Expectancies and Communication Behavior in Marriage

Distinguishing Proximal-Level Effects from Distal-Level Effects

Bibliographic Data

ID2936068
AuthorsK Sanford (0000-0003-4995-9864, Baylor University, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume20
Issue3
Pages391-402
Publication date2003-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0265407503020003007
OpenAlexW2090946985
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited19

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

Conversation · Developmental psychology · Multilevel model · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Cognitive and psychological constructs research · Communication · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Psychology · Social Psychology

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