{"id":418522,"date":"2020-05-19T11:21:57","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T15:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=418522"},"modified":"2020-05-26T16:47:31","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T20:47:31","slug":"reading-partners-emotions-418522","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/reading-partners-emotions-418522\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading your partner\u2019s emotions correctly when it matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you good at reading your partner\u2019s emotions? Your perceptiveness may very well strengthen your relationship. Yet when anger or contempt enter the fray, little is to be gained and the quality of your relationship tanks, researchers find.<\/p>\n

A new study<\/a> by a team of psychologists from the University of Rochester<\/a> and the University of Toronto<\/a> tried to figure out\u00a0under what circumstances the ability to read another person\u2019s emotions\u2014what psychologists call \u201cempathic accuracy\u201d\u2014is beneficial for a relationship and when it could be harmful. The study examined whether the accurate perception of a romantic partner\u2019s emotions has any bearing on the quality of a relationship and a person\u2019s motivation to change when a romantic partner asks for a change in behavior or attitude.<\/p>\n

While prior research on empathic accuracy had yielded mixed findings, the new study shows that couples who accurately perceive appeasement emotions, such as embarrassment,\u00a0have better relationships than those couples where dominance emotions, such as anger or contempt, are present. The perception may be on the part of \u00a0the person requesting the change, or the person receiving the request.<\/p>\n

Lead author Bonnie Le<\/a>, an assistant professor in the University of Rochester\u2019s Department of Psychology<\/a>, says the team zeroed in on how accurately deciphering\u00a0 different types of emotions affects relationship quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you accurately perceive threatening displays from your partner, it can shake your confidence in a relationship,\u201d says Le, who conducted the research while a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto\u2019s Rotman School of Management.<\/a><\/p>\n

Why is the ability to change important for a partnership? <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Even in the best relationships, partners invariably experience conflict. One way to tackle conflict, researchers argue, is to ask a partner to change by, for example, spending less money, losing weight, making changes to a couple\u2019s sex life, or resetting life goals. Yet, requesting such personal (and sometimes threatening) change can elicit negative emotions and put a strain on a relationship. That\u2019s why figuring out how best to navigate emotionally charged situations is crucial to maintaining a healthy relationship.<\/p>\n

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University of Rochester illustration \/ Michael Osadciw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Key findings<\/h2>\n