"oh thank you for emptying the dishwasher"

nobody wants to do thankless tasks that nobody even notices are done. makes her feel good to know i noticed that it was done.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5805920&forum_id=2,#49483799)

i very much appreciate when my wife notices some chore i do. nobody wants to feel like a servant AND it goes unnoticed.

we also do it with out kids we point out if we see them doing something nice.

also works in the workplace to show genuine appreciation, which is hard to show given the perfunctory "thank" emails

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5805920&forum_id=2,#49483922)

men are much more likely to recognize the implicit "thanks" when you're holding up your end of the bargain. like in OP's HVAC example, if you had some buddies come over and help install something (they "paid for the HVAC"), and you bought them dinner, you would never be upset that they didn't say "thanks!"

you're right that it's general human nature and good to train yourself and your kids to be explicitly appreciative. all i'm saying is that women require it to be explicit more, and can get upset if that doesn't happen, whereas men are less likely to require constant emotional validation because they recognize implicit validation through actions.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5805920&forum_id=2,#49483953)