Research has shown that dissatisfied couples in the relationship commonly exhibit facial expressions of contempt in interactions. At this point, based on the study of cognition and physiology, researchers were able to predict by longitudinal studies the probability of divorce in a marriage, with accuracy of up to 94%. Our objective was to investigate whether the occurrence of facial expressions of disgust and contempt in married women is associated with marital dissatisfaction. This is an experimental study that correlated, through filmed interviews, the frequency of facial expressions of disgust and disgust (Facial Action Coding System) to the Marital State’s Golombok Rust Inventory, in a sample composed of 20 women. Data analysis based on the Spearman Correlation Test showed a positive correlation between facial expressions of disgust and disdain and conjugal dissatisfaction (rs = 0.2198, p = 0.0280), corroborating the data in the literature.
Human communication, a fundamental factor for the understanding of behavior, is associated to the most diverse areas of study, especially linked to non-verbal behavior. Birdwhistell [
The study of human facial expressiveness was also initially diffused by Darwin (1872/2016), in his book “The Expressions of Emotions in Man and Animals”, and the author emphasized the possibility that there would be a relation between certain emotions and expressions facials. Thus, based on Darwin’s [
Damasio [
Disgust, a primary emotion tied to survival, is easily identified in humans from the most diverse cultures and also in some animals. Numerous regulatory reactions, as well as components of the primary emotions, would be an integral part of various combinations of social emotions. Thus, when contempt uses the facial expressions of disgust, which evolves in association with automatic rejection, even in words to describe situations of contempt, it is possible to perceive us angry about certain situations [
Although the work done by Young, Newcombe, Haan, Small, and Hay [
Emotions are seen as components of great importance in the study of behaviors, since they can influence or be influenced by them. Thus, everything that is psychological is simultaneously biological, which gives emotions a highly significant factor [
Matsumoto and Hwang [
In the marriage context, Carrère, Buehlman, Gottman, Coan, and Ruckstuhl [
Another aspect evidenced by the cognitive-behavioral perspective suggests that cognitive responses may affect matrimony as positive and negative experiences gradually accumulate regarding the other’s behavior, generating the assessment and consequent satisfaction or dissatisfaction experienced by the spouses [
Buehlman and Gottman [
Studies indicate that divorced individuals have higher rates of psychological disorders, physical illness, suicide, homicide, violence, and disease mortality [
Within the on-screen field, this research sought to specify the behavior of the human face, since the study of facial expressiveness plays a fundamental role in the communication of emotions, appearing in the recognition of facial expressions as a medium information about the other’s emotions [
This study is still justified by the importance of deepening the theme about facial expressions, emotions and their influence on marriage, considering that the study by Carrère et al. [
From these notes, the present research aimed to correlate the levels of conjugal satisfaction and the frequency of expressions and expressions of facial expression and disgust of women, when talking about their conjugal relationships. The specific objectives were: 1) To identify the levels of marital satisfaction of women in their first relationship; 2) Identify and quantify the occurrence of facial expressions of disgust and contempt evoked by the participants in talking about their marital relationships; 3) Discuss the relationship between disgust, disgust and conjugal dissatisfaction, based on the literature.
Twenty women, university students, participated in the study in the first marriage relationship, those who were officially married, or in a stable union/living for more than one year with their partner, were allowed to enter the marriage period up to 15 years, considering the most common divorce period in the country (IBGE, 2011). Women who declared use of drugs capable of altering facial expression or having any pathology that interfered with the face were not admitted to the study.
The option for exclusive participation of women was made because although there is no consensus as to the motivations for sexual differences in nonverbal communication, whether biological or social, the research is directed towards considering women to be more expressive in nonverbal terms, better decoders of facial expressions, and more easily describe their emotions and feelings [
Audio and video recording capabilities were used using Sony Cyber Shot 12MP digital camcorder to record the facial expressions presented during the interview script on the marital relationship presented by Gottman and Silver [
After submitting and approving the ethics and research committee with human beings (CAAE n˚ 57983316.7.0000.5493) and the approval was with the consubstantiated opinion n˚ 1,744,566. The members had all doubts regarding the study exempted and agreed to their participation by signing the Free and Informed Consent Form. Afterwards, the Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State self-filling scale was presented and later placed in a sealed envelope for analysis after the interview. At the end of this stage, the study participants were interviewed on the marital relationship based on the script pre-established by Gottman and Silver [
The results from the Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State scale were scored based on the procedures adopted in the instrument adaptation and translation study [
The data collected provided information on the degree of marital satisfaction of each participant, which was correlated to the facial expressions of disgust and contempt presented during the interview. The frequency of expressions and facial microexpressions presented was correlated with the results obtained through the Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State (GRIMS) [
GRIMS - Score | GRIMS - Classification | Participants (% - N) |
---|---|---|
≥47 | Very serious problems | 5% (1) |
42 - 46 | Serious problems | 10% (2) |
38 - 41 | Bad | 0% (0) |
34 - 37 | Poor | 5% (1) |
30 - 33 | Medium | 20% (4) |
26 - 29 | Above average | 5% (1) |
22 - 25 | Good | 20% (4) |
17 - 21 | Very good | 35% (7) |
≤16 | Undefined | 0% (0) |
minutes. at the end, the occurrence of such expressions by the frequency that occurred per minute. The mean FM (frequency per minute) of these expressions was 0.93, ranging from 0 to 6.61.
