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What about Marriage? |
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A sure way to lifelong bliss? |
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Researchers: Marriage doesn't
make you happy
Study found outlook on life mostly same before, after tying
knot
March 17, 2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Most newlyweds experience a brief emotional bounce
after their wedding, but they eventually return to the same outlook
they had on life before they tied the knot, according to a study
released Sunday.
"We found that people were no more satisfied after marriage than they were
prior to marriage," the researchers said.
The study was published in the March issue of the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, a publication of the American Psychological
Association.
Researchers tracked more than 24,000 people from 1984 to 1995, asking
participants every year to rate their overall life satisfaction from zero
(totally unhappy) to 10 (totally happy).
The average boost from marriage was small -- one-tenth of one point on the
scale, researchers said.
The study, which took 15 years to complete, also found that people who were
already satisfied with their lives before marriage were more likely to stay
married longer.
"People who get married and stay married are more satisfied than average
long before the marriage has occurred," the study said.
Researchers said the results were based on an average and that happiness is
an individual experience, reflecting "the fact that marriage can be very
pleasant and rewarding but has the potential to be very stressful."
Dorian Solot, co-founder of the Alternatives to Marriage Project, said the
study showed marriage was not a cure-all.
"I think it reminds us that there's no magic ticket to happiness. Wedding
bells might do it for some people, but true happiness is about you and your
own life, not your marital status," said Solot, who also co-wrote "Unmarried
to Each Other."
While long-term marriages tend to be happy, a constant search for that
initial euphoria could be disastrous, said David Popenoe, co-director of the
National Marriage Project, a Rutgers University-based think tank on marriage
trends.
"It may be one reason for divorce is they are looking to maintain that high
level of happiness throughout the marriage, which is kind of impossible for
most people," he said.
The study also found that widows and widowers were less likely to regain the
same level of happiness they had during their married years, especially if
their marriages were satisfying. Most people who lost a spouse but did not
remarry took about 8 years to recover emotionally.
Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Originally from:
www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/03/17/marriage.poll.reut/index.html
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Marriage may tame genius
Source: ABC News Australia
July 10, 2003
Creative genius and crime express themselves early in men but both are
turned off almost like a tap if a man gets married and has children, a study
says.
Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New
Zealand, compiled a database of the biographies of 280 great scientists,
noting their age at the time when they made their greatest work.
The data remarkably concur with the brutal observation made by Albert
Einstein, who wrote in 1942: "A person who has not made his great
contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so."
"Scientific productivity indeed fades with age," Dr Kanazawa says.
"Two-thirds (of all scientists) will have made their most significant
contributions before their mid-30s."
But, regardless of age, the great minds who married virtually kissed goodbye
to making any further glorious additions to their CV.
Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married
scientists had made their last significant contribution to history's hall of
fame.
"Scientists rather quickly desist (from their careers) after their marriage,
while unmarried scientists continue to make great scientific contributions
later in their lives," says Dr Kanazawa.
The energy of youth and the dampening effect of marriage, he adds, are also
remarkably similar among geniuses in music, painting and writing, as well as
in criminal activity.
Previous studies have documented that delinquents are overwhelmingly male,
and usually start out on the road to crime in their teens.
But those who marry well, subsequently stop committing crime, whereas
criminals at the same age who remain unmarried tend to continue their
unlawful careers.
Dr Kanazawa suggests "a single psychological mechanism" is responsible for
this: the competitive edge among young men to fight for glory and gain the
attention of women.
That craving drives the all-important male hormone, testosterone.
Dr Kanazawa theorises after a man settles down, the testosterone level
falls, as does his creative output.
The study appears in in the August issue of the Journal of Research in
Personality, published by the Elsevier group.
The British weekly New Scientist reports on it in its upcoming issue on
Saturday.
Originally from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s898675.htm
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Why not be different? |
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Mario addresses the man behind
the counter: "Are you the owner?"
The pharmacist answers, "Yes."
Mario : "We're about to get married. Do you sell
heart medication?"
Pharmacist: "Of course we do."
Mario : "How about medicine for circulation?"
Pharmacist: "All kinds."Mario : "Medicine for
rheumatism and scoliosis?"
Pharmacist: "Definitely."
Mario : "How about Viagra?"
Pharmacist: "Of course."
Mario : "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis,
jaundice?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."
Mario : "What about vitamins, sleeping pills,
Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?"
Pharmacist: "Absolutely."
Mario : "You sell wheelchairs and walkers?"
Pharmacist: "All speeds and sizes."
Mario : "We'd like to use this store as our Bridal
Registry."
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