Relationship partners have shared scripts for conversations about the relationship: A replication and extension

Abstract

The first experimental study of relationship talk (N = 42 couples) showed that when couples read stories about spouses who talked to each other about their relationships, such talk had different outcomes for the spouses, depending on the context and which partner was speaking. We replicated and improved upon this study in a number of ways (e.g. sample size and composition, new dependent variable, more standardized materials, more sophisticated and appropriate statistical techniques). Findings were almost identical to those of the earlier study including three-way interactions. Results (N = 238 couples) showed that when spouses talked about their relationship with each other, they were seen to have more positive outcomes, including closeness, than when they did not talk about their relationship. Further, relationship talk appeared to be especially positive in conflictive situations, but the effects of such talk were much weaker in pleasant situations. These findings were conceptualized as evidence of shared scripts for relationship conversations. Clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• gender
• relationship talk
• relationship satisfaction
• scripts

Notes

1. The four-way relationship talk × protagonist sex × topic valence × participant sex interaction was also tested. This interaction was nonsignificant for all outcomes (all ps > .09), except husband satisfaction (p < .03). However, the pattern of means observed for husband satisfaction (as a function of participant sex) did not follow a theoretically coherent pattern and was excluded from the primary analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by a grant [R-01 MH-46567] from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health to the first author.