Explore the dynamics of human communication.
It’s common to see two people getting stuck in an argument where one of them says something like: “Answer my question! You’re deflecting!” When humans ask questions, they expect a straightforward answer. They don’t want you beating around the bush because it means extra and unnecessary cognitive processing. While some can handle the meandering, others …
Name-calling or labeling is calling someone by degrading and demeaning names. The goal of name-calling is to hurt someone and make them look bad. It can occur in any relationship but is particularly damaging in a romantic relationship. A few incidences of name-calling here and there are forgivable, but if it happens repeatedly, it’s verbal …
In a healthy and ideal relationship, when you tell someone they hurt you, they own their mistake and apologize. Or they communicate openly and honestly to clear misunderstandings and reach common ground. But why do some people get mad when you tell them they hurt you? There can be many reasons behind this behavior: Your …
Ever gotten a “love you” from your partner that left you wondering what it meant? What’s the difference between saying “I love you” and “love you”? ‘Love you’ and ‘I love you’ have the same literal meaning. The former is a shortened version of the latter. Both are used to express affection. However, omitting the …
Annoyance is a negative emotion that tells us we should avoid a particular situation, activity, or person. Annoyance is a weak signal of pain that can turn into full-blown anger if the thing annoying us doesn’t stop or go away. Avoiding people, things, and activities that annoy us brings relief, fulfilling the purpose of annoyance. …
A polygraph or a lie detector test is a device that supposedly detects lies. ‘Poly’ means ‘many’, and ‘graph’ means ‘to write or record’. The device has many sensors that record a person’s physiological responses, such as: A marked increase in the above measures indicates sympathetic nervous system arousal, a more technical term for stress …
Humans are social species. Among the most profound human needs are the need to belong and feel included. Blocking someone on your phone is a modern form of social exclusion. It’s a way of communicating to the blocked person (blockee): “I don’t want you in my life. I don’t want anything to do with you.” …
Technology has revolutionized how people communicate. We take for granted the fact that we can instantly drop a message to anyone anywhere in the world. And they can reply to it in an instant as well. People used to travel miles and miles to deliver messages, sometimes dying on the way. Those days are gone. …
Everyone likes to hear those three magical words. They make you feel special, wanted, important, and loved. But is there a thing as saying ‘I love you’ too much? What happens when you say ‘I love you’ too much in a relationship? People often say ‘I love you’ in a relationship when they feel and …
Imagine you’re talking to someone in a room. The other person gets angry over something you say. How do you know? You notice the angry stare they give you, their flared nostrils, and clenched fists. They frown for some time and storm out of the room without saying anything, slamming the door behind them. You …