Research is beginning to find a positive and significant relationship between marriage and health. Even though the current literature shows that separation and divorce have strong negative consequences for the mental and physical health of both spouses (Dush & Amato, 2005), the answer to why and how this occurs has yet to be solved. A comprehensive perspective that could greatly benefit the analysis of this connection is the use of social neuroscientific methods in a biopsychosocial model. By including biological factors, social elements, and psychological variables in analyzing marriages, researchers would be able to further understand both the intra- and interpersonal elements of a relationship and their subsequent influence on marital stability. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to use social neuroscientific techniques to provide a comprehensive biological, psychological, and social assessments of couples, and compare that comprehension with marital satisfaction. This was accomplished by performing three studies focused on each section of the model: heart and brain reactions for biological, familial influence for social, and personal definition of love for psychological. The sample used for the first study involved 20 married couples that were recruited through flyers on the University’s campus and through announcements on a website (i.e., Craigslist). The participants came into the Family Interaction Resource Lab located on campus and were instructed to engage in a conflict interaction while being connected to a device used to measure heart and brain waves. The sample used for studies two and three included 635 participants that were recruited through mailouts, emails, and recruitment on a website (i.e., Facebook). These participants completed an online questionnaire using Qualtrics software and were all currently married. The insights provided by the results helped to (1) advance current knowledge surrounding interpersonal relationships, (2) elucidate on marital conflict for therapists and educators working with couples, (3) expand upon a rarely used research procedure for analyzing relationships, and (4) build upon the extant literature across numerous disciplines.

This thesis explores why the divorce rate has remained relatively stable over the past few decades, even in the face of rapidly growing social sciences – particularly the branch associated with the study and treatment of marriage – through an analysis of the work of John Gottman. This thesis chiefly claims that divorce is not addressed in marital research. It is argued, however, that far from being intentional on the part of researchers, the disregard for divorce in the marital research is actually due to underlying, unrecognized assumptions. Specifically, this thesis analyzes the most fundamental assumptions – the ontological assumptions – upon which the investigation of marriage is conceptualized. The body is divided into three parts: First, the apparent absence of divorce in the marital literature is discussed, providing a starting point for the ontological analysis. Second, a section on ontology sets up the analysis. It begins with an introduction to two categories of ontological assumptions. These assumptive frameworks are used to guide the analysis of the marital literature. The final part analyzes John Gottman's research as a case example of the marital literature, uncovering the ontological assumptions of his work and demonstrating that many of his assumptions are potentially problematic for addressing divorce. After briefly wrapping up the arguments herein contained, the thesis discusses an alternative ontology which provides a framework whereby, if employed, marital researchers can begin to more adequately address the divorce epidemic.