Definition
- Relationship Dissolution: The process through which personal relationships change or deteriorate due to communication patterns, dissatisfaction, or external pressures.
Communication is frequently cited as a determining factor in whether a relationship is well-maintained or likely to fail.
HintThe studies discussed in this section (Bradbury & Fincham (1992) and Gottman (1998)) can also be used to support the broader subtopic of communication in personal relationships.
Key Ideas:
- Relationship-Enhancing Patterns: These communication patterns strengthen relationships by avoiding blame and not assuming the other person acted with negative intent. They focus on understanding and positive reinforcement.
- Distress-Maintaining Patterns: Unlike relationship-enhancing patterns, these contribute to relationship deterioration by placing blame, assuming negative intent, and failing to recognize positive behaviors.
- Social Exchange Theory: This theory suggests that individuals weigh the costs and benefits of staying in a relationship. If the perceived costs outweigh the benefits, the relationship may end.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Psychologist John Gottman identified four communication behaviors that predict relationship failure:
- Criticism - Attacking a person’s character rather than addressing a specific behavior.
- Contempt - Expressing disrespect, superiority, or mockery.
- Defensiveness - Avoiding responsibility by making excuses or counterattacking.
- Stonewalling - Withdrawing from interaction and refusing to engage.
- The Active Listening Model: Effective listening involves acknowledging the speaker’s feelings and concerns without becoming defensive, validating their emotions and demonstrating support, even when disagreements arise.
Bradbury & Fincham (1992):
Aim: To investigate how communication patterns relate to marital satisfaction.
Method: In an observational study, 47 couples completed a survey identifying the biggest problem in their marriage and its cause. After the individual session, couples discussed a solution together. Two trained coders assessed the interactions for relationship-enhancing or distress-maintaining patterns.
Results: Couples with lower marital satisfaction showed more distress-maintaining patterns.
Conclusion: Distress-maintaining communication patterns contribute to relationship breakdown by reinforcing negative interactions.
Evaluation:
- Bidirectional ambiguity as it is unclear whether communication patterns cause marital dissatisfaction or result from it.
- The use of researcher triangulation reduces bias.
- The study observed real couples, making the findings applicable to real-life relationships. However, the artificial setting of a study may have influenced how participants behaved, lowering the ecological validity.
- The study focused on Western couples, limiting generalizability.
- Some couples may have faced minor disagreements, while others dealt with serious conflicts. This inconsistency could have affected the extent to which distress-maintaining patterns were observed.
