Spending as little as ten minutes talking to others may help improve your memory and intellect. Sound like an infomercial created by teenagers? No, no- it’s real research! Turns out social interaction can provide the same mental-boosting benefits as reading or doing a daily crossword puzzle.

The conventional wisdom among psychologists and sociologists studying marriage has long been that marital satisfaction, on average, declines with marriage length. This is not to say that there haven’t been some scientific challenges to this idea. When it comes to children, however, the effects on marriage have not proven to be entirely upbeat in the eyes science.

A recent study examined how individuals rate themselves along several dimensions of sexuality, and how this plays into their daily sexual interactions. The researchers wanted to know if overall personality could explain sexual outcomes, or if something else was better. Turns out that individuals may have a specific sex personality that explains sexual behavior better than the general counterpart.

I’m reading about guilt and in-group behavior, and I can’t help but see parallels to my own life (occupational hazard, I know). I’m going to my best-friend’s wedding next weekend and a mutual friend of ours is walking her down the aisle. He forgot about the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and his travel plans will miss them both. Our bride-to-be is hurt and disappointed, and I feel guilty that I didn’t do more to prevent it. Why? According to recent research, people often feels vicarious emotions such as guilt (or shame) when they are associated with those whose actions have caused offense, even though they are innocent.

You meet that special someone. You talk, you date, oh and did I mention that you two have amazing chemistry in the bedroom! As time goes by though, that chemistry seems to fizzle and what was once amazing is now…well…a little boring. This is actually quite common. As relationships progress, the sexual desire and satisfaction tends to decrease over time. How can you make sure that the sexual desire in your relationship doesn’t fall by the wayside?

The ‘tyranny of choice’ implies that the more options one person has, the worse off they may become. Find out how your definition of success may help you navigate through the tyranny of choice.

Look on the bright side…things will get better. According to recent research, even expecting a hopeful future may help your relationship.

There were several interesting news stories resulting from the annual American Psychological Association (APA) which met last week in San Francisco. Some findings and stories that caught my eye…

We’d love to hear from you. Tell us what you like and the subjects you want to read more about.

In case you haven’t heard, researchers at the University of Washington have published a new article in Journal of Pediatrics regarding the effects of television viewing and language development in children under 2 years old. For every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs (such as “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby”), infants eight to sixteen months knew six to eight fewer words than children who didn’t watch. I’m a big fan of science leading the way for parents (and relationships), but sometimes a word of caution is in order. What this study does not show is whether these effects are lasting. The researchers did not find these effects in infants 17- 24 months of age no matter what they watched.

I could sum up in a few words Mehl and Pennebaker’s work on gender and daily word use, but hey, it’s a blog! I’m allowed some extra room in electronic conversation. Besides, I’m feeling up for the challenge (via writing- which makes one wonder what would Pennebaker say about that?) and the female stereotype of talkativeness has just been silenced. Sort of.

Have you ever been afraid to rely on your partner for fear you would be thought of as weak or- gasp- dependent? Turns out that relying on your partner during stressful times- and getting the proper support- may help you act more independently in the future.

Stupid, lazy, inconsiderate…we know labels like this can be hurtful and demoralizing, but can positive labels like “smart” be bad too? In a recent article in Newsweek, researchers told preteens who took a test that they did really well on the test either because they were “smart” or because they “worked very hard.” Both good, right?