According to a study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology in the July 2013 issue, the most common reason for couples’ arguments is a desire for a partner to relinquish power of some kind. Researchers who conducted the study stated “When we feel criticized, we are likely to have underlying concerns about a perceived threat to status, and when that happens, we usually want a partner simply to disengage and back off.” The five other desired outcomes, in descending order of popularity: to show investment; to stop adversarial behaviour; to communicate more; to show affection. The least desired outcome was an apology.
