Relationships
fromPsychology Today
1 week agoHow 'Puffer-Fishing' Is a Big Dating Risk
Puffer-fishing in dating is a defensive pushback when closeness increases, often marked by sudden distance, criticism, and confusion.
"Monkey branching is when a person stays in their current relationship, even though they know they want to leave, in order to line up their next partner," said clinical psychologist Sabrina Romanoff. The idea is that by monkey branching (or "monkey barring"), you can avoid having to be alone after a relationship ends. There's no real "break" after the breakup, as you've already formed romantic interest in someone else.
Many of the responses were surprisingly similar. The most frequently listed qualities women said they were looking for in a partner were kindness and emotional intelligence, mental and physical health, shared values, ambition and being hardworking, financial stability, masculinity and maturity, and a willingness to commit to an equal, monogamous relationship as well as, in many cases, having a family.