We’ve heard of movie-promoting stunts before, but commissioning scientific research? That’s what the studio did in time for the U.K. release of Hall Pass, a comedy about a couple of middle-aged guys who score a one-week …
Marriage
Happy Teenhood Leads to Happy Adulthood … and Divorce?
Happiness research tends not to focus on the most sullen of subgroups (cue the jokes: Isn’t “happy teenager” an oxymoron?, etc.), but a new study finds that happiness and social adjustment during teenhood may be important …
Rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day
Single? In a bad relationship? Or so in love that the idea of celebrating only your own romance on Valentine’s Day seems too small to capture the abundance of unity and connection in the world?
CommittedFamily & Parenting
Survey Says, He’s Just Not That Into Being Single
Match.com, which is so intent on dominating the online dating world that it recently bought upstart rival OkCupid for about $50 million in cash, is also investing pretty heavily in understanding the minds of the unmarried. It …
CommittedMarriage
5 New Reasons to Get (or Stay) Married this Year
You probably already know that married people on the whole are healthier, wealthier and have more satisfying sex lives than singletons or divorced people. You also already know that, absent some serious conflict, your kids would …
CommittedDivorce
Memo to Gamer-Wives: You Can’t Take it with You
A new candidate for membership in the unusual divorce settlement club: a judge in China has reportedly denied a woman’s claim that she owns half of the virtual assets accrued during her marriage.
CommittedCulture
Blue Valentine: The Best Worst Date Movie Ever
Usually movies are based on a pretty simple premise. Boy Meets Girl, for example. Or Enormous Ship Sinks, or We Really Can’t Tell Whether We’re Dreaming Or in Someone Else’s Dream. (O.K., that last one, Inception, was kind of …
Family MattersMarriage
Has Infidelity Gone Legit? It Nabs a Starring Role in The New York Times
What’s Sunday morning without a frothy latte and The New York Times’ weddings section? Readers scan the announcements, but what true devotees really relish is the “Vows” column, which profiles a different batch of lovebirds each week.
CommittedSex
Married to a Negative Type? Have More Sex
Lots of sex is not necessarily a prerequisite for a happy marriage. But apparently, if you are neurotic or the spouse of a neurotic, it really, really helps.
Consumer Breakups: Why We Lash Out at the Brands We Once Loved
It happens to the best brands. One minute, they’re adored by millions. The next, they’re like Blockbuster, Friendster or Lindsay Lohan — sans fans, in need of rehab and largely ridiculed.
CommittedDivorce
Do Kids of Divorce Have Strokes More Often?
Of all the odd and unexpected consequences of divorce — missing kitchen utensils, kids with two sets of everything, a weird sense of sadness yet liberation — this is a new one.
CommittedHappiness
Were You Born This (Un)Happy, or Did You Marry Into It?
In the burgeoning field of happiness research, most scholars have favored the idea that a person’s level of happiness has a set point, like the float ball in a toilet tank.
CommittedMen & Women
As Suspected, Women’s Memories Last Longer than Men’s
It’s one of the oldest marital spats in the books: you remember an event one way and your spouse remembers it completely differently. That, then, spirals into an argument about who has the best memory. It’s such a chestnut, …
