Hope is a positive motivational cognitive state, that allows a person "to derive pathways to desired goals and to motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways” (Snyder, 2002), and has been found to serve as an important mental resource and a robust predictor of well-being (Gallagher & Lopez, 2009). Recent work by Zahavi-Lupo et al. (2022) has shown that besides its individualistic value, hope also serves as a joint dyadic resource. Given the evidence for hope's dynamic nature (e.g., Snyder et al., 1996) and preliminary evidence for hope's malleability (e.g., Berg et al., 2008; Cheavens et al., 2006; Feldman & Dreher, 2012), Rafaeli and colleagues set out to test a brief hope-focused intervention (called Effective Hope; EH intervention) for TTP primiparous couples with funding from the Templeton Foundation. The EH intervention is based on the self-regulatory role of imagery or mental simulation of goal pursuit processes, and particularly the evidence that MCII (i.e., a mental portrayal of goals, as well as possible obstacles and pathways to achieve favorable outcomes; based on Oettingen and Gollwitzer’s work, 2010). It included both partners and consisted of two dyadic sessions guided by clinical psychologists: one during the 3rd trimester pre-partum, the other 15 weeks post-partum. In the sessions, each partner in turn was asked to elaborate a wish and was guided through the stages of MCII, while the non-focal partner was asked to sit quietly, listening and taking notes. As a control condition, Rafaeli and his colleagues utilized a progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) intervention, known to decrease stress and tension (Bernstein & Borkovec, 1973); this active control condition seemed like a plausible intervention given the prevalence of stress and tension in the TTP. In both conditions, the imagery exercise was followed by a short open conversation related to the content which arose. Each intervention session (pre- and post-partum) was followed by a 7-day sequence of self-practice. One way of assessing EH intervention’s effects can be through objective raters’ observations of the couples’ actual behaviors. In particular, if the EH intervention is successful in altering the manner in which couples communicate their hopes and engage in dyadic prospection, objective observers should be able to detect differences between couples who underwent this intervention and ones who underwent the active control intervention. Hence, the current study aims to examine whether an EH intervention has a greater beneficial effect on behavioral outcomes compared to the active control (PMR) intervention. To compare the possible behavioral effects of the interventions, participating couples were invited to take part in a multi-component structured videotaped dyadic interaction, planned to take place in the lab at 12 months post-partum (i.e., when participants were already parents to a one-year-old toddler). In two of the interaction’s components, each partner in turn was asked to pick one meaningful and feasible expectation relevant for this period in their life, and the couple was asked to discuss this expectation as they would at home. To assess the behaviors that occurred during these interactions, we utilized a new coding system, the Effective Hope Coding System (EHCS), which included ratings of both MCII components (wishes, outcomes, obstacles, plans; see Oettingen and Gollwitzer, 2010, as well as the extent to which partners expressed what they need from each other to overcome these obstacles) and features of dyadic communication.