Psychologyspeaking topic
The Romeo and Juliet effect: the more the families oppose a relationship, the more devoted the couple becomes. Does the obstacle genuinely deepen the love, or just fuel the defiance?
— the Romeo and Juliet effect (Driscoll et al., 1972)
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- In some languages, the 'my' in 'my mother' is a different word from the 'my' in 'my phone', because the grammar separates what can be taken from you from what can't. A mother is inalienable; a phone is not. If a language draws that line, do its speakers experience love and ownership differently than we do?
- Ainsworth's secure attachment: the child is upset when the mother leaves and soothed when she returns. Why do securely attached people worry less in their relationships?
- The misreading of growth mindset: Dweck herself later warned about the 'false growth mindset', because preaching that effort is everything isn't enough without the right strategy. Why is working hard not sufficient on its own?
- The tip-of-the-tongue state: we know the word but just can't get it out. What does this strange mix of knowing and not knowing reveal about how memory is catalogued?
- You miss a place, you go back, and it's no longer the place in your memory; it has shrunk and turned ordinary. What changed isn't the place but the meaning you gave it. Is what we miss a real location, or a time that no longer exists?