary…
Along with Caltex job losses and concerns over whether Our Leisel has thunder thighs, I woke this morning to news that Kristen cheated on R-Patz. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson – for those not yet…
Biologists and psychologists like to tussle with human characteristics: what’s inherent? What’s learnt? What’s genetically coded? What’s malleable? Every so often an “expert” will reignite the nature vs…
Neighbours are a source of growing aggravation in Australia and we are lodging more official complaints about each other than ever before. Excessive noise or odour, inadequate levels of property maintenance…