What Predicts Divorce?: The Relationship Between Marital Processes and Marital Outcomes

by John M. Gottman

Book Overview

This book details years of research involving questionnaires and observations of married couples in pursuit of the determinants of both marital happiness and divorce. It will be of interest to family and clinical psychologists and methodologists.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805814027
• ISBN13: 9780805814026
• Release Date: November 1993
• Publisher: Psychology Press
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

not for the layperson

Gottman presents a thorough look at the methodology used in his studies of marital interation and divorce prediction. I believe this text is a must for the bookshelves of professional researchers. Laypersons might enjoy his trade books written with Nan Silver.

A heavy read which demands thorough attention, but worth it!

Gottman's 1994 book comes on the heels of groundbreaking work in behavioral observation methodologies. Trained as a mathematician, Gottman spares us no quantified details. However, quantification and reliable measurement are the indispensible components of good scientific research of which Gottman's work is a nearly overwhelmingly thorough example. Gottman takes us back stage to the development and the testing of hypotheses about what makes marriages tick and what makes them wind down in very convincing fashion. I lecture from this text in my university course and student attention is usually very high and they ask many questions. The fact that Gottman can predict marital dissolution, in some instances, at better than 90%, is itself a testament to his rigourous and insightful work. Isn't that one of the main points of science: to predict?