This study examined individual differences in emotional thresholds for ongoing, repetitive conflicts known as serial arguments. Specifically, this study proposed that individuals' motivation for, and likelihood of, continuing a serial argument varies as a function of their personalities (i.e., emotional intelligence and tolerance for disagreement) and contextual elements unique to each serial argument (i.e., perceived resolvability of the argument), ultimately influencing relational satisfaction and closeness. Participants included 476 young adults who reported on ongoing serial arguments in either family or romantic relationships. After describing features of the serial argument (i.e., duration, initiator, and perceived resolvability), participants completed measures of emotional intelligence, tolerance for disagreement, relational satisfaction, and closeness. Preliminary analyses revealed significant differences in argumentative features based on relationship type (family vs. romantic), duration, and typical initiator (self vs. partner), and thus, hypotheses were tested separately for each relationship type while controlling for these differences. In family relationships, hierarchical regression analyses suggest that individuals who believe their argument will be resolved and those who are more tolerant of disagreement in general are more motivated to sustain their serial argument. Additionally, emotional intelligence and perceived resolvability were unique predictors of relational satisfaction in both romantic and family relationships. Intriguingly, closeness in romantic relationships was associated with both situational factors (i.e., perceived resolvability, initiator, and likelihood of continuing the argument) and individual factors (i.e., emotional intelligence). Collectively, these results extend previous research by identifying factors that contribute meaningful variance to previously understudied aspects of serial arguments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TCU/oai:etd.tcu.edu:etd-05122009-120523 |
| Date | 28 April 2010 |
| Creators | Carr, Kristen |
| Contributors | Paul Schrodt |
| Publisher | Texas Christian University |
| Source Sets | Texas Christian University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-05122009-120523/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to TCU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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