The proposed research tests a theoretical explanation for the regularities in marital interaction observed in various types of couples (Fitzpatrick, 1984). A social-cognitive perspective is emphasized. A series of experimental studies are proposed to answer the question: Do the consistent self reports of individuals on dimensions of marriage actually represent marital schemata or cognitive structures that guide the processing of relevant consistent (inconsistent) messages about the marriage? The first study attempts to prove that the three definitions isolated in numerous previous studies are marital schemata. A random sample of 100 couples will be drawn. Individuals will be categorized as either traditional, independent or separate using the Relational Dimension Instrument. Two techniques will be utilized. (1) Via computer, each individual will be presented with a number of statements and asked whether such statements are true about their marriage. The dependent variable will be reaction time. Within each type, reaction time for schematic material is hypothesized to be faster than the reaction time for non-schematic material. The data will be treated as repeated measures to take into account individual differences. (2) Individuals will be presented via computer with a series of scenarios concerning marriage developed in previous research, and asked how similar these scenarios are to ones that have taken place in their marriage. Schema-consistent scenarios are hypothesized to be more likely to be identified than are schema-inconsistent ones. The second study demonstrates how the schemata predict responses to, and evaluations of, messages sent by spouses. Individuals will be told that some of the messages they see have been chosen by their spouse and some chosen at random by the computer. Each message will be scaled according to its consistency with the three marital schemata and the order of presentation will be randomized. It is hypothesized that the more inconsistent a message, the less likely an individual is to view it as coming from a spouse, the more confident the judgment and the more negative the evaluation of the message. A memory study including free response data and a recognition task will also be conducted.
