"We're having a good (or bad) day": Differences in emotional synchrony in married couples in the United States and India

Ashley Randall, Shannon A. Corkery, Deepti Duggi, Shanmukh V. Kamble, Emily A. Butler

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    20 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Partners in close relationships often experience similar day-to-day emotions. However, little is known about whether emotional synchrony between partners is similar across marriages in different cultural contexts. We assess differences in levels of synchrony using daily diaries from 35 couples from the United States and 89 couples from India (41 in love marriages, 48 in arranged marriages). Results show group differences in levels of synchrony, with American couples showing greater synchrony than Indian couples. Somewhat surprisingly, synchrony of negative partner-induced emotions was associated with greater marital satisfaction across marriage types, while for Indian-love couples synchrony of positive partner-induced emotions was associated with decreased satisfaction. Finally, synchrony of both positive and negative partner-induced emotions was associated with higher closeness for Indian-love couples, but reduced closeness for American couples. These findings suggest synchrony may not have the same implications for couples' emotional functioning across marriage types.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)203-211
    Number of pages9
    JournalFamily Science
    Volume2
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2011

    Keywords

    • Close relationships
    • Culture
    • Emotion regulation
    • Synchrony

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Social Psychology
    • Anthropology
    • Sociology and Political Science

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