Waqar - Psychology Connections

Diagram of Sternberg's triangular theory of love: a triangle with vertices labeled intimacy, passion, and commitment

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love: Intimacy, Passion, Commitment

Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love (1986) proposes that love has three components: intimacy (closeness and connectedness), passion (romance, attraction, …

Diagram of Gottman's Four Horsemen — criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling — each paired with its antidote: gentle startup, culture of appreciation, taking responsibility, and self-soothing breaks

Conflict in Relationships: How Healthy Couples Handle Disagreements

Disagreements don’t predict whether a relationship lasts — research consistently finds it’s not how often couples fight, but how. Couples …

Diagram of the bid-response loop in relationships: a partner's bid for connection branches into turning toward (engagement), turning away (ignored), and turning against (irritation).

Communication in Relationships: What Research Says Works

Research distinguishes couples less by whether they disagree than by how they talk: the balance of positive to negative moments …

Staircase diagram showing the three stages of trust in relationships: predictability, then dependability, then faith

Trust in Relationships: How It’s Built and Repaired

Trust is the expectation that your partner will act in your best interests — especially when it counts. Psychologists Rempel, …

Cluster-map diagram of the Relationships Psychology section: the pillar article "The Psychology of Relationships" at the center, connected to spokes on trust, communication, conflict, and Sternberg's triangular theory of love.

The Psychology of Relationships: What Makes Them Work

Relationship psychology is the scientific study of how close relationships form, stay satisfying, and sometimes end. Across decades of research, …

Diagram of attachment change: repeated experiences of reliable care gradually revise an old internal working model toward security

Can Attachment Style Change?

Yes — with honest qualifications. Longitudinal research finds that attachment patterns show meaningful stability and real change: they are modestly …

Timeline diagram of attachment development: repeated caregiver interactions in infancy shape internal working models, which continue to be revised through childhood, adolescence, and adult relationships

How Attachment Styles Develop

Where do attachment styles come from? The short answer from decades of research: mainly from repeated early interactions with caregivers, …

Diagram of the anxious-avoidant pursuit-withdrawal cycle: one partner's closeness-seeking triggers the other's withdrawal, and the withdrawal triggers further pursuit

Attachment Pairings

Attachment pairings are the relationship dynamics that emerge when two people’s attachment patterns meet. Your own pattern is only half …

Disorganized Attachment

Disorganized attachment is the pattern without a consistent strategy. Where secure, anxious, and avoidant patterns are organized ways of handling …

Avoidant Attachment

Avoidant attachment is a pattern of relating to close others marked by discomfort with closeness and a strong pull toward …