Couple Interactions as Portrayed in Television Comedy Series

Couple interactions in Emmy award-winning comedy series were analyzed to investigate whether healthy (positive) or unhealthy (negative) couple communication is portrayed in this type of television programming. John Gottman's extensive research on couples' interactions as described in the p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of couple & relationship therapy 2010-07, Vol.9 (3), p.223-238
Main Authors: Boelman, Sara M., Zimmerman, Toni Schindler, Matheson, Jennifer L., Banning, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Content analysis
couple communication
Couples
Gottman
Interpersonal communication
Personal relationships
Social interaction
television
Television programs
therapist training
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Description
Summary:Couple interactions in Emmy award-winning comedy series were analyzed to investigate whether healthy (positive) or unhealthy (negative) couple communication is portrayed in this type of television programming. John Gottman's extensive research on couples' interactions as described in the popular book, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work ( Gottman & Silver, 1999 ) guided this content analysis. Findings indicate that positive interactions were shown more often than negative interactions, and those individuals who were in a committed relationship had significantly more occurrences of negative interactions than individuals who were in a dating or ambiguous relationship. Implications for training therapists and for teaching clients to recognize major Gottman communication principles are discussed.
ISSN:1533-2691
1533-2683
DOI:10.1080/15332691.2010.491785