Proficiency in positive vs. negative emotion identification and subjective well-being among long-term married elderly couples.

Morris Moscovitch,Cheryl Grady,Raluca Petrican

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00338

Abstract

Evidence is accruing that positive emotions play a crucial role in shaping a healthy interpersonal climate. Inspired by this research, the current investigation sought to shed light on the link between proficiency in identifying positive vs. negative emotions and a close partner's well-being. To this end, we conducted two studies with neurologically intact elderly married couples (Study 1) and an age-matched clinical sample, comprising married couples in which one spouse had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (Study 2), which tends to hinder emotional expressivity. To assess proficiency in identifying emotions from whole body postures, we had participants in both studies complete a pointlight walker task, featuring four actors (two male, two female) expressing one positive (i.e., happiness) and three negative (i.e., sadness, anger, fear) basic emotions. Participants also filled out measures of subjective well-being. Among Study 1's neurologically intact spouses, greater expertise in identifying positive (but not negative) emotions was linked to greater partner life satisfaction (but not hedonic balance). Spouses of PD patients exhibited increased proficiency in identifying positive emotions relative to controls, possibly reflective of compensatory mechanisms. Complementarily, relative to controls, spouses of PD patients exhibited reduced proficiency in identifying negative emotions and a tendency to underestimate their intensity. Importantly, all of these effects attenuated with longer years from PD onset. Finally, there was evidence that it was increased partner expertise in identifying negative (rather than positive) emotional states that predicted greater life satisfaction levels among the PD patients and their spouses. Our results thus suggest that positive vs. negative emotions may play distinct roles in close relationship dynamics as a function of neurological status and disability trajectory.

Highlights

Close relationships constitute a critical ingredient of psychological and physical health (e.g., Beach and O’Leary, 1993; Berscheid and Reis, 1998; Diener and Seligman, 2002)
Because prior research suggested that expertise in recognizing distinct negative emotions may differentially impact social interactions (e.g., Niedenthal and Brauer, 2012), we investigated whether expertise in decoding fear vs. anger vs. sadness would be distinctly associated with partner well-being
All the reported well-being findings are based on data from 18 Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients and 17 PD spouses, as well as 16 PD patients and 18 PD spouses

Summary

Introduction

Close relationships constitute a critical ingredient of psychological and physical health (e.g., Beach and O’Leary, 1993; Berscheid and Reis, 1998; Diener and Seligman, 2002). In the present studies, we sought to examine the link between proficiency in recognizing positive vs negative emotions and spousal well-being among neurologically intact couples and couples where one partner has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. To situate our present investigation in the literature, we begin by reviewing extant evidence on the role of close relationship quality in health and wellbeing, followed by a summary of the research on emotions within intimate partnerships, with a focus on social support and care giving circumstances. We conclude the Introduction with an overview of the literature on how emotion recognition proficiency—and the ability to provide responsive social support and effective care giving—may be impacted by normal aging and among couples, where one partner is afflicted by neurological conditions, typical of older age, such as Parkinson’s Disease

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