This seems like a self-help site, but it is not. It is more of free-for-all of sharing information with the public. I believe it was created more as an outlet of creating awareness with specific topics. This specific article talks about why some couples last 20 years, and others are immediately headed for divorce. The main theme has to do with conversation, and the degree of how "tolerant" a couple is of each other, or how they try to resolve this "difference." In a way, it reminds me a lot of Unity 17, where it talks about a male needing to have a sexy conjugial conversational style to help let his wife know that he is ready to "move up" with her. Joyce Parker, Ph.D., writes that the main issue that involves in verbal conflicts involves "The Four Horseman," which is equivalent to how to break the "Conversational Rules for Husbands in Conjugial Interactions." These Horsemen involve: criticism, contempt (intention to insult or psychologically abuse), defensiveness, and stonewalling. On the other hand, Dr. Parker says that the "key is how to argue more effectively" which sounded like an "avoidant" approach (Equity-like or even Dominance-like), but her four "strategies" seem to match the conversational rules for husbands in Unity 17a Part 3. Her strategies are to: stay calm, speak nondefensively, validation, and overlearning.

- G25, Akiyama - Outline 10

This is an interesting advice column on negotiation. It has a few characteristics of sexual conjugial conversation on the authors tips of good negotiating. For instance: "...you need to give up being heard first. Set aside your own reality and focus..." This reminds me of the second rule of conjugial conversation (page 72, Section 17a) which states, "to deny himself the right to express disagreement with her." This column also has a few hints of the dominance model too. There is a section that seems to have an underlying message that women are at fault for "outburst-like" arguments in the family. There is a line that says: "If she is able to be gracious and not beat him up for his choices..." the husband might reciprocate in a reasonable manner. I just found it interesting because even though the main theme of the article is equity based, it has a few hints of the other models as well. It's almost like the author is confused on what type of advice to give to her readers.

- G25, Akiyama - Outline 8

This site provides a more theoretical research-based article on men’s perspective on commitment. This article addresses the effect of marriage on men’s sense of self and way of life. Clearly, it presents how men do in fact, have difficulty or resistance in abandoning their “independent” selves. Overall, this article is rather interesting as it addresses the issue of men’s resistance.

- G25, Biacan - Outline 2

This article is pretty short but it puts certain points into perspective. The first statement in this article presents an important element of unity in marriage: the emotional/effective level. It also addresses “fairness” in marriages which reflects reciprocity in the unity model of marriage. Although this article is short, there are links right below it that provide even more relevant information to this section.

- G25, Biacan - Outline 2

Dr. John Gottman reports his own theories of what makes a relationship work.  He has identified principles that cut across the gender and sexual orientations of interactions.  Ph.D Notarius thought in the 1980’s that whom you marry has little to do with how happy your marriage will be.  He debunks the fact that men and women have different needs in a relationship and different approaches to intimacy, which I found very interesting since it contradicted Dr. Leon James theory of the Unity Model of Marriage.  Instead Gottman is interested in the communication process of settling differences in the marriage to make it succeed.

- G25, Bulda - Outline 3

Timothy W. Smith reviews the association between attachment style and marital functions.  This site emphasizes on the cognition of the marriage as the explanatory link of the marriage relationship.  He explains how the interaction of the husbands’ and wives’ attachment styles predicts the marital functioning.  I thought that this site was a good site to see how others give reason as to why husbands and wives clash in the relationship.  Smith shows another side of how the cognition is involved with a successful marriage.

- G25, Bulda - Outline 3

Sara Russo doesn’t mention the negative views that the wife holds, but rather that everything will be healthy once a couple commits into a traditional marriage.  Sara Russo writes an article in Accuracy in Academia on the benefits of traditional marriage.  Sara reports evidence provided by Maggie Gallagher and Linda J., where they state that the “till death do us part” vow of matrimony creates a unique relationship that enriches the husband and wife in every observable way.  Marriage is stated that is changes people’s goals and behavior in ways that are profoundly and life enhancing.” 

- G25, Bulda - Outline 6

On this site, a satisfying marriage is explained somewhat similar to the Unity model of marriage.  A successful marriage includes high levels of positivity, empathy, commitment, acceptance, love and respect.  There shouldn’t be negative interactions which involve criticizing, demanding, name-calling, holding grudges, or the relationship will suffer.  The couple should take joy in each others achievements with positive interactions.  

- G25, Bulda - Outline 8

This article talks about how men stop trying because they think their wives expect too much. To me that’s lame because there basically giving up without putting forth any effort at all. At least sit down and tell your spouse how you feel about all the pressure that is put on you.

- G25, Malala - Outline 7

I chose this article because it had some great rules to abide by when in an argument with your spouse. Everybody fights but it’s how you work through it and solve the problem together that matters. So I think that there’s some good advice to follow in this article if you want to stay away from eternal fire.

- G25, Malala - Outline 6

The article is written by a man who says he’s not a psychiatrist or a psychologist but has been successfully married for 11 years and has notices the differences between how males and females converse with each other.  He gives a scenario about how his wife would call while he was on his way home from work and ask him where he was.  He came to recognize that she would call when she wanted a coke from the store but didn’t want to inconvenience him if he was close to home.  So when she called, he automatically asked if she wanted a coke and assured her it wasn’t an inconvenience for him.  He said he did it because it made her happy which in turn made him happy.  This article was different because it wasn’t coming from an expert yet he had an understanding of how men and women different in their communication skills.

- G25, Monteilh - Outline 7

As I was reading this site, it made me think about my life and relationships. It seems so easy to just say “thank you” or “I really appreciate that,” but how often do we actually say that? For me, it’s rare, but I feel I need to appreciate more what I have, but its true that you never know what you had until you lost it. So we should be happy with what we have now.

- G25, Matsui - Outline 7

I thought that this website was a very nice one with good information. Why is it so hard to say thank you to our significant others once in a while? I like the word they used “niceties” to refer to actions our significant others do for us that may make our day a little more special. So, I tried this and just saying thank you for little things make the other person a little happier too, or felt a little more appreciated.

- G25, Matsui - Outline 7

This website describes what kind of questions men should ask their wives on a yearly basis. Tom (who is the author) and his wife Jeannie were having an intimate dinner and he decided to ask these questions so he can hear her answers that came straight from heart. Ever since, this has become an annual exercise.

- G25, Delapena - Outline 5

This website discusses equality in relationships, but I found it interesting because it also emphasizes at the same time how men and women are not equal. It shows differentiation between a man and a woman and how they are reciprocal to each other, indicating that a man and woman cannot be equal. I liked a statement in this article where it said, “ Looking for constant equality in a relationship tends to limit one’s focus to the immediate situation.” This reminded me of my own relationship right now. Numerous times I will keep thinking of a particular situation and ONLY think of that until I know each of us have done our equal share. Which, now, I think is ridiculous because I know I could have been focusing on more important issues in my life. If a couple can get beyond this step, it will bring them towards the Unity Model, which follows directly after the Equity Model.

- G25, Fields - Outline 2