The use of humor in managing couples’ conflict interactions

The importance of conflict processes to both individuals and organizations is reflected in the variety of scholars who choose to examine them. Conflict has been studied by those interested in rhetorical communication (Di Mare, 1987), small groups (Bateman, 1980; Rabbie & Huygen, 1974), organizations (Brett, 1984; Freedman, 1981; Stern, 1971), and personal relationships (Billings, 1979; Canary & Cupach, 1988; Gottman, 1979; Sillars, 1980). This attention to conflict has prompted Fisher and Ury (1981) to refer to conflict as a “growth industry.�? Although it is unlikely that people are more contentious now than in decades past, certainly there has been increased focus by both scholars and popular writers on the causes and consequences of conflict. And of the areas that have served as the focus for this interest, there is perhaps no arena in which the study of conflict can have more impact than the marital dyad.