Invisible 'Cognitive Load' of Housework Shapes Couples' Relationship Quality, Study Finds

The physical, cognitive and emotional loads of running a household should be recognized when assessing the health of a couple's relationship, according to a new University of Queensland study published in Scientific Reports. Dr. Sarah Coundouris of UQ's School of Psychology examined the 'tri-load' of household labor — physical work such as washing, cleaning and cooking; cognitive work such as planning shopping lists and scheduling appointments; and emotional work such as anticipating, caring for, comforting and consoling others — and how its division was related to relationship quality among 235 heterosexual romantic couples.

'Despite progress toward gender equality, women still take on most of the work involved in running a household,' Coundouris said. This pattern was consistent across all three types of household labor but was most noticeable for cognitive load: women reported taking on almost 25% more of the thinking, planning and scheduling involved in running the home and organizing family commitments than their partners reported.

The study also examined how differences between partners' views of their own contributions were linked to relationship quality. It found that when partners disagreed about how physical and emotional household duties were shared, couples reported greater unhappiness in the relationship, with the effect strongest for women. Disagreement over how cognitive demands were divided was linked to poorer relationship quality only in men.

'The findings indicate that two people in the same relationship may experience and interpret the division of household responsibilities very differently, and these differences matter for relationship quality,' Coundouris said. She said household labor involves much more than physical chores, and that the thinking, planning, scheduling and anticipating involved can be harder to see and acknowledge than visible housework.