Dzhon Gottman

John Gottman is a professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle. In collaboration with Professor of Mathematics James Murray, he wrote the book The Mathematics of Marriage. He developed the SPAFF coding system (from the English specific affect), which makes it possible, during a single session of conversation, to determine—based only on outward signs, speech patterns, and intonation—whether these people will still be together in fifteen years. An hour-long recording gives a forecast with 95% accuracy; a half-hour recording, with 90% accuracy. In 1986, John Gottman, himself having gone through a divorce, opened a laboratory for the study of love. “Love Lab” was a furnished apartment equipped with cameras and microphones. The equipment dutifully recorded the conversations, gestures, and facial expressions of couples who spent some time in this apartment. Over 14 years, more than six hundred couples participated in the experiment at the laboratory. Their behavior, gestures, and facial expressions were carefully analyzed. As a result, the book Seven Secrets of a Happy Marriage was published. During the experiment, an amazing effect was noted: couples on the verge of divorce, following Gottman’s advice, rediscovered feelings within themselves that had seemingly long since faded away.