Sentiment Override
Peer-Reviewed
PSO: In healthy relationships, positive feelings are strong enough that minor irritations don't feel threatening — a neutral comment reads as neutral or…
**PSO:** In healthy relationships, positive feelings are strong enough that minor irritations don't feel threatening — a neutral comment reads as neutral or even positive. **NSO:** In distressed relationships, even genuinely positive actions are interpreted negatively - a kind gesture is viewed with suspicion. NSO is a red flag that the relationship needs intervention. Gottman found NSO is self-reinforcing: the more negative the lens, the worse the interactions, which deepens the negative lens.
Evidence
Peer-Reviewed
Sentiment override, the idea that an overall positive or negative view of a partner colors how each individual action is read, earns Peer-Reviewed. The construct originates with Weiss and is supported within Gottman's observational research program (Heyman, 2001); positive versus negative override shapes how distressed and stable couples interpret the same behavior. The star reflects this descriptive, correlational evidence rather than the marketed divorce-prediction precision.
Origin
Robert Weiss; popularized by Gottman
Sources
- The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work — John Gottman, 1999