What caught my attention was the headline. "Smile! It could predict success of your marriage."
Was that the directive given as you walked down the aisle, I wondered? No, it seems that the predictor of the success quotient happens much much earlier.
The scientists examined photos that had been taken during the early years of their subjects. These included the photos that were taken for their high school year book. Now I ask you, who looked cool, in high school, with a huge toothy grin? Brooding, pensive, aloof were all de rigueur. Anyhow, these photos
were critically and carefully examined and ultimately the scientists correlated that those with the smiles were those with the longest marriages.
Following?
The statement that absolutely floored me was, "And smiling in photographs has been shown to be correlated with a number of traits, including a generally happier disposition. I think {our results} go along with a lot of the literature that's been coming out over the last five to ten years, which shows that positive emotionality is incredibly important in our lives. There are many, many beneficial outcomes to a positive disposition."
Ah, duh, yeah.
So, for all of you who are still in wedded bliss, you can reaffirm why with a quick survey of the family album.
And for those of you whose marriage bit the dust, perhaps while rooting around for who to blame, you can damn the photographer who said, "you look cute when you pout," rather than their saying, "cheese."
