Four studies are proposed to examine the assumption underlying the central role accorded attributions, or explanations for relationship events, in cognitive accounts of marital dysfunction. The long term goal of the research is to provide data on the causal role of attributions in marital dysfunction that will facilitate the development of effective prevention programs and marital therapies. The first two studies examine the possible causal association between attributions and marital dissatisfaction. Study 1 is a two and half year, multiwave longitudinal study in which attributions and marital satisfaction will be assessed at five times. Study 2, an analogue intervention study, assesses the effects of changing attributions on marital satisfaction and, in addition, (a) compares the effectiveness of an attribution intervention to behavioral marital therapy, and (b) evaluates the utility of the attribution intervention as an adjunct to behavioral marital therapy. The second two studies investigate the impact of a spouse's attributions on subsequent behavior towards his or her partner. Study 3 examines this question at a microanalytic level by assessing attributions for and responses to each communication during a problem solving discussion. In Study 4 an attempt is made to manipulate the attribution a spouse makes for a partner behavior and to examine the impact of the manipulation on the subsequent thoughts of the spouse and his or her behavior towards the partner. Thus, the proposed studies investigate further the well documented association between attributions and concurrent marital dissatisfaction and lay a foundation for empirically based prevention and intervention programs for marital dysfunction.
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