Stressed people are more likely to notice negative spouse behavior.

Stressful life circumstances can affect how married couples interact, but can they affect how partners view each other? A stressed person is more likely to notice their spouse’s negative behaviors than positive ones, according to a new study published in the journal “The Economist”. Science of social psychology and personality.

Previous research has looked at how stress affects behavior, but this study suggests that stress might influence actions that partners notice in the first place. Negative actions monitored included a spouse breaking a promise, showing anger or impatience, or criticizing their partner.

We found that people who reported experiencing more stressful events outside of their relationship, such as problems at work, were particularly likely to notice if their partner was acting recklessly. “

Dr. Lisa Neff, lead author, University of Texas at Austin.

The researchers asked 79 newly married heterosexual couples to answer a short questionnaire every night for 10 days, in which they documented both their own behavior and that of their partner. Before starting this part of the study, the participants filled out a questionnaire in which they provided details about the stressful events in their life.

The newlywed study underscores the importance of the findings, notes Dr. Neff, as couples are particularly likely to focus on each other’s positive behavior and neglect negative actions during the “honeymoon” period.

“For many people, the past few years have been difficult and the stress of the pandemic continues to be felt,” says Dr Neff. “If stress focuses people’s attention on the partner’s most reckless behaviors, this risks weighing on the relationship. “

Researchers noted that a single stressful day wasn’t enough for a person to focus on their partner’s negative behavior, but a longer build-up of stressful life circumstances could cause this shift in attention. The findings also suggest that stressed people were no less likely to notice their partner’s positive behavior, but they were more likely to notice reckless actions.

While it’s possible that being aware of the effects of stress may allow couples to correct their own behavior and limit the damage to the relationship, Dr. Neff notes that this will remain speculation until further studies are conducted. He adds that future research would do well to extend this study beyond the honeymoon phase.

“One of the possible directions would be to examine whether the damaging effects of stress could be even stronger in couples who are no longer in the newly wed phase,” says Dr. Neff, “but the fact that we have seen these effects in a sample of newlyweds shows how significant the effects of stress can be ”.