Recognizing strengths in romantic partners is associated with relationship quality. However, is mere recognition sufficient, or does genuine appreciation play a more pivotal role? We address this question in a mixed-methods study comprising 90 heterosexual couples, randomly allocated into one of three groups: (1) intervention: six weekly 20-minute sessions of mutual appreciation of partners’ strengths used during the week; (2) placebo control: six weekly sessions focused on mutual sharing of paired interactions, and (3) no-treatment control. Participants completed questionnaires measuring marital satisfaction and burnout before, immediately following, and a month following the 6-week intervention. Additionally, before and after the intervention, participants rated two perceptions of partner strengths: (1) the benefits (the utility and effectiveness associated with their use) and (2) the costs (potential drawbacks of their use). The main analyses showed no significant effect of the intervention. However, a non-significant trend was observed among women, but not men, in the intervention group between the initial and post-intervention evaluations of benefits. Qualitative analysis revealed that compared with men, women were significantly more attributed with strengths of social intelligence and love and were nearly twice as likely as men to express appreciation for their partners’ strengths-based behaviors directed toward them. Whether due to women being more attuned to these actions or men being more inclined to demonstrate strengths to their wives, women reported accruing greater benefits from their partners’ strengths than men. Overall, this study emphasizes the contribution of behavioral-based appreciation for the partner’s strengths in enhancing relationship quality, particularly for women.

认识到浪漫伴侣的优势与关系质量相关。然而，仅仅认可就足够了，还是真正的欣赏更重要？我们在一项混合方法研究中解决了这个问题，该研究包括 90 对异性恋夫妇，随机分为三组之一：(1) 干预：每周六次，每次 20 分钟，相互欣赏本周伴侣的优势； (2) 安慰剂对照：每周六次，重点是相互分享配对互动，(3) 无治疗对照。参与者在为期 6 周的干预之前、之后以及之后一个月完成了衡量婚姻满意度和倦怠的调查问卷。此外，在干预之前和之后，参与者对合作伙伴优势的两种看法进行了评分：（1）收益（与其使用相关的效用和有效性）和（2）成本（使用其潜在的缺点）。主要分析显示干预没有显着效果。然而，在干预组中，在初始和干预后效益评估之间，在女性中观察到不显着的趋势，而在男性中则没有观察到。定性分析显示，与男性相比，女性明显更具有社交智力和爱的优势，并且对伴侣针对她们的基于优势的行为表示赞赏的可能性几乎是男性的两倍。无论是由于女性更适应这些行为，还是男性更倾向于向妻子展示自己的优势，女性报告称，她们从伴侣的优势中获得的好处比男性更大。 总体而言，这项研究强调了基于行为的对伴侣优势的欣赏在提高关系质量方面的贡献，特别是对于女性而言。