Marital Satisfaction: The Impact of Post-Formal Thought and Blame Kendall Jory, Dr. Cindy Miller-Perrin, Dr. Janet Trammell Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA Materials and Methods Participants: A sample of 109 married individuals (43 men, 66 women) was recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Measures: Post-Formal Thought Scale: a 10-item questionnaire used to assess levels of post-formal thinking using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree to 7 (strongly agree) (Sinnott & Johnson 1997). (α=.81) Relationship Attribution Measure: a 24-item questionnaire which measures the extent to which an individual attributes common negative events of a marriage to be of cause and responsibility of their spouse using two subscales: a) causal attributions and b) responsibility-blame attributions (Fincham & Bradbury, 1992). Uses a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). (α=.77, .90) Marital Attitude Survey: an 8-item measure which assess dysfunctional attributions within a married couple. Low scores on this questionnaire indicate the participant endorsed the attribution being measured, using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree) (Prezter, Epstien & Flemming, 1991). (α=.66). Quality of Marriage Index: a 6-item measure of marital satisfaction (Norton, 1983). Uses a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). (α=.97). Procedure: Completion of all four measures took place online through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants received compensation of $0.50. Conclusions The first hypothesis, which asserted that post-formal thought would be positively correlated with marital satisfaction, was not supported. One explanation for the lack of relationship could lie in the manner in which post-formal thought was captured as self-report data. Additionally, it is possible that cognition is not as salient to highly emotionally involved relationships such as marriages. Importantly, the study’s findings support past research that has shown the more one blames their partner through negative attributions for events that take place within the relationship, the more dissatisfied one is with their relationship (Fincham & Bradbury, 1992; Pretzer, Epstien & Fleming, 1991). The second hypothesis stated that post-formal thought would be inversely related to partner blame, or negative partner attribution. This hypothesis was not supported, and instead, participants who tended to think post-formally tended to project greater amounts of blame towards their partner. This surprising finding may be a reflection of post-formal thinkers awareness of the behavior of blame in their relationships. Additionally, the measures of blame used in the current study were limited as they captured more polarized thinking. The study contributes to past research which has shown that women tend to blame their partners more than men do. It also presents a novel finding that women tend to think more post-formally than men, which past research has not displayed. The current study is limited by the self-report measures used and only focused on blame behaviors among married individuals. Future research could benefit from a live, in-person measures of blame and post-formal thought, such as interviews or observations, which would incorporate dialog and could capture post-formal thinkers ability to synthesize perspectives. Future studies might also examine interpersonal relationships other than marriage. Finally, future research could examine whether conflict resolution within romantic relationships is associated with post-formal thought since previous research has highlighted how post-formal thinking has been related to coping flexibility and effective conflict management (Cheng, 2009; Bai et al., 2015). Abstract Post-formal thought is a type of complex cognition initially present in emerging adulthood. It is more practical, flexible, and dialectical than previous stages of cognition. Research has suggested the benefits of enhanced post-formal thought in intrapersonal functioning, as well as interpersonal functioning. In interpersonal functioning, social relationships provide an opportunity to think using post-formal cognition because two people often share different “truths” in a relationship which creates logical conflict that must be resolved to continue the relationship. Using this framework, the current study aimed to further examine the complex cognitions of post-formal thought in the context of the marriage relationship, while specifically looking at the association between post-formal thought and relationship satisfaction as impacted by the social behavior of blame projection. It was hypothesized that those who have enhanced post-formal thought project less blame onto their romantic partner, and thus have increased relationship satisfaction. A sample of 109 married individuals (43 men, 66 women) was recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants completed four self-reports surveys online: the Post-Formal Thought Survey, the Relationship Attribution Measure, the Marital Attitude Survey and the Quality of Marriage Index. Findings supported past research that suggests blame towards one’s partner is negatively correlated with marital