Question 1

John Gottman's 'Love Lab' at the University of Washington is best known for what kind of research?

Accepted Answer

Direct observation of married couples interacting. Beginning in the 1980s, Gottman and colleagues videotaped couples interacting in an apartment-like lab, coding behaviors and physiology to identify patterns linked to long-term outcomes.

Question 2

Which 'Four Horsemen' did Gottman identify as predictors of relationship breakdown?

Accepted Answer

Criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling. The Four Horsemen — criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling — were the communication patterns most strongly associated with later separation in Gottman's longitudinal studies.

Question 3

Which of the Four Horsemen did Gottman identify as the single strongest predictor of divorce?

Accepted Answer

Contempt. Contempt — communicating disgust or moral superiority — emerged as the most corrosive of the Four Horsemen and the strongest single predictor of divorce in Gottman's data.

Question 4

What is the approximate ratio of positive to negative interactions Gottman observed in stable, happy couples during conflict?

Accepted Answer

5 to 1. Gottman's work suggests stable couples maintain roughly five positive interactions for every negative one during conflict — humor, affection, repair attempts — even when they disagree.

Question 5

What does the Gottman term 'bid for connection' describe?

Accepted Answer

A small attempt to get attention, affirmation, or affection from a partner. Bids are small moments — a comment, a sigh, a question — that invite engagement. Gottman found stable couples 'turn toward' bids far more often than couples who later separate.

Question 6

Which concept did Gottman use to describe brief, often clumsy efforts to de-escalate or reconnect during conflict?

Accepted Answer

Repair attempts. Repair attempts — a joke, a softened tone, an acknowledgment — interrupt escalating conflict. Successful couples both make and accept them, sometimes without realizing it.

Question 7

In Gottman's research, what does the phrase 'harsh startup' refer to?

Accepted Answer

Beginning a difficult conversation with criticism, contempt, or sarcasm. Gottman observed that the way a difficult conversation begins predicts how it ends in 96 percent of cases. A harsh startup — beginning with blame — usually leads to a harsh ending.

Question 8

Gottman's 'Sound Relationship House' theory uses architecture as a metaphor for what?

Accepted Answer

The seven principles supporting a healthy relationship. The Sound Relationship House describes seven layered principles — from building love maps and sharing fondness to creating shared meaning — supporting a stable relationship.

Question 9

Gottman distinguishes between 'solvable' and 'perpetual' problems. What did he find about perpetual problems in long-term couples?

Accepted Answer

They make up the majority of long-term couple conflicts. Gottman estimated that roughly 69 percent of conflicts in long-term couples are perpetual, rooted in personality and values differences, and that the goal is dialogue rather than resolution.

Question 10

What did Gottman call the deep, factual knowledge partners build about each other's inner worlds?

Accepted Answer

Love maps. Love maps refer to the detailed mental knowledge partners hold of each other's history, hopes, fears, and daily life — the foundation, in Gottman's model, of lasting friendship.

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