Understanding and similarity in relation to marital satisfaction

This investigation assessed the relation of understanding and similarity of spouses to marital satisfaction by use of the MMPI. The satisfactorily married couples predicted significantly more of their spouses' responses than did the unsatisfactorily married couples. This significantly greater accuracy of prediction was not enhanced by the significantly greater similarity exhibited by the satisfactorily married couples. In fact, both groups accurately predicted a significantly greater number of items that were dissimilarly endorsed when compared with those items similarly endorsed. No relation was found for either group between assumed similarity and marital satisfaction.