Expectancies and Communication Behavior in Marriage: Distinguishing Proximal-Level Effects from Distal-Level Effects

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between married couples' communication behavior during problem-solving conversations and their pre-conversation expectancies. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to distinguish between proximal-level and distal-level effects. A proximal-level effect is when fluctuations in a person's expectancies are followed by immediate changes in communication behavior. A distal-level effect is when a person's average expectancies across multiple conversations correlate with average communication behavior across multiple conversations. Married couples completed measures of pre-conversation expectancies and engaged in a sequence of four, videotaped problem-solving discussions. At the proximal level, wives' expectancies predicted communication behavior for both wives and husbands. Husbands' expectancies were largely nonsignificant at the proximal level. At the distal level, both wives' and husbands' expectancies predicted communication behavior.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Acitelli, L. K. (1992). Gender differences in relationship awareness and marital satisfaction among young married couples. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 102-110 .

Baucom, D. H., Epstein, N., Sayers, S., & Sher, T. G. (1989). The role of cognitions in marital relationships: Definitional, methodological, and conceptual issues. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 31-38 .

Baucom, D. H., Sayers, S. L., & Sher, T. G. (1990). Supplementing behavioral marital therapy with cognitive restructuring and emotional expressiveness training: An outcome investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 636-645 .

Bradbury, T. N., Beach, S. R. H., Fincham, F. D., & Nelson, G. M. (1996). Attributions and behavior in functional and dysfunctional marriages. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 569-576 .

Bradbury, T. N., & Fincham, F. D. (1989). Behavior and satisfaction in marriage: Prospective mediating processes. Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 119-143 .

Bradbury, T. N., & Fincham, F. D. (1990). Attributions in marriage: Review and critique. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 3-33 .

Bradbury, T. N., & Fincham, F. D. (1992). Attributions and behavior in marital interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 613-628 .

Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage .

Bryk, A. S., Raudenbush, S. W., & Congdon, R. (1998). HLM for Windows 4.03. Chicago: Scientific Software .

10.

Burgoon, J. K., Le Poire, B. A., & Rosenthal, R. (1995). Effects of preinteraction expectancies and target communication on perceiver reciprocity and compensation in dyadic interaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 287-321 .

11.

Carels, R. A., & Baucom, D. H. (1999). Support in marriage: Factors associated with on-line perceptions of support helpfulness. Journal of Family Psychology, 13, 131-144 .

12.

Cutrona, C. E., & Suhr, J. A. (1994). Social support communication in the context of marriage: An analysis of couples' supportive interactions. In B. R. Burleson, T. L. Albrecht, & I. G. Sarason (Eds.), Communication of social support: Messages, relationships and community (pp. 113-135). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .

13.

Fincham, F. D., & Bradbury, T. N. (1987). The impact of attributions in marriage: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 510-517 .

14.

Fincham, F. D., Garnier, P. C., Gano-Phillips, S., & Osborne, L. N. (1995). Preinteraction expectations, marital satisfaction, and accessibility: A new look at sentiment override. Journal of Family Psychology, 9, 3-14 .

15.

Fincham, F. D., Harold, G. T., & Gano-Phillips, S. (2000). The longitudinal association between attributions and marital satisfaction: Direction of effects and role of efficacy expectations. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 267-285 .

16.

Gottman, J. M. (1994). What predicts divorce? The relationship between marital processes and marital outcomes. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .

17.

Gottman, J. M. (1996). What predicts divorce? The measures. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum .

18.

Harris, M. J., & Rosenthal, R. (1985). Mediation of interpersonal expectancy effects: 31 meta-analyses. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 363-386 .

19.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Newton, T. L. (2001). Marriage and health: His and hers. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 472-503 .

20.

Miller, G. E., & Bradbury, T. N. (1995). Refining the association between attributions and behavior in marital interaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 9, 196-208 .

21.

Sanford, K. (1998). Memories of feeling misunderstood and a schema of partner empathic responding: New scales for marital research. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 490-501 .

22.

Sanford, K. (2003). Problem-solving conversations in marriage: Does it matter what topics couples discuss? Personal Relationships, 10, 97-112 .

23.

Vanzetti, N. A., Notarius, C. I., & NeeSmith, D. (1992). Specific and generalized expectancies in marital interaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 6, 171-183 .

24.

Weiss, R. L. (1980). Strategic behavioral marital therapy: Toward a model for assessment and intervention. In J. P. Vincent (Ed.), Advances in family intervention, assessment and theory (Vol. 1, pp. 229-271). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press .

25.

Weiss, R. L., & Heyman, R. E. (1997). A clinical-research overview of couples interactions. In W. K. Halford & H. J. Markman (Eds.), Clinical handbook of marriage and couples interventions (pp. 13-41). New York: Wiley .