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“It Matters How We Treat One Another” is the social science show - now in its third season! Here, host Matthew David Vasko discusses all the various ways that we can improve our relationships with others - partners, children, parents, extended family, friends, coworkers, and all the different types of people with whom we share our beautiful and diverse world. Features include Inspiring News and The Quote of the Week. Find our premium content on our Patreon, including The Takeaway.

Season 3, Episode 9, Topic: Deepening Relationships

In this episode, Matthew does a deep dive into deepening relationships. He shares a variety of science-based strategies for increasing connection, decreasing loneliness, and performing acts of kindness, which are proven to increase happiness.

Here are the direct links to the studies mentioned in our Feature Segment:

1. Harvard Study of Adult Development

1. Official website: https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org
2. Dr. Robert Waldinger's TED Talk "What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness": https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_the_secret_to_a_happy_life_lessons_from_8_decades_of_research
3. Harvard Gazette article on the study: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/

2. Holt-Lunstad Meta-Analysis on Social Relationships and Mortality

1. Full study (open access): https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
2. PubMed link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20668659/

3. Shelly Gable's Research on Active-Constructive Responding

1. Key article: Gable, S. L., Reis, H. T., Impett, E. A., & Asher, E. R. (2004). "What do you do when things go