Dr. Gottman is considered an "expert" when it comes to relationships. He has studied over 3,000 couples, worked with 4,000 more in "intervention and research treatment", and worked with about 8,000 in workshops and therapy sessions. He has come to determine that there are four indicators of divorce and with these four signs, he is able to predict, with about 94% accuracy, whether a couple will get divorced. The four indicators are criticism, contempt, stonewalling, and defensiveness. He does believe, however, that being able to predict the outcome of a marriage is not nearly as important as being able to devise a method of intervention to help strengthen a relationship. Dr. Gottman and his wife have come up with seven principles to make marriage work. These include, building a love map, building fondness and admiration systems, turning toward each other, letting your partner influence you, solving your solvable problems, overcoming gridlock, and creating a shared sense of purpose and meaning.
A lot of what sociology is is the study of human interactions and behavior, which is not always very predictable. Dr. Gottman, however, has made human behavior predictable. He has defined the difference between masters and disasters of relationships. He has made it possible for almost any relationship to have the ability to succeed if you work hard enough at it and want it enough. This system makes love seem rather "manageable" and almost controllable. It puts you in the driver's seat and forces love that used to conquer all to take the passenger's seat.
Here is a link to a speech that Dr. Gottman made about his findings and the research that he has done. I found it very interesting, maybe you will too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLXX8wzvT7c&noredirect=1
"Research FAQs - The Gottman Institute." The Gottman Institute. N.p., 2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
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