Why Nagging Women and Silent Men Drive Each Other Crazy

The Huffington Post:

In a recent episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (titled “Palestinian Chicken”), Larry makes a deal with his friend: Larry won’t have to pay for the damage he made to his friend’s car as long as he tells his friend’s critical, nagging wife how annoying it is when she says “LOL.” Why the deal? Larry’s friend is scared to death of his wife and thinks Larry is the man for the job. He admires Larry’s willingness to always say the first thing on his mind and speak up for himself.

In the parlance of psychological science, Larry is off-the-charts blirtatious and his friend is off-the-charts not. High “blirters” express themselves easily in social situations, have little difficulty responding to others and do so quickly. Low blirters, on the other hand, are more reflective, cautious when expressing themselves emotionally and are constantly fearful of saying the wrong thing. In recent years, psychologist William Swann and his colleagues have studied this trait, and their findings are fascinating.

Read the whole story: The Huffington Post