A stroll in Ikea: The ultimate test of a relationship

A clinical psychologist has started using Ikea for communication exercises after finding most couples end up arguing during a visit to the Swedish store.

Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the California State University in Los Angeles says a trip to Ikea stores, "literally becomes a map of a relationship nightmare."

According to Dr. Durvasula, as couples stroll through the different picture perfect indoor layouts at Ikea, differences over colours and other interiors' choices often lead to long personal arguments.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Durvasula said Ikea's kitchen section often prompts arguments about who will do most of the cooking and the children's section opens up questions about how many children to have and when.

Amongst other areas that trigger quarrels, include lifting heavy items from the collection aisles with a wall like the Liatorp said to be the "divorcemaker", according to Dr. Durvasula.

Assembling the furniture was said to be the ultimate test of a relationship, which led Dr. Durvasula to use the exercise as a counseling tool for couples.

Janice Simonsen, a spokeswoman for Ikea in the United States said: "While IKEA has no set philosophy on couples shopping together, we want everyone to have a good experience."

"We're just happy to be part of the process," said Simonsen about the company being used as a venue for counseling couples.

According to Simonsen, selecting styles from the Ikea catalogue prior to visiting a store could save couples from some of the arguments that are predestined in-store.

"Ikea is like a labyrinthe for a relationship...You'll see one person putting stuff in the cart and the other taking it out. I see argument in there all the time. You see it escalate and escalate and people storming off," Dr. Durvasula told The Telegraph, saying a trip to the store is like "psychology porn".

To marry or not: A stroll in Ikea the ultimate test of relationship

Clinical psychologist finds most couples argue during a trip to Ikea.

A clinical psychologist has started using Ikea for communication exercises after finding most couples argue during a visit to the Swedish store.

Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the California State University in Los Angeles has said a trip to Ikea stores, "literally becomes a map of a relationship nightmare."

According to Dr. Durvasula, as the couples stroll through the different picture perfect indoor layouts, differences over colours and other interior choices often lead to long personal arguments.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Durvasula said Ikea's kitchen section often prompts arguments about who will do most of the cooking and the children's section opens up another area with plenty of room to debate.

Amongst other areas that trigger quarrels, include lifting heavy items from the collection aisles with a like the Liatorp said to be the "divorcemaker", according to Dr. Durvasula.

Assembling the furniture was said to be the ultimate test of a relationship, which led Dr. Durvasula to use the exercise as a counseling tool for couples.

Janice Simonsen, a spokeswoman for Ikea in the United States said: "While IKEA has no set philosophy on couples shopping together, we want everyone to have a good experience."

"We're just happy to be part of the process," said Simonsen about the company being used as a counseling tool.

According to Simonsen, selecting styles from the Ikea catalogue prior to visiting a store could save couples from the emotional trauma of the various arguments in-store.

Referring to a trip to Ikea being comparable to "psychology porn", Dr. Durvasula told The Telegraph: "Ikea is like a labyrinthe for a relationship…You'll see one person putting stuff in the cart and the other taking it out. I see argument in there all the time. You see it escalate and escalate and people storming off."

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