Sublime

In such cases, the effect will be stronger than when the effect is asymmetric, with a defection rate of just 5 per cent being sufficient to reduce the number of close relationships.

social world of ours is highly structured into a series of circles, or layers, that also have very distinct sizes, each of which is associated with very specific frequencies of contact,

Men are not biologically “built” for marriage. A corollary to the notion that affairs cause divorce, this theory holds that men are philanderers by nature and are therefore ill suited for monogamy. But whatever natural laws other species follow, among humans the frequency of extramarital affairs does not depend on gender so much as on opportunity.

evidence is the growth in networking sites that deliberately restrict you to more intimate circles of friendships.

We therapists encounter basically two kinds of couples—those who fight and those who distance. With fighters, I often find myself reaching through their many complaints to recall the good, what holds them together—their us. With distant couples, it’s most often the opposite. Instead of pulling for elements of repair, I must first help them surface

found that the friends and family have very distinct signatures in the frequencies with which we contact them,

They found that people hold more positive attitudes toward

Intriguingly, Ickes finds that the longer many couples are married, the less accurate they are at reading each other. They lock in some early version of who their spouse is, and over the years, as the other person changes, that version stays fixed—and they know less and less about what’s actually going on in the other’s heart and mind.

Trust dissipation is correlated with geographical distance. Humans are hardwired to trust their close friends the most, their immediate peers next, the people they meet in person after that, and the people they meet via videoconference last.