I frequently use this listening activity in private English lessons in Istanbul because it consistently sparks dynamic discussions about how to keep relationships strong. As usual, the listening tasks given depend on the level of the student. For example, I would ask the more advanced student to listen for the specific answers to all of the questions with a maximum of three listens.
Listen to this one minute Scientific American podcast Movie-Watching Together Strengthens Marriages, and answer the questions below:
Part 1: Questions
Read both the transcript and the abstract below.
Keeping a marriage together takes effort. And care. And maybe even watching classic romance movies, like The Way We Were or Husbands and Wives. And this is because of the conversations such movies can start.
That’s the finding from a study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. [Ronald D. Rogge et al., Is skills training necessary for the primary prevention of marital distress and dissolution? A 3-year experimental study of three interventions.]
Psychologists found that encouraging couples to watch romance flicks and then discuss them cut the divorce rate in half.
The researchers divided 174 newlywed couples into three programs: active listening, where one spouse listens and then paraphrases back what they heard; or compassion training, doing random acts of kindness for your partner; or watching a movie a week for a month.
The movie-viewing couples discussed each film after watching it, guided by questions about the characters. Questions like: “Were they able to open up and tell each other how they really felt, or did they tend to just snap at each other with anger?”
All three programs worked very well, dropping the divorce rate after three years to 11 percent, versus 24 percent for couples who did no therapy. But the movie program is much more accessible and cheaper than counseling.
The researchers note the magic is not really in the movies, but rather the time that couples take to think about behavior. But hey, maybe sitting together in the dark helped too.
Abstract:
Is skills training necessary for the primary prevention of marital distress and dissolution? A 3-year experimental study of three interventions.
By Rogge, Ronald D.; Cobb, Rebecca J.; Lawrence, Erika; Johnson, Matthew D.; Bradbury, Thomas N.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 81(6), Dec 2013, 949-961.
Abstract
Objective: Evidence in support of skill-based programs for preventing marital discord and dissolution, while promising, comes mainly from studies using single treatment conditions, passive assessment-only control conditions, and short-term follow-up assessments of relationship outcomes. This study overcomes these limitations and further evaluates the efficacy of skill-based programs. Method: Engaged and newlywed couples (N = 174) were randomly assigned to a 4-session, 15-hr small-group intervention designed to teach them skills in managing conflict and problem resolution (PREP) or skills in acceptance, support, and empathy (CARE). These couples were compared to each other, to couples receiving a 1-session relationship awareness (RA) intervention with no skill training, and to couples receiving no treatment on 3-year rates of dissolution and 3-year trajectories of self-reported relationship functioning. Results: Couples in the no-treatment condition dissolved their relationships at a higher rate (24%) than couples completing PREP, CARE, and RA, who did not differ on rates of dissolution (11%). PREP and CARE yielded unintended effects on 3-year changes in reported relationship behaviors. For example, wives receiving PREP showed slower declines in hostile conflict than wives receiving CARE, and husbands and wives receiving CARE showed faster declines in positive behaviors than husbands and wives receiving PREP. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential value of cost-effective interventions such as RA, cast doubt on the unique benefits of skill-based interventions for primary prevention of relationship dysfunction, and raise the possibility that skill-based interventions may inadvertently sensitize couples to skill deficits in their relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
Part 1: Answers
Listen to this one minute Scientific American podcast Movie-Watching Together Strengthens Marriages, and answer the questions below:
Part 1: Questions
- What does it take to keep a marriage together?
- How could watching movies together help?
- What is the field of study?
- What's another word for 'movie'?
- What happens to the divorce rate when couples watch movies together?
- Who are in the study?
- What are the three groups in the study?
- What is the divorce rate for these groups?
- What is the divorce rate for couples who do not do therapy?
- How does the movie program compare to therapy?
- How does the movie program actually assist couples?
Read both the transcript and the abstract below.
- How does the tone of the podcast transcript compare to the abstract?
- What is the punch line in the transcript?
- What are the skills mentioned in the abstract?
- What is another way to say 'divorce' in the abstract?
- What are the words to describe relationship problems in the abstract?
Keeping a marriage together takes effort. And care. And maybe even watching classic romance movies, like The Way We Were or Husbands and Wives. And this is because of the conversations such movies can start.
That’s the finding from a study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. [Ronald D. Rogge et al., Is skills training necessary for the primary prevention of marital distress and dissolution? A 3-year experimental study of three interventions.]
Psychologists found that encouraging couples to watch romance flicks and then discuss them cut the divorce rate in half.
The researchers divided 174 newlywed couples into three programs: active listening, where one spouse listens and then paraphrases back what they heard; or compassion training, doing random acts of kindness for your partner; or watching a movie a week for a month.
The movie-viewing couples discussed each film after watching it, guided by questions about the characters. Questions like: “Were they able to open up and tell each other how they really felt, or did they tend to just snap at each other with anger?”
All three programs worked very well, dropping the divorce rate after three years to 11 percent, versus 24 percent for couples who did no therapy. But the movie program is much more accessible and cheaper than counseling.
The researchers note the magic is not really in the movies, but rather the time that couples take to think about behavior. But hey, maybe sitting together in the dark helped too.
Abstract:
Is skills training necessary for the primary prevention of marital distress and dissolution? A 3-year experimental study of three interventions.
By Rogge, Ronald D.; Cobb, Rebecca J.; Lawrence, Erika; Johnson, Matthew D.; Bradbury, Thomas N.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol 81(6), Dec 2013, 949-961.
Abstract
Objective: Evidence in support of skill-based programs for preventing marital discord and dissolution, while promising, comes mainly from studies using single treatment conditions, passive assessment-only control conditions, and short-term follow-up assessments of relationship outcomes. This study overcomes these limitations and further evaluates the efficacy of skill-based programs. Method: Engaged and newlywed couples (N = 174) were randomly assigned to a 4-session, 15-hr small-group intervention designed to teach them skills in managing conflict and problem resolution (PREP) or skills in acceptance, support, and empathy (CARE). These couples were compared to each other, to couples receiving a 1-session relationship awareness (RA) intervention with no skill training, and to couples receiving no treatment on 3-year rates of dissolution and 3-year trajectories of self-reported relationship functioning. Results: Couples in the no-treatment condition dissolved their relationships at a higher rate (24%) than couples completing PREP, CARE, and RA, who did not differ on rates of dissolution (11%). PREP and CARE yielded unintended effects on 3-year changes in reported relationship behaviors. For example, wives receiving PREP showed slower declines in hostile conflict than wives receiving CARE, and husbands and wives receiving CARE showed faster declines in positive behaviors than husbands and wives receiving PREP. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential value of cost-effective interventions such as RA, cast doubt on the unique benefits of skill-based interventions for primary prevention of relationship dysfunction, and raise the possibility that skill-based interventions may inadvertently sensitize couples to skill deficits in their relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
Part 1: Answers
- effort, care, watching movies
- start conversation
- psychology
- flick
- 50% lower
- newlywed couples
- active listening, compassion training, watching a movie a week for a month
- 11%
- 24%
- more accessible, cheaper
- the time that couples take to think about behavior
- informal, more relaxed and funny
- But hey, maybe sitting together in the dark helped too.
- managing conflict and problem resolution, acceptance, support, and empathy
- dissolve the relationship
- skill deficits, relationship dysfunction, marital discord, negative behavior