The DOI matches its Crossref record; 24 of the 24 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Marital interaction: Physiological linkage and affective exchange.
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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“For example, one study showed that 60% of the variance in marital dissatisfaction was accounted for by stronger physiologic linkage between partners during conflict (Levenson and Gottman, 1983).”
From Physiological feelings (2019) · cites this paper as Levenson and Gottman, 1983
In the citing paper
“While in some studies physiological synchrony was found to be related to positive affect (Chanel et al. 2012; Danyluck and Page‐Gould 2018), empathy (Chatel‐Goldman et al. 2014), and group cohesion (Gordon et al. 2020), others observed a positive relationship between physiological synchrony and negative affect (Wilson et al. 2018) or distress in couples (Levenson and Gottman 1983), suggesting that”
From Interpersonal Physiological Synchrony During Dyadic Joint Action Is Increased by Task Novelty and Reduced by Social Anxiety (2025) · cites this paper as Levenson and Gottman 1983
In the citing paper
“Interestingly, autonomic mimicry can also occur without any direct physical contact (Levenson and Gottman, 1983;Palumbo et al., 2016).”
From Connecting minds and sharing emotions through mimicry: A neurocognitive model of emotional contagion (2017) · cites this paper as Levenson and Gottman, 1983
Citations
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“Researchers like Levenson and Gottman [45] studied the physiological responses of marital couples through sensors measuring heart rate, skin conductance, and facial muscle activity for detecting affective empathy and understanding empathic accuracy.”
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Ranger, A. R. (2024) · Carleton University's Institutional Repository (MacOdrum Library, Carleton University) · doi:10.22215/etd/2024-16035
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“Instances of heart rate synchronization have been observed in various contexts, such as intimate couples [14] , romantic partners [15][16] , mother-infant interactions [17] , therapist-patient interactions [18][19][20] , and social group activities [21][22][23] .”
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“These fi ndings align with research demonstrating that stressful experiences can elicit synchronization of negative affect between partners (Levenson & Gottman, 1983) and friends (Cook, 2020).”
Brown, C. L., Otero, M. C., Ascher, E. A., Merrilees, J. J., & LEVENSON, R. W. (2025) · The Gerontologist · doi:10.1093/geront/gnaf044
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Self-citationEmotion and self-control : self-control limits emotional extremes
Layton, R. L. (2011) · Scholars Archive - University at Albany (University at Albany, State University of New York) · doi:10.54014/900k-7w41
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“First, Levenson and Gottman (1983) found that arguing spouses matched their physiological arousal levels as their arguments increased in intensity, suggesting that matching may be an indication of involvement rather than being ubiquitously positive.”
Empathy for pain persists across live two-way video interactions and viewing of prerecorded videos
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The role of conflict-based communication patterns in male physical aggression toward female partners
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Carta, K. E., Jumonville, G. A., Duong, J. B., Walters, S. N., Carrasco, A. S., Romero, D. N., Khurd, I. P., Chaspari, T., Han, S. C., Kim, Y., et al. (2026) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2026.109191
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“[Levenson and Gottman, 1983] Levenson, R. W. and Gottman, J. M. (1983).”
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“When MCO is applied between the couple, the three pillars can promote the wellbeing of the intimate relationship through mechanisms such as positive dyadic coping (Falconier et al., 2015) and ability to regulate affect (Levenson and Gottman, 1983).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Levenson, R. W., & Gottman, J. M.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- ORCID
- Levenson, Robert W.
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1983
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 587-597
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- 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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