Have you ever experienced the inconvenience of saying "no" to an invitation, or being pressed to say "yes" when you didn't want to go?
If yes, then you're not alone - lots of people face the same problem regularly, especially during holidays.
A new study suggests new ways of solving this problem.
An unexpected study
According to a new experiment, people often worry way too much about the various social consequences of declining invitations, even if they really don't want to go.
The poll asked over 2,000 people and found that those who thought of rejecting an invitation believed it would have more negative effects on their relationship than it actually would.
The participants overestimated how sad, disappointed, or unlikely to invite them again the person issuing the invitation would feel.
Another experiment involving couples showed similar results, regardless of the length of their relationship.
Why it's useful
The specialists concluded that people tend to overestimate how sad someone will be when they decline an invitation, even in close relationships.
They suggest that occasionally declining the unwanted invitations can help prevent burnout, but it's important to remember that spending time with others helps build relationships, so declining every invitation is not recommended.
Previously, we talked about no sleep and depression.
