Supportive partner can bring the best out of you and can be key to success: Study

This is something exciting. According to a new study, a supportive partner or spouse can play a role in influencing the personal growth and psychological well-being of a person.

The study has been published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. It revealed that a supportive spouse motivates his or her partner to make use of the life opportunities by showing enthusiasm and zeal about the opportunity in hand. Those who took on the opportunity experienced better personal growth, psychological well-being and happiness.

The research was conducted on 163 couples who were brought into the lab. One partner from the couple was given a choice, either to solve a simple puzzle or compete for the prize by delivering a speech. The team recorded the conversation of the couples when they were deciding whether to take the challenge or not.

It was found out that participants who had encouraging partners were more likely to choose the option of competing for the prize. Those who chose the simple puzzle had partners who were not confident and discouraged them from attempting the challenge.

After six months, people who opted for the more challenging task reported to have more personal growth, psychological well-being, happiness and a better relationship when compared to those who didn’t.