Husbands Aren’t Happy When They’re Wrong

F1.mediumIf you frequently (often) read the blog and listen to the podcast, you know we focus on American topics. However, I recently came across (discovered; found) a research study conducted (done) in Great Britain that is so important that I had to write about it here.

The medical journal BMJ (formerly (originally; in the past) called the British Medical Journal) recently published a study to see if disagreeing with your wife gets in the way of (prevents) a husband being happy. The researchers hypothesized (proposed as an explanation) that if a husband simply agreed with his wife’s opinion or agreed to do whatever she asked without argument, there would be fewer arguments and less conflict and, therefore, less stress and more happiness for both.

A couple (two people who are romantically involved) was chosen for the experiment. The husband was told “to agree with his wife’s every opinion and request without complaint (saying that he didn’t want to)…[e]ven if he believed the female participant (the wife, in this case) was wrong.” The wife was NOT told what the husband was doing. The researchers asked the participants their level of happiness before and after the experiment.

It’s unclear how long the researchers intended the experiment to last (continue to the end), but after 12 days, the husband could not stand it (tolerate it) any longer. He told his wife about the experiment and the experiment ended.

The results? The husband’s happiness on a scale of 1 to 10 went from an 7 at the beginning to a 3 at the end, and the wife’s happiness increased from 8 to 8.5 after six days; she refused to give her opinion after the study ended and she knew what was going on (happening). The result is clear: Not being right is very stressful for a husband and makes him very unhappy.

If you are a researcher and you’re reading this right now, you are probably wondering what kind of junk (trash; worthless) science I’m telling you about. Well, you’re right, it’s not intended to be taken seriously. BMJ is a real and reputable (with others having a good opinion of it) scientific publication. However, each year, it publishes a Christmas issue that contains offbeat (unusual) and humorous (funny) studies. That doesn’t mean that the research isn’t good, but it does mean that it wasn’t done with complete seriousness. You can read this and other studies here.

-Lucy

Graphic Credit: Used with CC Permission

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53 Responses to Husbands Aren’t Happy When They’re Wrong

  1. emiliano says:

    Lilian, Thank You So Much for you words that have done me “Happy for the rest of my Life”

    YES, I am yours for ever be sure about this promise and so exited and happy as I am, it
    is the third time I am trying to write this note so again YES I am honored by your choose dear
    Lilian.

    It is incredible beauty for me what you have said. THANKS A LOT.

    yours, emiliano

  2. emiliano says:

    I am going to write more about this little story that seems so beautiful to you Lilian.

    It seems very beautiful to me too when we, Cuca and Emiliano, remember it and we have
    so fine momories about those years.

    It has some surprises that you could read next episodes, ja,ja, yes it has, wait and see.

    By the way, all is true despite it seems some how fantastic?

    Thank you again my dear Lilian.
    emiliano

  3. lilian says:

    Dear Emiliano
    I am eagerly waiting to read your writings. You know everything happens for a reason ,as I can see coming to this site just to learn English but ends up in having such a great friend like you . That’s why Paolo Coelho says we should follow the signs.
    You helped me in many ways even more than you can think by all your meaningful and full of experience posts.
    thanks a lot.
    Thoroughly yours.lilian

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