The Effect of Gratitude Journaling on Relationship Satisfaction and Conflict Resolution in Intimate Dyadic Relationships by Maria Teodora S. Dizon, M.A. Couples say that what matters in relationships are the little things: the small, everyday occurrences that one might gloss over or not mind in the hustle and bustle of life, in the midst of the complexity and complications of relationships. It appears, however, that we may be forgetting the impact of these little things. The current research studied how gratitude could contribute to optimizing romantic relationships. The study tested an intervention called Gratitude Journaling, which required individuals to note down at least three things they were thankful for that day, every day for two weeks. The present study hypothesized that this journaling intervention would increase the participants’ satisfaction in their respective relationships, and also get them to adopt more positive conflict resolution techniques. These hypotheses were tested via an experimental method. Two tests— The Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) (Hendrick, 1998), and the Conflict Resolution Style Index (CRSI) (Kurdek, 1994)— were performed thrice in two-week intervals by participants who were assigned to placebo and experimental intervention protocols, in order to measure their relationship satisfaction and dominance of positive or negative conflict resolution styles before and after intervention. Findings from both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that the gratitude journaling intervention exercise indeed produced an increase in participants’ relationship satisfaction and their adoption of positive conflict resolution styles (compromise, dialogue), as well as decreased their adoption of negative conflict resolution styles (attacking, submission, and avoidance). The current research also has evidence to suggest that a positive phenomenon called Broaden and Build took place, and that it could be the key underlying mechanism that produced these particular positive effects. It seems that the basic lessons our parents taught us – saying thank you, saying sorry, staying positive in spite of the bad things, among others – have a greater effect on our relationships. It appears that these small things aren’t so small after all, in the greater scheme of things.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 02:02:16 +0000