Document Type
Article
Version
Author's Final Manuscript
Publication Title
Journal of Family Psychology
Volume
18
Publication Date
2004
Abstract
This study examined links between emotion expression in couple interactions and marital quality and stability. Core aspects of emotion expression in marital interactions were identified using naïve observational coding by multiple raters. Judges rated 47 marital discussions using 15 emotion descriptors. Coders’ pooled ratings yielded good reliability on four types of emotion expression: hostility, distress, empathy, and affection. These four types were linked with concurrent marital satisfaction and interviewer ratings of marital adjustment, as well as with marital stability at 5-year follow-up. The study also examined the extent to which naïve judges’ ratings of emotion expression correspond to “expert” ratings using the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF). The unique advantages of naïve coding of emotion expression in marital interaction are discussed.
Publisher's Statement
This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. The published version is available here: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/fam/18/1/58/
Citation
Waldinger, R.J., Schulz, M.S., Hauser, S.T., Allen, J.P., & Crowell, J.A. (2004). Reading others’ emotions: The role of intuitive judgments in predicting marital satisfaction, quality and stability. Journal of Family Psychology 18, 58-71.
DOI
10.1037/0893-3200.18.1.58