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Studies of cognition in relationships show that people's thoughts about their partners shapeand reflect the quality of relationships. Some research further suggests that women's cognitions are more relationship-centered thun men's. The data supporting these arguments, however, often are based on partners' retrospective reports or responses to hypothetical scenarios. This study examined partners' concurrent cognitions-the thoughts they have during the course of interaction. Data were collected using a modification of "protocol analysis." Partners conversed over networked computers and also voiced what they were thinking. Results indicated that those who were dissatisfied with their relationship expressed sigrlifiulntly more negative thoughts about their partner,fewer positive thoughts about their partner, and f m e r positive thoughts about their relationship than did those who were satisfied. Dissatisfied men vocalized fewer negative thoughts about themselves than did those who were satisfied. Women's thoughts were not more focused on relationship-oriented issues than were men's; men expressed more negative cognitions about relationships. Thefindings confirm that there are distinctions between the concurrent cognitions of satisfied and dissatisfied partners. Researchers should continue questioning the influence of gender on the ways partners evaluate their relationships.A fundamental omission in the existing literature is research on the relationship between cognitions that occur during interaction, "on-line" cognitions, and interactionalbehavior. (Fincham, Bradbury, & Scott, 1990, pp.

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