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Interpersonal emotion dynamics presented as a network. The four nodes represent positive (PE) and negative emotions (NE) of both partners. The arrows represent slopes, and thus the effects of emotions at time t-1 on emotions at time t. Solid arrows correspond to slopes for cross-partner connections, and thus partner effects, and dashed arrows to within-partner connections or actor effects.
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Emotional interdependence—here defined as partners’ emotions being linked to each other across time—is often considered a key characteristic of healthy romantic relationships. But is this actually the case? We conducted an experience-sampling study with 50 couples indicating their feelings 10 times a day for 7 days and modeled emotional interdepend...
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... The effects of marriage on health are significant, as some studies have witnessed marriage positively affecting happiness data worldwide (Chapman & Guven, 2016;Grover & Helliwell, 2019;Lawrence et al., 2019). Sels et al. (2016) link this interdependence with emotional independence as an important aspect of marriage. It is argued that one individual's feelings are associated with another person's feelings, indicating interdependence as transpiring in synchrony, emotion transmission, and others. ...
Independence and interdependence are two important considerations in a marital relationship. In particular, interdependence is considered an important consideration, witnessed by existing literature. Based on the relevant consideration, this research article examines independence and interdependence as prevailing themes in Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “A Temporary Matter” under Reader’s Response Theory. The researcher used the intrinsic case study method and critically analyzed the short story and its relation to independence and interdependence. Thus, it is found that both themes are prevalent as the story title is direct yet has deeper meanings for the readers. Although the power outrage is depicted as a minor inconvenience, it amplifies the emotional distance caused by past traumas. The power outage symbolizes the event of interdependence when both spouses sit together and share their experiences. This interdependence becomes especially apparent when Shukumar shares his grief, and Shoba, despite intending to be part of her residence, becomes aware of her husband’s plight. Notably, this story is based on an open ending that implies the readers’ choice of conclusion. This indicates how Lahiri’s work also focuses on readers’ ability to generate interpretation and acquire an understanding of marriage, independence, and interdependence as important aspects.
... The concept of emotional interdependence is also relevant to the findings of the research. It essentially means that the emotions of a person are inextricably linked to those of the individual with whom they share a close relationship (Sels et al., 2016). Emotional interdependence can manifest in numerous forms, such as emotional transmission from one partner to the other (Larson & Almeida, 1999), and synchrony or the simultaneous covariation of partners' emotions (Butler, 2011). ...
The study explores maternal and paternal differences in the coping strategies, emotion regulation and well-being indicators of parents of neurodivergent children in India. Research has shown that the impact of raising a neurodivergent child is different for mothers and fathers. However, most studies focus solely on mothers, and there is insufficient research in the Indian context. It was hypothesised that the emotion regulation, well-being indicators and coping strategies used by fathers and mothers of neurodivergent children are significantly different. 19 mothers and 10 fathers of children (aged 10-16 years) diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disabilities, from the Aatman Academy, Thane participated in the study. The Brief-Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Carver, 1997), Multidimensional Flourishing Scale (Mesurado et al., 2018), Peace of Mind Scale (Lee et al., 2012), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Version (Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006) were used to assess coping strategies, well-being and emotion regulation, respectively. A Mann-Whitney U test revealed differences in maternal and paternal results, but they were not significant. Plausible explanations include increased paternal involvement in child-rearing, the dyadic stress model, emotional interdependence in mothers and fathers and communal coping. This study is comprehensive, uses standardised questionnaires, and includes fathers. It can aid mixed methods and longitudinal research on the topic, and in designing timely interventions for parents of neurodivergent children in India.
... t is clear that emotions and their regulation play a key role in the development and maintenance of close relationships, such as those between couples, and in turn, these bonds affect the emotional realm of their members (Sels, 2016). Given that romantic relationships are valuable for most people and influence their general well-being and self-assessment of their emotional relationship (Jiménez-Picón, 2021;Jitaru, 2020), a relationship can be both a source and a major source of stress (Farero, 2019). ...
