Cited by 856Attachment and Relationship DynamicsHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic ControlMarriage and Sexual Relationships

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Marital interaction: Physiological linkage and affective exchange.

Levenson, Robert W., Gottman, John M.·1983·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.45.3.587

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Abstract

Thirty married couples were studied during naturalistic interactions to determine the extent to which variation in marital satisfaction could be accounted for by physiological and affective patterns between and within spouses. The authors hypothesized that (a) compared to nondistressed couples' interactions, distressed couples' interactions would show greater physiological interrelatedness or "linkage," more negative affect, and more reciprocity of negative affect and (b) these differences would be more pronounced when the interaction was high in conflict (discussing a marital problem) as opposed to low in conflict (discussing the events of the day). Heart rate, skin conductance, pulse transmission time, and somatic activity from both spouses were analyzed using bivariate time-series techniques to derive a measure of physiological linkage. Self-report affective data (obtained using a video-recall procedure) were analyzed using sequential analyses to derive a measure of affect reciprocity. The hypotheses were strongly supported; 60% of the variance in marital satisfaction was accounted for using measures of physiological linkage alone. Additional nonredundant variance was accounted for by the other physiological and affective measures.

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Background
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Background
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“Levenson and GOttman (1983) found that in dissatisfied marriages, lhe husband was unlikely to reciprocate the wife's positive affect, suggesting gender differences in aHective response to intimate male- female con(Jin Margolin.”
Background
Untitled work
Kret (2014) · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104886 · Cited by 98
“Synchronization occurs at different levels, ranging from body postures and facial expressions [10,11] to physiological states, such as heart-beat rythm [12,13], neural activity [14], or eye-blinks [15].”
Rhythmic organization of social interaction and observer ratings of positive affect and involvement
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“Following Kaplan~ Burch, and Bloom (1964), Levenson and Gottman (1983) predicted that close coupling between the physiological processes of interaction partners would be associated with negative affect.”
Background
Tracking emotional valence: The role of the orbitofrontal cortex
Goodkind, M. S., Sollberger, M. A., Gyurak, A., Rosen, H. J., Rankin, K. P., Miller, B. L., & LEVENSON, R. W. (2011) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.21251 · Cited by 106
“Neuroimaging and emotion tracking data were obtained from 59 patients with impairment from suspected neurodegenerative disease recruited through the Memory and Aging Center (MAC) at the University of California San Francisco.”
Self-citation
Cynical hostility, attempts to exert social control, and cardiovascular reactivity in married couples
Smith, T. W., & Brown, P. C. (1991) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf00867172 · Cited by 99
“Previous research indicates that hostility is associated with decreased marital satisfaction in some groups (Smith et aL, 1988; Houston and Kelley, 1989) and that marital distress is related to psychophysiological processes ( Levenson and Gottman, 1983, 1985 ).”
Background
Emotional Dynamics in Intimate Relationships
Schoebi, D., & Randall, A. K. (2015) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073915590620 · Cited by 119
“At the situational level, significant interactions with a partner, such as conflicts (e.g., Levenson & Gottman, 1983), disappointment, surprises, or rejection (e.g., Murray, Bellavia, Rose, & Griffin, 2003), may elicit positive or negative emotions.”
Background
Attributions and arousal as predictors of maternal discipline
Smith, A. M., & O'Ĺeary, S. G. (1995) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/bf02230412 · Cited by 96
Collectivistic orientation in teams: an individual and group-level analysis
Eby, L. T. D. T., & Dobbins, G. H. (1997) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199705)18:3 · Cited by 441
Pupil mimicry promotes trust through the theory-of-mind network
Prochazkova, E., Prochazkova, L., Rojek-Giffin, M., Scholte, H. S., Dreu, C. K. W. D., & Kret, M. E. (2018) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1803916115 · Cited by 101
Argument and verbal aggression in constructive and destructive family and organizational disagreements
Infante, D. A., Myers, S. A., & Buerkel, R. A. (1994) · Western Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/10570319409374488 · Cited by 95
Physiological synchrony is associated with cooperative success in real-life interactions
Behrens, F., Snijdewint, J. A., Moulder, R. G., Prochazkova, E., Sjak-Shie, E. E., Boker, S. M., & Kret, M. E. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-76539-8 · Cited by 93
A psychophysiological analysis of spouse solicitousness towards pain behaviors, spouse interaction, and pain perception
Flor, H., Breitenstein, C., Birbaumer, N., & Fürst, M. (1995) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7894(05)80105-4 · Cited by 93
Spouses' Cortisol Associations and Moderators: Testing Physiological Synchrony and Connectedness in Everyday Life
Papp, L. M., Pendry, P., Simon, C. D., & Adam, E. K. (2012) · Family Process · doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01413.x · Cited by 101
Electrodermal arousal between participants in a conversation: nonlinear dynamics and linkage effects.
Guastello, S. J., Pincus, D., & Gunderson, P. R. (2006) · PubMed · Cited by 91
Embodied stress: The physiological resonance of psychosocial stress
Engert, V., Linz, R., & Grant, J. A. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.221 · Cited by 103
“Twenty years later, Levenson and Gottman began studying autonomic linkage between spouses during marital conflict situations (Gottman and Levenson, 1985; Levenson and Gottman, 1983).”
The Formation of Group Affect and Team Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Identification
Tanghe, J., Wisse, B. M., & der Flier, H. V. (2009) · British Journal of Management · doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00656.x · Cited by 90
State of the Art of Interpersonal Physiology in Psychotherapy: A Systematic Review
