Romance Redux

Using science to understand and improve relationships

by Craig Malkin, Ph.D.

Can Passion and Security Coexist? Reflections on Cronenberg’s "A Dangerous Method"

Once you've built a home, a family, a life together, how do you make sense of the fact that the thrill is–or seems to be–gone? Can security and passion coexist? Or do we inevitably trade excitement for stability when we commit to someone? Do we have to rein in our most powerful impulses to protect the very relationship we've worked so hard to build? Read More

Why You Should be Concerned about Kim Kardashian's Divorce

The press is crying hoax and twitter is–well all atwitter–with jokes about the Kardashian-Humphries divorce. But there's good reason to be concerned, and it has more to do with looking at ourselves in the mirror than pointing the finger at Kim Kardashian for her reckless behavior. Read More

Are You Killing Your Hope for Lasting Love?

How our fear of love makes us destroy it. Read More

When Your Partner's Love Isn't Enough

We’re used to thinking that a loving partner is enough to keep us happy and healthy. But is that really true? Read More

The ABC's of Assertiveness: A Simple Guide to Speaking Your Mind

Trying to stand up for yourself but worried you'll make things worse? Learn your ABC's. A simple, foolproof guide to standing up without stepping on toes. Read More

8 Steps You Should Take Before Living with Your Partner

Living with your partner can either bring you closer or tear you apart. Here's how to cohabit happily ever after. Read More

Are Happy Guys A Turn-Off?

If you take the advice of some headlines, you might be tempted to break out the camera and start scowling for your new profile pics. Don’t be in such a hurry. Read More

Five Ways to Kick the Jealousy Habit

It fuels suspense in the greatest novels. It’s a motive for murder. It even has its own color. Jealousy—the green-eyed monster. Taming it’s not easy, but you’ll find it’s a lot easier if you know what keeps it alive. Read More

Five Proven Ways to Revive Romance on Valentine's Day

We’re not simply passive animals, waiting around for cupid’s dart to hit us between the eyes. Our great gift as humans is that we can take action, reaching out to the world, and to our partners, to stir passion inside ourselves.

The news for couples with kids is generally pretty bleak. We're inundated by messages that children can be the death of a good relationship. That's bad enough. But what's even more troubling is that the reasons cited often ring true. Read More

Love is Blind…and Numb?: Why You Can’t Always Feel When Love Hurts

Blinded by the glow of romantic love (or the love of one's children), we tend to miss the faults, the disappointments, the slights—minor and sometimes even major—in the people we love the most. Now it appears there may be a powerful neurological component to love-blindness. Read More

Dr. Craig Malkin is a clinical psychologist who taught and trained at Harvard Medical School and has a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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About Romance Redux

Romance: Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between peopleRedux: Brought back, return Romance Redux is dedicated to exploring insights and research that help restore people's sense of choice and control in matters of passion and romance. I'm especially interested in how biology and behavior combine to either help or hinder the experience of passion at all stages of a relationship.