The descriptive statistics presented an arithmetic mean of 27 points in the Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State and 0.9270 of the frequency of facial microexpressions of disgust or contempt, with a standard deviation of 11.4 and 1.497, respectively. The sample was submitted to the D’Agostino normality test, and a parametric distribution was identified in the results of the Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State and non-parametric in the expressions and microexpressions of disgust and disgust, thus opting for the use of non-parametric statistics. In the comparison of groups with scores above and below the mean in GRIMS with the Mann Whitney test there was no statistically significant difference in the analysis performed.
When correlating the frequency of facial expressions of disgust and contempt presented with the results obtained in the scale of assessment of conjugal satisfaction through the Spearman Correlation Test, it was observed that women who presented higher rates related to dissatisfaction in the marriage expressed more quantity of expressions and microexpressions of disgust and contempt per minute (rs = 0.2198, p = 0.0280).
The objective of this study was to correlate facial expressions of disgust and contempt of married women and dissatisfaction in the marital relationship. Participants were invited to fill out a marital satisfaction assessment scale and then report the relationship history through the roadmap suggested by Gottman and Silver [
GRIMS | Participants | Frequency Disgust/Contempt | Group average |
---|---|---|---|
Very good | P5 | 1.08 | 0.56 |
P7 | 0.84 | ||
P8 | 0.56 | ||
P14 | 0.20 | ||
P17 | 0.10 | ||
Good | P3 | 2.18 | 0.82 |
P10 | 0.50 | ||
P11 | 0.39 | ||
P13 | 0.22 | ||
Above average | P16 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
Medium | P2 | 2.19 | 0.71 |
P9 | 0.54 | ||
P15 | 0.11 | ||
P20 | 0 | ||
Poor | P4 | 1.56 | 1.56 |
Bad | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Serious problems | P1 | 6.61 | 3.48 |
P12 | 0.36 | ||
Very serious problems | P6 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
According to the literature, marital separation can occur through high doses of criticism, contempt, and defensive and obstructive behavior. The identification of destructive emotions in the mainstream study takes into account the occurrence of contempt, according to Gottman and Silver [
On the other hand, the researchers also propose methods of intervention that lead to improvement in marital satisfaction and relationships. In this way, the identification of these negative emotions can serve as a basis for couples’ self-awareness and a new configuration of their behavior in the relationship. Gottman and Gottman [
Mussumeci and Ponciano [
Studies have shown that emotions can, to a large extent, influence behaviors. Based on this knowledge, the present work sought to investigate the relationship between facial expressions of emotions and behavior, especially linked to the marital context, making the association between facial expressions of disgust and disgust and conjugal dissatisfaction. The data presented suggest that, in consonance with the literature, there is a significant association between emotions of disgust and disgust and conjugal dissatisfaction. However, it is a fact that this scenario needs to be detailed, since only the study of nonverbal communication of an individual does not determine underlying behaviors, and other aspects that may interfere with these results must be evaluated. Another point emphasized by the research denotes the need for expansion to the study of other negative emotions.
In addition, it is important to note that the occurrence of disgust or contempt does not characterize degree of dissatisfaction, since even satisfied women in the relationship had such expressions of emotions, however, the findings of this work denote a significantly higher frequency of expressions and facial microexpressions of disgust and contempt in women with lower rates of marital satisfaction. This study investigated only the variables presented in the dissatisfaction and facial expressions, in a future perspective, if the method could be applied in a more consistent sample, as well as its extension to other groups, such as couples with violent relationships, for example, where they could motivate to maintain abusive and aggressive relationships that are under study. Another point refers to the need to extend the measurement of other variables that were not used, such as the analysis of verbal discourse.
Still treated as a “background”, non-verbal behavior is a very important factor to be considered and must be studied systematically. This was the proposal exposed by the work in question, which is homogenized to the findings on conjugal dissatisfaction and facial expressiveness.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Joaquim, R.M., Pereira, T.F.B., de Oliveira Vilela, L., Rodrigues, T.M.P., da Silva Muniz Brandino, A.M. and Caramaschi, S. (2018) Correlation of Disgust and Contempt Expressions with Conjugal Dissatisfaction. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 8, 562-573. https://doi.org/10.4236/jbbs.2018.810034