The relationship of physiological arousal with demand and withdraw behavior: Examining the accuracy of the escape-conditioning hypothesis

David L. Vogel, Ronald J. Werner-Wilson, Kun Liang, Carolyn E. Cutrona, Joann C. Seeman, Ashley H. Hackler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The escape-conditioning model suggests that husbands experience greater physiological arousal during marital conflict than their wives. This greater arousal is hypothesized to lead to withdrawal from conflict in order to lessen the arousal. The present results, based on a U.S. sample of 64 heterosexual couples, found no support for this model. During problem-solving discussions, husbands did not exhibit greater skin conductance and did not report greater arousal than their wives. Furthermore, skin conductance was negatively linked to withdraw behavior. These results, while not consistent with the escape-conditioning model, are in line with recent studies that have explicitly examined gender differences in other types of physiological arousal during marital conflict.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)871-879
Number of pages9
JournalSex Roles
Volume59
Issue number11-12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2008

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH068289). D.L.Vogel(*).C.E.Cutrona.J.C.Seeman.A.H.Hackler Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, W112 Lagomarcino Hall, Ames, IA 50011-3180, USA e-mail: [email protected]

Keywords

  • Demand
  • Marital communication
  • Physiological arousal
  • Problem-solving
  • Withdraw

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gender Studies
  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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