A newly developed psychological test can predict whether a relationship is on the brink of failure. Now isn't that interesting. I'm sure a countless number of people have always wished something like this existed just to relieve them of their stress. Researchers at The University of Rochester have devised an experiment that will pry into the depths of what partners truly feel about one another -- that is, breaking down the vocabulary they use to describe their significant other and attaching meanings to them.
The test begins with one person writing down their honey's name and including two words they would use to describe that person, a pet name or characteristic. The volunteers were then tested on good words (positively associated), bad words (negatively associated), and the words they used to describe their partners. The test was set up in such a way that it would get an automatic response from the volunteers, as which point they would sneakily put in the partner-related words. And as you can predict, if the volunteers negatively responded they were likely to separate from their partners within the year.
The study reports, "[I]n deteriorating relationships, the negative associations people begin to form about their partner may be too subtle or threatening for them to recognize in themselves or too socially undesirable for them to report to others."
It would be interesting if they could further develop this study and relate the words to a cognitive test, perhaps by using electrodes or a brain scan to associate the tested words, with brain activity. Of course, telling the future would be a helpful power to have too, then we would never get in the mess of a bad relationship ever again.
Source: LA Times
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