Relatively Happy: The Role of the Positive-to-Negative Affect Ratio in Japanese and Belgian Couples

Abstract

Satisfied couples in European-American cultural contexts experience higher ratios of positive to negative affect during interactions than their less satisfied counterparts. The current research tests the possibility that this finding is culture-bound. It compares proportions of positive to negative affect during couple interactions in two different cultural contexts: Belgium and Japan. Whereas Belgian relationship goals (e.g., mutual affirmation and self-esteem) call for the experience of positive affect, Japanese relationship goals (e.g., harmony and self-adjustment) call for the avoidance of negative affect. We propose that these differences result in different affect ratios in close relationships. To test this idea, we tracked positive and negative feelings during couple interactions. Fifty-eight Belgian and 80 Japanese romantic couples took part in a lab interaction study, in which they discussed a topic of disagreement. Using a video-mediated recall, participants rated their positive and negative feelings during the interaction; relationship satisfaction was assessed before the interaction. As expected, Belgian couples’ positive-to-negative affect ratios were more positive than those of Japanese couples. Furthermore, in both cultures relationship satisfaction was positively associated with more positive affect ratios, but this effect was significantly stronger for Belgian than Japanese couples. Finally, mediation analyses showed that higher affect ratios were achieved in culturally different and meaningful ways: satisfied Belgian couples showed higher ratios primarily through higher levels of positive feelings, whereas satisfied Japanese couples showed higher ratios primarily through lower levels of negative feelings.

Do People From Different Cultures Vary in How Much Positive Emotions Resonate in Day-to-Day Social Interactions? Examining the Role of Relational Mobility

“…Our findings that East Asians are lower in perceived positivity resonance may also be explained by prior work on culture and emotional balance. For instance, East Asians such as Japanese individuals tend to feel more ambivalent about positive emotions and value more balance in emotional experiences in relationships compared with European Americans (Kirchner-Häusler et al, 2022; Miyamoto et al, 2017). However, future research is needed as to whether and how emotional balance may account for the observed link between relational mobility and positivity resonance.…”

“…For instance, samples from East Asian cultures consider nonpositive or even negative elements such as social disruption (e.g., envy or jealousy) and transcendental reappraisal (e.g., avoidance) as features of happiness (Uchida & Kitayama, 2009). Also consistent is research showing that compared with Belgian couples, in Japanese couples, the positive-to-negative affect ratio is a weaker indicator of relationship satisfaction (Kirchner-Häusler et al, 2022). Similar patterns also emerged in recent work on interactions with weak ties.…”

The Moderator Role of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation on the Associations between Commitment, Intimacy, and Couple Satisfaction

“…Nonetheless, a possible explanatory mechanism can be given by the overuse of social support. When it is too much, it can feel overwhelming, become a social strain [ 71 , 72 ], and influence the emotional state in a negative manner [ 73 ], which in turn could negatively affect couple satisfaction [ 74 , 75 ]. Therefore, in this case, if men perceive their partners as trying too much to improve their emotional state, it could harm their couple satisfaction.…”

Editable, Persistent, and Emotionally Expressive

“…An initial test of the theory showed that couples who maintained a ratio of 1:1 positive-to-negative conflict behavior were either divorced or seriously considering divorce 4 years later (Gottman, 1993). Recent research has shown that couples with a 4:1 ratio of positive-to-negative dimensions of marital functioning, including conflict behavior, report more satisfaction than those with a 3:2 ratio (Bertoni & Bodenmann, 2010), and that couples who report more positive affect ratios when discussing a topic of disagreement report more relationship satisfaction (Kirchner-Häusler et al, 2021). Meta-analytic evidence has also shown that positive conflict behavior is positively related to relational satisfaction and negative conflict behavior is negatively related to relational satisfaction (Woodin, 2011).…”