Objective: Background and Objective: Couples face numerous challenges in marital life, particularly in areas of family cohesion and emotional self-regulation. Implementing psychological interventions to enhance these characteristics is essential. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of couples therapy using the Gottman method on family cohesion and emotional self-regulation among couples. Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental research was conducted using a pre-test and post-test design. The study population consisted of couples seeking divorce at counseling centers in Tehran in the year 2023. The sample comprised 50 couples, selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned into two equal groups (each group containing 25 couples). The intervention group underwent eight 36-minute sessions (two sessions per week) of couples therapy using the Gottman method. Research tools included questionnaires on family cohesion and emotional self-regulation, completed by both groups during pre-test and post-test phases. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. Findings: Results indicated significant differences between the experimental and control groups in the post-test stage for the variables of family cohesion (F=54.29, p<0.001) and emotional self-regulation (F=11.40, p<0.001). Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of couples therapy using the Gottman method in enhancing family cohesion and emotional self-regulation among couples. Consequently, clinical psychologists and therapists can utilize this method to improve psychological characteristics, particularly improving family cohesion and emotional self-regulation.
... In previous research, emotional contagion has been investigated within the context of social interaction in different applied fields, such as educational research [20,21,31,32] and clinical psychology [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. In these studies, empirical evidence has been found for the contagious transmission of both positive [20,21,42] and negative emotions [18,32]. ...
Susceptibility to emotional contagion is defined as the disposition of how susceptible someone is to catch others’ emotions and it has long been studied in research on mental health, well-being, and social interaction. Given that existing self-report measures of susceptibility to emotional contagion have focused almost exclusively on negative emotions, we developed a self-report measure to assess the susceptibility to emotional contagion of both positive and negative emotions (2 scales). In two studies, we examined their factor structure, validity, and reliability using exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N = 257), confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N = 247) and correlations. Our results confirmed the two-factor structure and demonstrated good internal consistencies. Regarding external validity, our scales showed diverging correlational patterns: While susceptibility to negative emotional contagion was linked to mental health problems and negative emotions, susceptibility to positive emotional contagion was linked to interpersonal functioning and prosocial tendencies. In conclusion, our scales appear to be internally/externally valid and a promising tool for future research.
... In the academic realm, Sels et al. (2016) stress the importance of evaluating emotional intelligence in the context of higher education and its relationship with well-being, which could have implications for productivity in academic settings. Leersnyder et al. (2014) also link emotional and spiritual intelligence with a better work environment and increased productivity. ...
The evolving nature of work environments has led to an increasing emphasis on holistic employee development, recognizing the importance of emotional well-being, spiritual values, restoration, and motivation in the workplace. Research shows that emotional intelligence, workplace spirituality, emotional regulation, and emotional interdependence influence employee well-being and productivity. Spiritual values provide meaning, purpose, interconnectedness, and community, supporting performance. Restoration through natural environments and restorative practices enhances well-being and motivation. Employee engagement involves intrinsic factors like meaningful work, extrinsic factors like rewards, organizational support, work-life balance, training and development, recognition, job design, and organizational culture. Strategies for diverse spiritual beliefs include inclusive policies, nourishing spirit at work, managing beliefs, open expression, humanistic environment, accommodating demands, and studying experiences. Promoting work-life balance involves flexible policies, wellness support, arrangements, connections, formal and informal support, empowerment, family-friendly policies, and assessments. Rest, rejuvenation, and leisure contribute to health, reduced stress, productivity, and motivation. Motivational factors for engagement include intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, organizational support, work-life balance, training and development, recognition, job design, and culture. Received: 12 February 2024 / Accepted: 19 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024
... Much work has examined how emotion dynamics relate to important outcomes in romantic relationships (Gottman and Levenson, 1992;Gottman, 1994;Gottman et al., 1998;Saxbe and Repetti, 2010;Castro-Schilo and Ferrer, 2013;Sels et al., 2016;Gonzales et al., 2018). However, little work has been done to understand how change or variation in these dynamics over time can also contribute to such outcomes, despite the expectation that such change could or should occur. ...
