*Types of Relationship Communication: the Gottmans and marriage. *

There are four patterns in conflict that predict the end of relationships: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling./nCriticism involves blaming a partner's personality flaw for problems in the relationship./nContempt is the most destructive of the four patterns and involves looking down on the partner with scorn and disgust./nDefensiveness is a common pattern where the person becomes defensive and may counter-attack when criticized./nStonewalling is a complete shutdown and lack of response when listening to the partner./nStone-walling is more common among men, with 85% of those who engage in it being men./nStone-walling is associated with higher heart rates of 100 beats per minute or higher.