satisfaction. However contrary to the hypothesis, post-formal thought was positively correlated with greater extent of partner blame. Future research should further examine this surprising finding to explore what factors may be contributing to the association between this specific type of cognition and partner blame. Figure 1. Sex Differences on the Post-Formal Thought Scale (1=Males, 2=Females). Figure 2. Sex Differences on the Relationship Attribution Measure (1=Males, 2=Females). Results Sex Differences Three t-tests were conducted to examine sex differences on the Post-Formal Thought Scale, the Relationship Attribution Measure, and the Marital Attitude Survey. Significant sex differences were revealed for all three measures with women scoring higher on the Post-Formal Thought Scale, the Relationship Attribution Measure, and the Marital Attitude Survey (See Figures 1, 2 and 3). Education Differences A one-way ANOVA displayed significant differences in post-formal thought across different levels of education, F=2.66, df=4, 99, p=0.04, with a moderate effect size (η2= .08). The Tukey HSD test demonstrated a significant difference in scores between those whose highest level of education was high school (M=46.22, SD=7.24) compared to those who had a Bachelor’s degree (M=55.55, SD=8.21) with a mean difference of 9.32 (p= .049). Correlations A Spearman Rho test was conducted to examine relationships between the non-parametric Quality of Marriage Index and the other measures. A Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to examine parametric correlations between the other three measures. Results are displayed in Table 1. There was no significant correlation between the Quality of Marriage Index and the Post-Formal Thought Scale. The Quality of Marriage Index was significantly positively correlated with the Relationship Attribution Measures and significantly negatively correlated with the Marital Attitude Survey. The Post-Formal thought scale was significantly positively correlated with both subscales of the Relationship Attribution Measure and significantly negatively correlated with the Marital Attitude Survey. Hierarchical Multiple Regression A Hierarchical Multiple Regression was used to assess whether post-formal thought would strengthen the relationship between partner blame and marital satisfaction. The model was significant, however, the variable of post-formal thought was excluded. Figure 3. Sex Differences on the Marital Attitude Survey (1=Males, 2=Females). Introduction Post-Formal Thought: As a recently identified fifth stage of developmental cognition, post-formal thought is a type of complex cognition initially present in emerging adulthood (Berger, 2014). It is more practical, flexible and dialectical than previous stages of cognition and involves four key factors: recognition of paradoxes, existence of multiple truths, application of multiple systems to settle on truth, and subjectivity. (Galupo et al., 2009). • Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Functioning: Intrapersonally, post- formal thought is correlated with coping flexibility, Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness. Interpersonally, social relationships provide an opportunity to think using post-formal cognition because two people often share different “truths” in a relationship which creates logical conflict that must be resolved to continue the relationship. An enhanced ability for post-formal thought allows one to “bridge” his or her personal reality and self-concept with that of another (Griffin et al, 2009). • Complex Cognition and Romantic Relationships: Within romantic relationships, complex cognition is related to decreased use of negative behaviors during problem resolution. Additionally, the process of “evaluative integration” of complex cognition is related to positive attribution towards one’s partner and downplaying unsatisfactory qualities of the partner (Murray & Holmes, 1999; Shower & Kevlyn 1999). • Post Formal Thought and Romantic Relationships: Very limited research has been conducted directly relating post-formal thought and romantic relationship functioning and findings have been mixed (Sinnott, 2014). • The Current Study: The current study examined whether enhanced post-formal thinking is related to reduced partner blame and thus contributes to increased relationship satisfaction. It was hypothesized that: a) post-formal thought will be positively correlated with relationship satisfaction, b) post-formal thought will be negatively correlated with partner blame, or negative partner attribution, and c) post-formal thought will moderate the relationship between partner blame and relationship satisfaction. References Bai, Y., Harms, P., Han, G. 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J., & Kevlyn, S. B. (1999). Organization of knowledge about a relationship partner: Implications for liking and loving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(6), 958-971. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.6.958 Sinnott, J. D. (2014). Adult development: Cognitive aspects of thriving close relationships. New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press. Further Information For more information on this study, please email kendall.jory@pepperdine.edu