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Are you a blurter or a brooder? ...and how this affects your love life


Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. This questionnaire was designed to measure your blirtatiousness. Blirtatiousness is a construct that refers to how quickly and effusively people respond to others. People who score low on this measure tend to "bottle things up inside", whereas, people who score high on this measure tend to blurt out their thoughts as soon as they come to mind.


  Your response type:

Brooder

Your responses indicate that you're low in blirtatiousness. Low scorers don't usually say the first thing that comes to mind; rather, they tend to hesitate and deliberate before responding to others. One reason you feel compelled to be careful in responding to others is because you are worried about being evaluated negatively. Often people low in blirtatiousness are shy and introverted and tend to dwell on thoughts internally instead of discussing them with others. Because low-blirters sometimes have difficulty saying how they feel, they may sometimes fail to get their needs met in relationships.



  Partner response type:

In-between

Your answers indicate that you see your partner as a moderate blirter. That is, you believe that your partner is neither too expressive nor reticent in the way he or she expresses him or herself. This is good in that you think your partner is able to express his or her opinions and be assertive, but he or she isn't likely to offend others by cutting off their words or appearing to put his or her needs in front of theirs.



  Your self-criticalness:

Moderate

You scored in the moderate range on the criticalness scale. This means that you tend to rate yourself as neither high nor low on the following dimensions: critical, judgmental, moody, controlling, dominant, patient, warmth, and tolerance.



  Partner criticalness:

Moderate

You scored in the moderate range on the partner criticalness scale. This means that you tend to perceive your partner as neither high nor low on the following dimensions: critical, judgmental, moody, controlling, dominant, patient, warmth, and tolerance.



Much of our research has examined this communication style and how it influences romantic relationships. Recent findings indicate that people are happiest in relationships when their blirt levels match. That is, whether it's 2 low blirters, 2 moderate blirters, or 2 high blirters, similarity in how intimate partners communicate with one another leads to heightened satisfaction. On the other hand, mismatches in blirtatiousness are associated with relatively low relationship satisfaction.

In addition, communication seems to unfold well if the man outscores the woman on the blirt by any amount. On the other hand, when the woman outscores the man on the blirt by any significant amount AND the woman scores in the "high" range on criticalness, then the members of the couple may experience challenges in communication that other couples do not. Of course, this finding is based on averages and there are always exceptions to such generalizations. Your relationship could be one such exception.

  Relationship feedback:

Good communication

Your scores indicate that the communciation in your relationship is likely to be harmonious, and that you and your partner communicate easily.



The questionnaires you have just completed are designed to extend these previous findings by examining why people with these communication styles experience difficulty. For example, we are wondering if men who are low blirters feel resentment toward blirtatious, critical women because such men feel that such women do not conform to the stereotypically feminine woman. Additionally, we hope to gain insight into how blirtatiousness interacts with other variables in determining relationship satisfaction. Your participation will help us to better understand these questions.




If you enjoyed taking this test, and would like to learn more about your personality, look at our homepage for other personality tests on this site.



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