Resolving Arguments Can Prevent Bad Feelings From Lingering — And We Get Better At It As We Age

By Emily Reynolds “Don’t go to bed on an argument” is an adage we’ve all heard and, at some point, probably ignored. Hackneyed as it is, the phrase does have some truth: resolving arguments, rather than letting them simmer away, can make us feel calmer and happier the next day (and also makes it easier to actually get to sleep). Now a new study from Oregon State University’s Dakota D. Witzel and Robert S. Stawski has looked at the benefits of resolving arguments — and the team finds that not only can resolution almost erase the emotional stress associated with a big argument altogether, but that individual differences can affect how well we do it. The older we get, they find, the less we argue and the better we are at dealing with argument-related stress when it happens. Data was taken from a daily diary study, in which more than 2,000 participants completed via end-of-day phone interviews over eight days. First, positive and negative affect was measured, with participants indicating how much of the day they had spent feeling particular emotions such as anxiety and cheerfulness. Everyday stressors were also recorded, with participants reporting whether or not they had experienced a specific type of negative event within the last twenty four hours. This included not only arguments, but avoided arguments (“did anything happen that you could have argued about but you decided to let pass in order to avoid a disagreement?”). The team also recorded ...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Emotion Social Source Type: blogs