Affective interdependence in married couples' daily lives: are there cultural differences in partner effects of anger?

Abstract

The experience of anger in close relationships can be detrimental. Existing research suggests cultural differences in how people deal with negative emotions. In particular, anger seems to play a more disruptive interpersonal role in cultures where collectivistic cultural values are strongly endorsed. Our goal was to examine whether differences in the interpersonal contingencies of anger across contexts and persons were linked to the endorsement of collectivistic values. We examined this possibility using electronic diary data, collected multiple times per day over the course of a week. Data were collected from 623 couples in eight cultural contexts. We performed dyadic multilevel analyses to examine partner effects of anger on experienced anger and depressed mood the next day, and whether these effects were moderated by cultural context and by the endorsement of collectivistic values. Results suggested that cultural differences existed. We found partner effects of anger in couples from more collectivistic cultural contexts, and in couples who endorsed collectivistic values more strongly. Overall, the results demonstrate that culture is intertwined with daily psychological processes in close relationships.

Keywords:

• anger
• partner-effects
• crossover
• daily diary
• ambulatory assessment
• culture

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Klaus A. Schneewind, Gerold Mikula, Jan R.M. Gerris, Anne Marie Fontaine, and Jean-Pierre Pourtois for granting us access to their data. We are grateful to Thomas N. Bradbury, Belinda Campos, and Marc S. Schulz for their thoughtful comments and suggestions on drafts of this article.