COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 11 (UPI) -- A study by two U.S. college professors found couples with bad relationship skills do better if they marry with low expectations.
James McNulty, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State, and Benjamin Karney of the University of Florida tracked 82 couples from the early days of their marriages. Every six months over a four year period, the couples were videotaped discussing an issue in their marriages and filled out questionnaires.
"Over the long term, it is important for marriage partners to have accurate knowledge of their relationship's strengths and weaknesses," McNulty said. "Satisfaction goes down when a spouse's expectations don't fit with reality."
But McNulty said that couples with good relationship skills appeared to do better when they enter marriage with high expectations. He suggested they tend not to use their skills when they do not believe anything will come of it.
The study appears in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
