The observation of specific affect in marital interactions: psychometric properties of a coding system and a rating system.

The Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF; J. M. Gottman & L. J. Krokoff, 1989) has led to conclusions about which types of dyadic affect predict positive and negative outcomes in marriage, yet the lack of information about collinearity among the codes limits interpretation of SPAFF results. Psychometric properties of SPAFF were examined by assessing the interactions of 172 newlywed couples with SPAFF and with an affect rating system developed for this study. For husbands and wives, factor analysis indicated 4 distinct factors of affect, representing anger/contempt, sadness, anxiety, and humor/affection. Anger/contempt and humor/affection were associated with marital satisfaction, relationship beliefs, and appraisals of the interactions. Correlations were in the expected directions. The strengths, limitations, and implications of the data are discussed.