We’ve compiled a selection of the most hilarious, irritating, and vexing pics of boyfriends and husbands coming across the messes that their girlfriends or wives made. Some of them include nasty habits – others are just fun quirks. But the bottom line is this: we can all be messy and weird, and the best way to approach it is probably with a healthy dose of humor. Bored Panda asked Clinical Psychologist Forrest Talley, Ph.D., to weigh in. Do men and women get annoyed by different things? Does a messy environment infuriate only one gender? And how can two people who live together differentiate between what’s a minor inconvenience and what’s a deeper issue? Talley kindly agreed to tell us more about these problems. “Although there is a great deal of variability between individuals (both men and women) regarding what infuriates them about a romantic partner’s behavior and how intensely they become annoyed, there appears to be some trends associated with each sex.” He points out a study by ter Laak, Olthof, & Aleva (2003). “[It] suggests that men become more frustrated by behaviors that threaten their autonomy (e.g., jealousy, moodiness in a partner), and women become more annoyed by [their] partner’s behaviors that threaten the relationship (e.g., condescension, aggression, and emotional distance/neglect).” Talley says there are three important things to consider:
Does the annoying behavior occur because your love interest does not care about the impact [it] has on you, or is it due to a personal quirk, an unintentional habit?Is your reaction to the behavior reasonable? In other words, is it really a ‘you’ problem? Let’s be honest; all of us are capable of overreacting.No matter your answers to Questions One and Two, ask yourself whether the annoying behavior [is] something you can imagine living with long term. For example, if every time he eats something, the love of your life smacks his lips loudly and slurps, can you imagine sitting across the table listening to that for years upon years?
“At the same time,” Talley goes on, “know your limits and realize that those things that annoy you today will very likely annoy you five years from now. On balance, consider all the qualities of the person you are with and weigh this against how disruptive the annoying behavior is to your relationship. The results of this comparison will tell you whether to put energy into making changes or simply let it go.” A 2012 study found that men’s office desks tend to be “consistently more contaminated.” Other research in the past has also suggested that men wash their hands and brush their teeth less than women do. And that’s especially true when it comes to using the bathroom. A 2013 study revealed that only 77% of men whom the researchers observed at the Michigan State University campus washed their hands after using the bathroom. Another interesting phenomenon comes to light when we look at what cleanliness factors people say are important to them. Interestingly, both men and women (98%) agree that washing their hands after using the toilet is important. But only 84% of men believe this habit is very important, while the percentage for women is much higher – 91%. However, just because women say that cleaner spaces and personal hygiene matter to them greatly doesn’t mean that they are, in fact, tidier or that they have better personal hygiene. Susan Michie, health psychology professor and director of the Centre for Behavior Change at the Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology at University College London, believes that such behaviors are socially programmed, not genetic. “Women are more focused on care than men – childcare, household care, personal care,” she explained. But that doesn’t mean that men don’t notice the mess. In 2019, researchers showed participants photographs of messy rooms. They found that “men and women respondents do not differ in their perceptions of how messy a room is or how urgent it is to clean it up.” They also thought that guests would judge the woman more and that she would feel uncomfortable having people over. And it was here that the main difference presented itself: we hold women to a higher standard of cleanliness than men. Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
