husbands uniformly found it unpleasant, even aversive, to become upset during a marital disagreement, while their wives did not mind it much.20 Husbands are prone to flooding at a lower intensity of negativity than are their wives; more men than women react to their spouse’s criticism with flooding. Once flooded, husbands secrete more adrenaline into their bloodstream, and the adrenaline flow is triggered by lower levels of negativity on their wife’s part; it takes husbands longer to recover physiologically from flooding.
