You may recall the Benjamin Franklin Effect — that odd phenomenon of reverse psychology wherein doing someone a favor makes us like the person more. In this short “science experiment,” complete with a mandatory lab coat, the folks at SoulPancake set out to apply the Founding Father’s insight to the realm of romantic relationships. Though the task itself may appear silly and the quantitative finding hardly earth-shattering, beneath it lies a bigger and rather important qualitative point about the push-and-pull of a healthy relationship, one that resonates with the Chinese notion of wu-wei:

Make sure you allow room in the relationship for the other person to also give it back and invest in you. So maybe don’t insist on paying the bill every time or driving to their place every time. Give them a shot to invest and put just as much into it as you do. Whether you’re trying to get into a relationship or deeper into a long-term one, give your partner a chance to contribute to it.

Pair with a deeper look at the psychology of the Benjamin Franklin Effect, then see the science of how “positivity resonance” shapes love.