I Feel You, We Can Do This

Abstract

Abstract. We investigated whether similarity between partners in positive and negative affect is associated with the perception that one manages everyday life well together as a couple (dyadic mastery). To this end, we used data from 99 older couples (mean age = 75 years; mean length of relationship = 45 years) obtained 5 times a day over 7 consecutive days as participants went about their everyday lives. Analyses using actor-partner interdependence models revealed that higher (average and momentary) similarity in negative affect between partners, but not positive affect between partners, was associated with higher levels of dyadic mastery among both men and women. Our results point to the significance of emotional similarity between partners for smooth relationship functioning.

Relational turbulence and couples’ convergence and divergence in weekly highs and lows during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

“…That convergent lows were less predictive of relationship functioning than convergent highs is consistent with prior research demonstrating mixed effects of shared negative affect (Brown et al, 2022; Schade et al, 2020). One explanation is that the relational processes underlying shared negative affect can be divergent.…”

“…The benefits of emotional similarity have since been well documented in relationships research. Many studies found positive associations between partners' momentary affect similarity and perceptions of the relationship, such as feelings of love and perceived partner responsiveness (Sels et al, 2020), a sense of managing life well with one's partner (Schade et al, 2020), positive feelings about the relationship (Levavi-Francy et al, 2020), and relationship satisfaction (Brown et al, 2022). However, because these studies rarely asked individuals what their emotions were about, their results may attest more to the benefits of developing similar affective patterns than to the implications of responding to particular events in similar ways.…”

“…For example, Butler (2011) described how temporal interpersonal emotion systems (TIES) can involve processes that are morphostatic or morphogenic in ways that are consequential for relationship partners. Most research on interpersonal emotions has quantified aspects of emotional experience (e.g., intensity, duration, rate of change) and considered how these variables relate to each other between partners (e.g., Levavi-Francy et al, 2020; Schade et al, 2020; Sels et al, 2020). Although much has been gained by examining the correspondence between partners’ emotions using ecological momentary assessment and experience sampling methods, extant research tends to emphasize partners’ momentary affect states and little is known about how individuals interpret their emotions.…”