The Real Test of Your Relationship: Canoeing or Shopping at IKEA
Before you decide to settle down with someone, it’s a good idea to learn how they handle stressful situations. Take your pick: go canoeing or head to IKEA.
The Atlantic explains why both situations test the relationship:
[Psychology professor] Dan Ariely told me that if you want to know if you are compatible with your partner, go canoeing together. An experience filled with factors beyond your control – weather, currents, sharks – allows you to understand how people respond to pressure.
“I think the same will happen with Ikea furniture. In the process, everything happens in an unexpected way. Not enough details. People put things in the wrong way. The question is, how inclined are we to blame the other person? “
Shopping and assembling IKEA furniture is about more than just inexpensive furniture. Taste questions arise (do we really like the same things?), A power struggle ensues over how to follow directions, and we start arguing about other things:
“Little things like stacking shelves together will bring up some ancient history with partners,” Don Ferguson, author of The Reptilians in Love: Ending Devastating Battles and Evolving Towards More Loving Relationships , told me. “Do you trust me? Do you think I’m dumb? Think I have no skills? Do you want your old boyfriend to do this here?”
Research by clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula found the most controversial topics in IKEA: bedding, kitchenware and baby equipment, i.e. areas related to sex, household chores and parenting.
You can minimize your stress at IKEA by shopping for large and optional items separately , entering through an exit, or planning your trip more carefully . However, a stress test can be helpful if you are unsure of how your partner is responding to pressure. However, canoeing may be the best option.
Why IKEA is causing such tension in relationships | Atlantic Ocean