The Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF)

Abstract

Abstract In 1989, Gottman and Krokoff introduced the Specific Affect Coding System (SPAFF) for the purpose of systematically observing affective behavior in the context of marital conflict. The original SPAFF conferred a host of advantages over earlier “microanalytic” coding strategies, the primary innovation being the ability to code affect at the construct level instead of at the level of extremely discrete bits of behavior, such as specific gestures or facial movements (Gottman, McCoy, Coan, & Collier, 1995).