Kleinbub, J. R. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02053 · Cited by 100
“…(e.g., Marci et al., 2007), stress contagion (e.g., Waters et al., 2014), attachment security (e.g., Diamond et al., 2008), marital conflict (e.g., Levenson and Gottman, 1983), and emotional regulation (e.g., Field, 2012), and have been proposed as indexes of relational efficacy in various…”
Background
Psychophysiological Effects of Downregulating Negative Emotions: Insights From a Meta-Analysis of Healthy Adults
Zähringer, J., Jennen-Steinmetz, C., Schmahl, C. G., Ende, G., & Paret, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00470 · Cited by 99
When couples’ hearts beat together: Synchrony in heart rate variability during conflict predicts heightened inflammation throughout the day
Wilson, S. J., Bailey, B. E., Jaremka, L. M., Fagundes, C. P., Andridge, R., Malarkey, W. B., Gates, K. M., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2018) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.04.017 · Cited by 88
“Prior work has found consonant results across synchrony indices in different physiological systems (e.g., Gates et al., 2015; Helm et al., 2012; Levenson and Gottman, 1983) with a notable exception (Helm et al.”
Influential
Reciprocity and alignment: quantifying coupling in dynamic interactions
Dumas, G., & Fairhurst, M. T. (2021) · Royal Society Open Science · doi:10.1098/rsos.210138 · Cited by 88
“18 Through physiological changes this unconscious form of communication signals changes in mood or state (though not explicitly).”
Background
The Biological Origins of Automated Patterns of Human Interaction
Cappella, J. N. (1991) · Communication Theory · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.1991.tb00002.x · Cited by 93
“In a recent update and extension of these findings, Levenson and Gottman (1983) found once again that negative affect reciprocity distinguished distressed from nondistressed marriages.”
The Role of Conflict-Based Communication Responses and Outcomes in Male Domestic Violence toward Female Partners
Feldman, C. M., & Ridley, C. A. (2000) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407500174005 · Cited by 87
Mother and Child Emotions during Mathematics Homework
Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., & Hejmadi, A. (2008) · Mathematical Thinking and Learning · doi:10.1080/10986060701818644 · Cited by 95
“Two frequently used behavioral measures of emotion are Ekman's Facial Action Coding System (FACS; Ekman, 2003 ; Ekman, Friesen, & Hager, 2002 ) and Gottman's Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF; Gottman & Krokoff, 1989 ; Levenson & Gottman, 1983 ).”
Method
Stressful Personal Relationships: Immune and Endocrine Function
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Malarkey, W. B., Cacioppo, J. T., & Glaser, R. (1994) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-285960-1.50017-4 · Cited by 87
Physiological Linkage of Dyadic Gaming Experience
Järvelä, S., Kivikangas, J. M., Kätsyri, J., & Ravaja, N. (2014) · Simulation & Gaming · doi:10.1177/1046878113513080 · Cited by 86
“Physiological linkage was first used in analysis of marital interactions, where several linkage indices were associated with conflicting conversations (Levenson & Gottman, 1983).”
Method
Ethnic Variation in the Impact of Negative Affect and Emotion Inhibition on the Health of Older Adults
Consedine, N. S., Magai, C., Cohen, C. I., & Gillespie, M. (2002) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/57.5.p396 · Cited by 86
“…2000), too high a level of emotional disclosure may produce adverse personal and social consequences (Bonanno & Kaltman, 1999; Keltner, Ellsworth, & Edwards, 1993; Lemerise & Dodge, 1993; Levenson & Gottman, 1983; Tavris, 1984, 1989) or produce further negative affect (Afifi & Guerrero, 2000).”
Background
When our hearts beat together: Cardiac synchrony as an entry point to understand dyadic co‐regulation in couples
Coutinho, J., Pereira, A., Oliveira‐Silva, P., Meier, D., Lourenço, V., & Tschacher, W. (2021) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13739 · Cited by 83
Strangers, Friends, and Lovers Show Different Physiological Synchrony in Different Emotional States
Bizzego, A., Azhari, A., Campostrini, N., Truzzi, A., Ng, L. Y., Gabrieli, G., Bornstein, M. H., Setoh, P., & Esposito, G. (2019) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs10010011 · Cited by 85
“Physiological synchrony during such conflicts have also predicted marital dissatisfaction [20].”
Background
Mother-child behavioral and physiological synchrony
Bell, M. A. (2020) · Advances in child development and behavior · doi:10.1016/bs.acdb.2020.01.006 · Cited by 100
Effects of marital conflict on subsequent parent-son interactions
Jouriles, E. N., & Farris, A. M. (1992) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7894(05)80163-7 · Cited by 85
Take a breath and take the turn: how breathing meets turns in spontaneous dialogue
Rochet‐Capellan, A., & Fuchs, S. I. (2014) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0399 · Cited by 83
Relationships and Health: The Critical Role of Affective Science
Sbarra, D. A., & Coan, J. A. (2018) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073917696584 · Cited by 96
“Gottman and colleagues’ work (Gottman, Coan, Carrere, & Swanson, 1998; Levenson & Gottman, 1983) provides an excellent example of the ways in which affective expressions can influence and be influenced by a partner’s overt behavior, and the conflict resolution paradigm developed for their research…”
Background

Authors: Levenson, R. W., & Gottman, J. M.
Affiliations: Indiana University Bloomington (US)
ORCID: Levenson, Robert W.
Venue: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1983
Volume: 45
Issue: 3
Pages: 587-597
ISSN: 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
1939-1315
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.45.3.587
OpenAlex: W2143250836
Cited by: 855
References: 24
Citations by year: 2026: 19 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 39 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 24
FWCI: 8.97
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Sexual Relationships
Keywords: marital interaction, marital satisfaction, marital distress, marital conflict, heart rate, skin conductance, somatic activity
MeSH terms: Affect, Behavior, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Heart Rate, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Marriage, Motor Activity, Psychophysiology, Pulse

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Marital interaction: Physiological linkage and affective exchange.

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