Satisfying personal relationships contribute to an individual's psychological and physical health. By thinking about what their relationship is like and talking to each other about it, partners can often strengthen their relationship and contribute to their well-being. The primary aims of this proposed research program are to explore the effects that thinking and talking about relationships under various conditions have on the relationship and to examine the underlying factors that determine whether the effects are positive or negative. Four empirical studies are proposed with a sample of 300 couples. Study 1 will identify the conditions that moderate the influence of relationship talk on the partners in the relationship. Study 2 will examine the underlying factors that determine the value of relational thinking and talking to partners in the relationship. Study 3 will further examine the contextual factors, correlates and consequences of relational talk by observing partners as they interact with each other. Study 4 will be a follow-up of all couples to explore how relationship awareness and its effects change over time. Additional analyses will be undertaken to compare data from the above studies with those obtained from approximately 370 urban couples in an ongoing longitudinal study. By examining partners' tendencies to think and talk about relationships, this research program will uncover the everyday workings of healthy relationships rather than focus on partners in conflict. In so doing, these studies may uncover ways to help couples prevent unnecessary distress not by avoiding the conflicts that are sometimes inevitable, but by articulating the ways that people can negotiate their relationships with one another.
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