Living with housemates can be tough.
Whether you’re living with your best pals or a group of strangers, it’s pretty much guaranteed to not always be smooth sailing.
But if you find yourself often unable to see eye-to-eye with your housemates, there could be a very simple reason why.
A recent study conducted by New York University looked at the reasons why we might fall into disagreements with our roommates (or even full-blown arguments).
The study originally focused on university housing, but it would be realistic to say that the findings can apply to house sharing in all of its forms.
Researchers looked at a group of 187 same-sex roommates – from a variety of ethnic backgrounds – through the academic year.
They monitored the current stress levels of one roommate against the perceived stress level of one of their fellow roommates – and found where the tension lies.
The researchers found that people tend to severely underestimate the feelings of their housemates, often assuming that they both feel the same way.
Essentially, we need to be more aware of people’s feelings.
Lead researcher Patrick Shrout, a professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology, said:
“College students can detect certain levels of distress in their roommates and spot changes over the course of a semester, but they nonetheless underestimate the absolute level of distress.”
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