Love and the Primary Triangle: An Evolutionary Perspective on Gender and Stress Reactivity

Summary: Observations from clinical work with couples who have children reveal certain gender based relationship patterns consistent with other mammals that form pair bonds. Stress affects males and females differently, and they often show different patterns of behavior regarding social bonding. The psycho/behavioral systems involved in this intricate interplay between males, females, and offspring are rooted partly in the neurobiology of social affiliation and pair bonding, which is similar among mammalian species. The differences in how males and females manage stress reactivity and affiliation lead to predictable ways that triangles take shape as tension arises within families. The concept of the triangle theoretically grounds the predictable patterns that emerge within the family unit involving parents. This lecture was recorded live at The Bowen Center in Washington, DC on January 8, 2015.