Chat Candor.Get started

Research-informed by design

Better communication has a science to it.

Chat Candor draws on peer-reviewed relationship research to shape the kinds of interactions it facilitates. The evidence is stronger about what helps couples than about one perfect SMS schedule, so we will test cadence separately and publish what we learn.

An important boundary: Chat Candor is research-informed, but Chat Candor itself has not yet been evaluated in a clinical trial. It is not therapy, medical care, crisis support, or a substitute for a qualified professional.

Feeling understood

Responsiveness helps turn disclosure into intimacy.

In interaction and daily-diary studies, perceived partner responsiveness helped explain how self-disclosure and partner disclosure related to feelings of intimacy. That supports prompts designed to encourage understanding—not simply more talking.

Laurenceau, Barrett & Pietromonaco, 1998 ↗

Meaningful disclosure

Emotional disclosure can matter more than factual disclosure.

In the 1998 event-contingent diary studies, emotional self-disclosure was a stronger predictor of intimacy than disclosure of facts and information. Chat Candor therefore asks about meaning and feeling—not only events.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ↗

Capitalizing on good moments

How a partner responds to good news is consequential.

Across four studies, sharing positive events and receiving active, constructive responses were associated with personal and interpersonal benefits. That supports positive “treats” and prompts that help partners notice and celebrate one another.

Gable, Reis, Impett & Asher, 2004 ↗

Everyday appreciation

Gratitude can reinforce connection.

In a month-long experiment with couples, the effects of expressing gratitude depended in part on how responsive the expresser was perceived to be. Other daily research has linked gratitude with next-day connection and relationship satisfaction.

Algoe & Zhaoyang, 2016 ↗

A wider perspective

Brief reappraisal can change the trajectory of conflict.

In a randomized study, a short exercise asking spouses to view disagreements from a neutral third-party perspective helped preserve marital quality over time. That informs coaching that slows escalation and makes room for perspective.

Finkel et al., 2013 ↗

Structured digital support

Online relationship programs can produce measurable benefits.

A randomized trial of 300 couples found that a structured web-based relationship program improved relationship satisfaction and relationship confidence and reduced negative relationship quality. Chat Candor is a different intervention and must be validated independently.

Doss et al., 2016 ↗

Selected references

  1. Laurenceau JP, Barrett LF, Pietromonaco PR. Intimacy as an interpersonal process. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998;74(5):1238–1251. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1238.
  2. Laurenceau JP, Barrett LF, Rovine MJ. The interpersonal process model of intimacy in marriage. J Fam Psychol. 2005;19(2):314–323. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.314.
  3. Gable SL, Reis HT, Impett EA, Asher ER. What do you do when things go right? J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004;87(2):228–245. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.228.
  4. Algoe SB, Zhaoyang R. Positive psychology in context: effects of expressing gratitude in ongoing relationships depend on perceptions of enactor responsiveness. J Posit Psychol. 2016;11(4):399–415. doi:10.1080/17439760.2015.1117131.
  5. Finkel EJ et al. A brief intervention to promote conflict reappraisal preserves marital quality over time. Psychol Sci. 2013;24(8):1595–1601. doi:10.1177/0956797612474938.
  6. Doss BD et al. A randomized controlled trial of the web-based OurRelationship program. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2016;84(4):285–296. doi:10.1037/ccp0000063.