2023-01-172023-01-17198310153569https://hdl.handle.net/10657/13358Behavioral marital researchers and therapists have used spouses themselves as observers of their partners' behavior for more than a decade. Lately, however, several researchers have questioned the basic assumptions underlying spouse observation techniques. The present study attempts to improve spouse observation methodology and reinterpret the data that it provides. Cognitive and communication models of marital interaction are employed to reconceptualize spouse observation reports, and hypotheses derived from these models are investigated. The results of this research indicate that spouse observations are best understood as proximal self-reports of the impact of spousal behavior, and not as objective reports of the actual events that transpire in a marriage. Exploratory analyses of spouses' idiosyncratic interpretations of their partners' behavior also indicate imporatant cognitive processes that are involved in marital functioning. The implications of these findings for marital therapy and research are also discussed.application/pdfenThis item is protected by copyright but is made available here under a claim of fair use (17 U.S.C. Section 107) for non-profit research and educational purposes. Users of this work assume the responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing, or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires express permission of the copyright holder.Marital psychotherapyThesisreformatted digital