A number of studies have focused on social psychological factors that influence the quality of intimate relationships. However, the extent to which variations in temperament predispose individuals to experience conflict with their partners, and the specific behaviors that link individual differences to relationship satisfaction, have received less attention. The investigators propose to study the relations of the emotion traits of positive and negative affect (people's stable, trait-like propensities to experience positive or negative affective states) to their behavioral responses to conflict in intimate relationships, and their satisfaction with those relationships; thus, this work focuses on the interpersonal as well as the intrapersonal components of affectivity and personality. In Study 1, 100 dating couples will maintain interaction diaries for ten weeks. Specifically, they will record and describe all encounters with their romantic partner that involve conflict. Participants will be provided with a list of potential behavioral responses to conflict that have been selected on the basis of their theoretical importance to both affective traits and relationship functioning. People will use their checklist to identify the behaviors exhibited by themselves and their partners during each interaction. The relations between both partners' levels of positive and negative affect, their propensities to engage in particular behaviors during conflict, and measures of the overall quality of the relationship will be examined. Study 2 will use the same methodological approach to examine the relations among these variables in 100 married couples. In Study 3, 100 dating couples will be videotaped while they discuss an issue that has been a source of major conflict in their relationship. Behaviors exhibited by each partner will later be coded from the videotapes. The behaviors measured will parallel those assessed in Studies 1 and 2. Relations among partners' levels of trait affect, their behavioral responses, and measures of relationship quality and satisfaction will be examined. Study 4 will use a similar approach to assess these relations for 100 married couples.
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