... Numerous studies have shown that emotion dynamics exist within many romantic relationships, and that these dynamics are associated with the state of the relationship. Emotions and stresses of one member of a couple can influence the emotions and stresses of their partner, and the level of this influence can vary depending on several factors, such as characteristics of the couple, the context in which the couple is interacting, or the particular emotions being studied (Bolger et al., 1989;Ferrer and Nesselroade, 2003;Butner et al., 2007;Schoebi, 2008;Saxbe and Repetti, 2010;Randall and Butler, 2013;Randall and Schoebi, 2015;Sels et al., 2016). ...
... Gonzales et al. (2018) found that dynamic parameters relating the female partner's affect to her male partner's affect were predictive of relationship dissolution. Finally, Sels et al. (2016) found that the wellbeing of a couple's relationship is associated with how emotionally interdependent the couple is. ...
Romantic relationships are defined by emotion dynamics, or how the emotions of one partner at a single timepoint can affect their own emotions and the emotions of their partner at the next timepoint. Previous research has shown that the level of these emotion dynamics plays a role in determining the state and quality of the relationship. However, this research has not examined whether the estimated emotion dynamics change over time, and how the change in these dynamics might relate to relationship outcomes, despite changes in dynamics being likely to occur. We examined whether the magnitude of variation in emotion dynamics over time was associated with relationship outcomes in a sample of 148 couples. Time-varying vector autoregressive models were used to estimate the emotion dynamics for each couple, and the average and standard deviation of the dynamics over time was related to relationship quality and relationship dissolution 1–2 years later. Our results demonstrate that certain autoregressive and cross-lagged parameters do show significant variation over time, and that this variation is associated with relationship outcomes. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of accounting for change in emotion dynamics over time, and the relevance of this change to the prediction of future outcomes.
... In previous research, emotional contagion has been investigated within the context of social interaction in different applied fields, such as educational research [20,21,31,32] and clinical psychology [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. In these studies, empirical evidence has been found for the contagious transmission of both positive [20,21,42] and negative emotions [18,32]. ...
Susceptibility to emotional contagion is defined as the disposition of how susceptible someone is to catch others’ emotions and it has long been studied in research on mental health, well-being, and social interaction. Given that existing self-report measures of susceptibility to emotional contagion have focused almost exclusively on negative emotions, we developed a self-report measure to assess the susceptibility to emotional contagion of both positive and negative emotions (2 scales). In two studies, we examined their factor structure, validity, and reliability using exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N = 257), confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N = 247) and correlations. Our results confirmed the two-factor structure and demonstrated good internal consistencies. Regarding external validity, our scales showed diverging correlational patterns: While susceptibility to negative emotional contagion was linked to mental health problems and negative emotions, susceptibility to positive emotional contagion was linked to interpersonal functioning and prosocial tendencies. In conclusion, our scales appear to be internally/externally valid and a promising tool for future research.
... Similarly, most studies conceptualize emotion regulation as an intra-individual process (Rick et al., 2017), even though 98% of emotion regulation episodes take place in social contexts (Gross et al., 2006), such as romantic relationships . How couples regulate emotions is vital for the development and maintenance of close relationships (Sels et al., 2016), which is an interdependent process between romantic partners. Despite the social nature of emotion regulation and its impact on close relationships, the literature on emotion regulation in couples remains scarce , especially in adolescence (Lindsey, 2020). ...
Emotion regulation difficulties have been found to predict relationship satisfaction in adult samples, yet little is known with regards to the processes explaining these associations in adolescent dating relationships. Furthermore, among the available literature, most studies only consider one romantic partner. To address this gap, this study used a dyadic approach and considered the role of conflict resolution strategies (i.e., positive problem-solving, withdrawal, and conflict engagement) in the association between adolescents’ emotion regulation and romantic relationship satisfaction. A sample of 117 heterosexual adolescent couples from Québec, Canada, was recruited (Mage = 17.68, SD = 1.57; 50% female, with 40.60% being in their first romantic relationship, and 48.29% reporting that this relationship was ongoing for more than a year). Results from APIMeM analyses indicated no direct effects between emotion regulation and relationship satisfaction. Significant indirect actor effects indicate that boys and girls with greater emotion regulation difficulties were less satisfied with their relationship via more withdrawal strategies. A partner effect emerged for girls, such that their boyfriend’s regulation difficulties and greater withdrawal had a negative impact on their relationship satisfaction. This study identifies withdrawal as a key strategy in explaining the associations between emotion regulation difficulties and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, it highlights that within adolescent couples, boys’ withdrawal can be particularly deleterious to relational well-being.
