
What happens inside us during a fight with our partner?
Relationship conflict affects mental health, and how couples argue predicts whether they stay together or not. But conflict isn't just words. It unfolds across multiple layers: our heart races, our voice changes, and the way we communicate shifts. This study tests whether these layers connect in a chain: does physiological arousal shape how we sound, and does how we sound shape how we communicate? And as prior research showed that hand-holding influences conflict in sex-specific ways, does touch also influence how these layers connect? Using heart rate, voice recordings, and coded communication from 34 couples, I examined both questions.