Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Ending Relationships01:28

Ending Relationships

The dissolution of intimate relationships presents complex emotional and psychological challenges, particularly when emotional bonds are strong, the relationship is long-standing, and perceived alternatives are limited. This distress often intensifies in romantic breakups, where the initiator may experience greater turmoil than the rejected partner. Contributing factors include residual attachment, guilt over causing pain, and uncertainty about how to manage the situation. The stress is further...
Close Relationships and Culture01:29

Close Relationships and Culture

Culture shapes how people approach attraction, choose partners, and build long-term relationships. While some preferences in mate selection appear consistent across cultures, such as men valuing physical attractiveness and women emphasizing financial resources, cultural contexts influence how these preferences are expressed and prioritized. Marriage extends beyond romantic ideals in many societies and is deeply embedded in social, economic, and religious frameworks.The Role of Culture in Mate...
Couples Therapy01:26

Couples Therapy

Couples therapy is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals in intimate relationships address conflicts, improve communication, and foster healthier dynamics. It is appropriate for couples at various stages, including those who are dating, married, or in long-term partnerships, and aims to support partners in navigating their unique relational challenges.
Core Principles and Techniques
Couples therapy often incorporates cognitive-behavioral principles to identify and modify negative...
Relationship Growth01:27

Relationship Growth

Interpersonal relationships progress through stages, beginning with awareness and moving toward mutuality, where emotional connections deepen. While many relationships remain at moderate levels of mutuality, deeper connections form through self-disclosure, trust, and interdependence.Self-DisclosureSelf-disclosure involves revealing personal information, starting with surface-level details and gradually progressing to more intimate content. As trust grows, individuals feel more comfortable...
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles01:28

Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in adult relationships.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

White matter microstructure of sensorimotor projection fibers in chronic low back pain.

Pain reports·2026
Same author

Cerebellar gray matter alterations in chronic low back pain and their associations with postural control and pain sensitivity.

Pain·2026
Same author

Sleep architecture and quality and pain experience in individuals with persistent low back pain and asymptomatic controls.

PloS one·2025
Same author

The Effects of Experimental Sleep Extension in Middle-to-Older-Aged Healthy Sleepers.

Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil)·2024
Same author

Association between seated trunk control and cortical sensorimotor white matter brain changes in patients with chronic low back pain.

PloS one·2024
Same author

MRI Compatible Lumbopelvic Movement Measurement System to Validate and Capture Task Performance During Neuroimaging.

IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society·2024
Same journal

War and Terrorism Perceptions a Decade Later: Target Distinction or Ethnic-Cultural Bias?

The Journal of social psychology·2026
Same journal

You Must Eat Less Meat! Effects of Issue Importance on Reactance to Meat-Reduction Messages.

The Journal of social psychology·2026
Same journal

The Dynamics of Distributed Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Healthcare: Moderated Mediation of Psychological Capital and Emotional Exhaustion.

The Journal of social psychology·2026
Same journal

Threat-Induced Conservatism in a Liberal Electorate: Issue-Based Shifts without Ideological Transformation.

The Journal of social psychology·2026
Same journal

Exploring schadenfreude from the perspectives of deservingness and terror management theories.

The Journal of social psychology·2026
Same journal

The Impact of Shame, Humiliation and Pride on Revenge Desire and Behavior in Victims of Crime: A Pilot Experimental Study.

The Journal of social psychology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
06:04

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Published on: January 17, 2025

Partner discrepancies in distressed marriages.

Peter Richard Kilmann1, Jennifer M C Vendemia

  • 1University of South Carolina, Barnwell College, Department of Psychology, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. Kilmann@sc.edu

The Journal of Social Psychology
|March 15, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Wide personality differences between spouses increase marital distress risk. Couples experiencing distress showed larger discrepancies in personal distress, impulsivity, insensitivity, and self-centered traits, impacting relationship satisfaction.

More Related Videos

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners
09:52

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

Published on: May 31, 2018

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
07:56

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 13, 2026

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
06:04

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

Published on: January 17, 2025

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners
09:52

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

Published on: May 31, 2018

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
07:56

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

Published on: September 19, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Family Studies
  • Relationship Science

Background:

  • Spousal discrepancy theory suggests personality differences predict marital outcomes.
  • Understanding these differences is crucial for marital therapy effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the relationship between partner personality discrepancies and marital distress.
  • To identify specific traits linked to distress in couples seeking therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed personality and interpersonal characteristics in 244 couples undergoing marital therapy.
  • Analyzed discrepancies in traits like impulsivity, sensitivity, and self-centeredness.
  • Subdivided couples based on marital duration to explore temporal effects.

Main Results:

  • Significant discrepancies in personal distress, impulsivity, insensitivity, and self-centeredness correlated with higher marital distress.
  • Longer-married couples exhibited fewer impulsive, exploitative, and insensitive traits.
  • Husbands' distress linked to partner's personal distress, impulsivity, narcissism, and competitiveness; wives' distress linked to partner's self-centeredness.

Conclusions:

  • Personality discrepancies are key indicators of marital distress.
  • Specific trait differences have differential impacts on husbands' and wives' marital satisfaction.
  • Findings inform therapeutic interventions for couples with significant personality mismatches.