1. Gottman’s Social- Psychophysiological Research Protocol Gottman, J. M., Katz, L. F., & Hooven, C. (1997). Meta-emotion: How families communicate emotionally. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

2. Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson Introduction  In Gottman’s protocol, participants complete self-report instruments, participate in a semi-structured interview that investigates attitudes about emotions, and discuss topics of conflict in a laboratory setting.  The laboratory interactions are videotaped and physiological arousal is measured.

3. Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson Semi-Structured Interview  The emotion interview is based on the semi-structured meta-emotion interview developed by Dr. John Gottman and his colleagues.  It measures participants’  experience of sadness;  experience of anger;  philosophy of emotional expression and control;  parents’ feelings, attitudes, and responses to their child’s anger and sadness.

4. Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson Observational Measures of Marital Interaction  Participants are videotaped having a low- conflict conversation and a high-conflict conversation.  Three dimensions of marital interaction are measured:  Rapid Couple Interaction Scoring System. The Rapid Couple Interaction Scoring System (RCISS) is a coding system that identifies problem-solving behavior using a checklist to code behaviors of speaker and listener for each spoken turn.  Specific Affect Coding System. The Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF) is a rating system that relies on coders to evaluate verbal content, voice tone, context, facial expression, and nonverbal body language to assess expressed affect.  Emotional Facial Action Coding System. The Emotional Facial Action Coding System (EMFACS) assesses emotional expressions and non-emotional expressions that are used to control facial expressions.

5. Dr. Ronald J. Werner-Wilson Physiological Measurement  During each of the laboratory interactions, three aspects of physiological arousal are measured for each participant: (a) heart rate, (b) skin conductance, and (c) respiration.  These physiological variables provide information about level of physiological arousal and parasympathetic functioning of the participant.