It’s often presumed that women have a sixth sense regarding their relationships. They are thought to be more attuned to the highs and lows of their relationship, addressing problems, and even predicting the relationship’s fate, especially when it’s nearing its end. Women are often seen as better at ‘seeing' the signs of a breakup.

Sociological and evolutionary theories too have backed this belief, relating it to the greater social and emotional responsibility women are believed to hold in relationships, as well as their long-term biological goals tied to reproduction.

But, a new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships delved deep into this belief and revealed there’s more to it and it’s not all straightforward. It’s more nuanced than earlier thought.

Mistaken to be the barometer of relationship

The researchers examined the widespread belief that women act as the ‘barometers’ of relationships. Study author Matthew D. Johnson explained, “There is a common belief in the scholarly community and more broadly in the culture that women are the experts or ‘barometers’ of relationships, such that their views about the relationship are more diagnostic of what will happen in the future for the relationship than men’s views.” But, the study found that this is not always the case. Women are better at predicting breakups only in one specific area-commitment.

Connection with commitment

The study examined 314 couples and tracked their relationships over four years. It focused on assessing four major elements of the relationship: commitment, satisfaction, love, and the likelihood of breaking up. Among these, commitment stood out as the strongest predictor of whether a couple would break up. But this is applicable only to women. The dedication and effort put into staying together strongly indicated the potential for a breakup, especially over two, three, and four years, but not in the first year.

This suggests that women don’t have a universal ability to forecast their relationship's future but can only often predict a breakup based on commitment. While both men and women are equally good at predicting breakups when it comes to how happy they are in the relationship (satisfaction) and how much they love their partner (love). For love and happiness, there’s no gender-based difference. Both partners' feelings about these two aspects are equally significant in determining the relationship’s outcome.

But there's a gender-based difference in commitment. Only commitment gives women a hint at understanding the relationship’s future. So anytime the commitment feels forced, it’s a sign of future breakup. The weakening of women’s commitment is a bigger clue than a man’s commitment.

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