... Emotional interdependence has primarily been investigated in a very confined manner by looking at connections between the same emotions of both partners. Second, there is a methodological consideration that existing research on emotion interdependence and its relation with well-being often did not take into account (Sels et al., 2016). ...
... -Thematic Representation Of The Global ThemesTheme 1 Emotional CovariationThis theme describes the extent to which two partners' emotions fluctuate across time through emotional similarity, coregulation, or synchrony. It explicitly captures the time-dependent, temporal component of emotional change(Sels et al., 2016). The participants agreed that they exert influences on each other's emotional cycles and rates of change. ...
Objectives: The present study attempts to understand how the social norms concerning the idea of cohabitation and different patterns of emotional interdependence affect an individuals subjective well-being in cohabiting relationships. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 participants (three males and three females) aged 21-48 (n=6) in a cohabiting relationship for more than eight months and residing in Indian metropolitan cities. A semi-structured interview schedule with twenty-six questions was designed and validated by three experts. Results: A review of audio recordings, transcripts, and process notes revealed thirteen sub-themes listed under six global themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis: Emotional Covariation Interpersonal Emotion Dynamic Societys Standpoint Social Support Individual Perspective, and Well Being. Conclusion: Examining emotional interdependence, social norms, and subjective well-being, we drew attention to several vital factors of interpersonal emotion dynamics and individual versus relational well-being. Participants views about cohabitation were recorded. A low social acceptance of cohabitation led to significant distress and feelings of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. The role of social support in higher levels of affective well-being is also analyzed.
... It is known that emotions and their regulation play a key role in the development and maintenance of close relationships, such as those of a couple, and that, in turn, these same bonds influence the emotional sphere of their members (Sels et al., 2016). Considering that romantic relationships are valuable to most people and that they impact the general well-being and the evaluation of one's own sentimental relationship (Jiménez-Picón et al., 2021;Jitaru, 2020), a relationship can represent both a resource and a significant source of stress (Farero et al., 2019). ...
... A perfect scenario to induce and regulate emotions is set in couple relationships, as their members-particularly in times of distress-become their own regulation agents (Butler & Randall, 2013;Sels et al., 2016). In this way, when couples experience negative emotional situations (anger caused by disagreements, disappointments, etc.), they are likely to fall into an interaction in which the other is harshly criticized (Vangelisti et al., 1991), ignored, or devalued; it is here where good emotional management helps to get out of this destructive dynamic (Bloch et al., 2014). ...
Couples’ extrinsic emotion regulation strategies are associated with marital quality or dyadic adjustment. However, only the strategies employed according to the objective they are expected to achieve have been examined; it is not known if strategies on the bases of positive or negative extrinsic emotion regulation motivation would have the same consequences for the dyad. The purpose of this study was to examine if extrinsic emotion regulation (EER) predicts one’s own and one’s partner’s dyadic adjustment and if this effect differs by gender and relationship length. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (a type of dyadic data analysis, which incorporates the scores of the two members of the relationship into the analyses), data from 103 Chilean couples who completed self-report scales on dyadic adjustment and EER were analyzed. The participants were between 22 and 78 years old (Mmen = 39.84, SD = 11.37; Mwomen = 38.01, SD = 10.64), and the relationship lengths were between 1 and 50 years (M = 12.98, SD = 11.53). The motivation or the intention to make the partner feel good (positive) or bad (negative) respectively predict higher and lower dyadic adjustment in both the one who uses the strategy (actor) and the receiver of the strategy (partner). There was no difference by gender or by duration of the relationship in the dyads, but there was with children in common. It is important to consider the motivation underlying the emotional management of the couple, given its implication in marital quality and the need to broaden the understanding of other EERs related to healthy dyadic functioning.
