Relationship Health (Gottman)

What the Gottman measures

Based on over 40 years of longitudinal observational research in the "Love Lab," Dr. John Gottman can predict relationship dissolution with over 90% accuracy. The Sound Relationship House theory posits that successful relationships are built like a house: resting on a foundation of deep friendship, walled by Trust and Commitment, and capped by shared life meaning.

The dimensions it assesses

• Build Love Maps: Knowing the inner psychological world of your partner (their history, worries, hopes).
• Share Fondness & Admiration: The antidote to contempt; actively appreciating your partner.
• Turn Towards Instead of Away: Responding to your partner's "bids" for emotional connection.
• The Positive Perspective: The override state that determines if you give your partner the benefit of the doubt during conflict.
• Manage Conflict: Accepting influence, engaging in physiological self-soothing, and avoiding the "Four Horsemen" (Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, Stonewalling).
• Make Life Dreams Come True: Supporting each other's deepest hopes and aspirations.
• Create Shared Meaning: Building a shared inner life, rituals of connection, and aligned values.

What to do with your result

1. Rebuilding Love Maps: If Level 1 is weak, the couple is living as strangers. Mandate a "weekly state of the union" meeting where no logistics are discussed—only questions about feelings, fears, and hopes.
2. Managing the Four Horsemen: If Level 5 is weak, the couple is destroying trust during conflict. They must learn to recognize the 4 Horsemen (Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, Stonewalling) and deploy the antidotes (Gentle Start-up, Building a Culture of Appreciation, Taking Responsibility, Physiological Self-Soothing).
3. The 5-to-1 Ratio: Gottman's research shows that a stable marriage requires 5 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction during conflict. If the "Positive Perspective" (Level 4) is weak, the couple is in Negative Sentiment Override, where even neutral comments are interpreted as attacks.

Common questions about the Gottman

What does the Gottman measure?

Assessment of the foundational friendship, conflict management, and shared meaning systems within a romantic partnership.

Can the Gottman diagnose me?

No. Relationship Health (Gottman) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.

Is this Gottman test really free?

Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.

Are my answers stored or shared?

No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.

How often should I retake the Gottman?

Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.

How accurate is the Gottman?

Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.

Why can I not take the Gottman here?

Proprietary framework and assessments. We will not reproduce a questionnaire we have no right to reproduce, so this page explains what it measures instead. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale is also licensed; use the free Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge).