Human Relationships

Question 1

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships definition/ explanation

Answer 1

• Human attraction is rooted in natural selection, favoring traits that enhance reproductive success.
• Attraction is primarily a physiological response involving neurotransmitters, hormones, and possibly pheromones.

Neurotransmitters:
- Dopamine-rich brain activity drives obsession and focus on a partner during romantic love.
- Helen Fisher’s “biochemical cocktail” theory:
- Neurotransmitters (dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin) create feelings of euphoria, obsession, and heightened energy.
- Romantic love acts as a motivation system, similar to mating behaviors in animals.

Role of Hormones:
- Transition from attraction to attachment marked by feelings of comfort and security.
- Oxytocin:
- Released during touching, sex, and childbirth.
- Strengthens bonds and promotes trust by reducing anxiety and aggression (suppresses amygdala activity).

• Vasopressin:
  - Released during sex, influences long-term commitment and attachment.

Limitations:
- Correlational nature of studies: No definitive cause-and-effect relationships.
- Reliance on animal models, limiting generalizability to humans.
.

Question 2

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships study 1

Answer 2

Fisher
AIM: To investigate a possible link between dopaminergic brain regions/systems and the early stages of romantic love

PROCEDURE:
Participants: A self-selected sample of 10 female and 7 male students from New York State University, aged 18-26 years old (mean age = 20 years). All participants reported that they were ‘in love’ (time spent together from a range of 1-17 months with a mean of 7 months)

Participants were placed in an fMRI scanner and shown a photograph of their romantic partner followed by a distraction task and then a ‘neutral’ photograph of an acquaintance with whom they had no emotional connection
- This was repeated six times
- The researchers got what Fisher calls “a beautiful picture of the brain in love”, showing activity in the brain’s reward system

FINDINGS:
The researchers found that the brain’s reward system was particularly active when the lovers looked at pictures of the object of their love - that is, increased activity in the areas of the brain with high levels of dopamine neurons
they also found that the more passionate they were, the more active the brain’s reward circuitry was

CONCLUSION:
This is in line with our knowledge of the brain’s reward system and the role of dopamine in motivation. The data from the fMRI scans supported a correlation between the attitudes towards the lover and brain activity. According to Fisher, romantic love is not an emotion, but rather a motivation system - a need or a craving - designed to enable lovers to mate. Fisher claims that specific brain systems have evolved to motivate individuals to mate. This could perhaps explain why attraction is normally linked to increased energy, focused attention, obsessive following, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite. Dopamine is behind the intense motivation to win a specific mating partner in the early stages of human romantic love. In this way, humans are very much like other animals.

Question 3

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships fisher strengths

Answer 3

The findings support previous research into the role of dopamine in substance addiction so it is interesting to see how romantic love may fall under the same framework of craving and withdrawal
The use of fMRI clearly shows a link between dopaminergic areas of the brain only when the photograph of the romantic partner was shown which increases the internal validity of the study i.e. Fisher really was measuring the effect of romantic love on the brain

Question 4

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships fisher strengths limitations

Answer 4

It could be argued that a sample with a mean age of 20 years are more likely to be socially active and involved in pleasure-focused activities than an older sample which would mean that the ‘pleasure centre’ of their brains would be more receptive to dopamine
There could be other explanations for the activation of the dopamine-rich areas of the brain being active during the fMRI e.g. excitement at taking part in a study; curiosity as to the outcome of the study, so Fisher cannot claim cause-and-effect from her findings

Question 5

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships fisher study 2

Answer 5

Wedekind
AIM: carried out a study to see to what extent MHC alleles play a role in mating behavior. They are inherited from both of our parents – and they are codominant. That means we end up with both immune systems. He argued that our “smell” is based on our MHC and it is best for a woman to choose a mating partner who has a different smell in order to maximize the immune system of her child.

PROCEDURE:
double-blind experiment
neither the researcher nor the participants were aware of which t-shirt they were being exposed to at any point in the study in order to minimize researcher bias in the experimenters and demand characteristics in the participants
recruited a group of 49 women and 44 men, with a wide range of MHC genes
gave each man a clean T-shirt and asked him to wear it for two nights
To ensure a strong body odor, he gave the men supplies of odor-free soap and aftershave and asked them to remain as “odor neutral” as possible
they were also forbidden to eat spicy food.
After the men returned the shirts, Wedekind put each one in a plastic-lined cardboard box with a sniffing hole on top.
The women were scheduled to return at the midpoint of their menstrual cycle when women’s sense of smell is at its best, and each was presented with a different set of seven boxes.
Three of the seven boxes contained T-shirts from men with MHC similar to the woman’s own
three contained T-shirts from MHC-dissimilar men; and one contained an unworn T-shirt as a control. The women were asked to rate each of the seven T-shirts as pleasant or unpleasant.

FINDINGS:
the women he tested were more likely to prefer the scent of men with dissimilar MHC
although we might argue that this is strong evidence that MHC determines whom we find to be attractive, that would be a reductionist approach to relationships.

Question 6

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships wedekind evaluation

Answer 6

• evolutionary argument for mate selection in humans
• reductionist – that is, it over-simplifies the behaviour of human mate selection by bringing it down to the MHC – ignoring cognitive and sociocultural factors.
• double-blind experiment: this means that neither the researchers nor the participants were aware of which t-shirt they were being exposed to at any point in the study. This was done to minimize demand characteristics.
• met ethical standards as consent was obtained from all participants and they were debriefed
• The sample, however, may not be considered representative as the participants were similar in age and culture.

Question 7

Discuss (or Evaluate) a biological approach to personal relationships theory eval.

Answer 7

• Over reliance on animal models
• An over reliance on western-hetro-sexual couples
• A largely Etic approach to research

Question 8

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships. defintion / explanation

Answer 8

• Focuses on the role of mental processes (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, schemas, perceptions) in forming, maintaining, and evaluating relationships.
• Emphasizes how cognitive mechanisms influence interpersonal dynamics and attraction.

Key Concepts:
- Similarity-Attraction Model:
- People are attracted to those they perceive as similar to themselves in traits like:
- Age, religion, cultural background, personality, physical attractiveness.
- Perception of similarity fosters compatibility and validation of values and beliefs, enhancing attraction.

• Schema Theory & Bowlby’s Internal Working Model (IWM):
  
  • Early attachment experiences shape mental representations (schemas) that influence future relationships.
  • The IWM includes three components:
    
    1. Expectations of attachment figures and their behavior.
    2. Perceptions of self-worth and lovability.
    3. Models of how self and others relate in relationships.
• Halo Effect:
  
  • A cognitive bias where perceptions of physical attractiveness influence broader judgments of personality traits and compatibility.
  • Attractiveness may lead to assumptions of other positive traits, influencing relationship formation.

Significance:
- Explains how cognitive processes and biases shape relationship dynamics, satisfaction, and conflict resolution.
- Highlights the influence of early experiences on adult relational patterns.

Question 9

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships study 1

Answer 9

Markey and Markey
Aim: To investigate the extent to which similarity is a factor in the way people choose a partner

Procedure:
The researchers asked a large self-selected sample to fill out a questionnaire to determine the psychological characteristics, values, and attitudes of their ideal romantic partner. Then they were asked to describe themselves. A follow-up study was then conducted and used a self-selected sample of 106 young couples (or 212 heterosexual males and females). The participants were asked to indicate their own as well as their partners personality characteristics.

Findings:
- The first study showed that the way participants described themselves was similar to what they were seeking in an ideal partner.
- The second study found that the couple with the most harmonious romantic relationships have romantic partners with similar characteristics but not all.
Showed that total similarity in a couple may be desired but it is not ideal for long-term harmony

Question 9

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships strengths

Answer 9

• Unlike biological theories, cognitive theories account for personal differences in attraction.
• Many of the studies are high in ecological validity, making use of actual dating sites.

Question 9

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships study 2

Answer 9

Hazan & Shaver (1987)
Aim: To see whether adult attraction and relationship formation is a reflection of the expectations and beliefs people make about themselves and their close relationships as a result of their experiences with early attachment figures.

Procedure:
The researchers created a “love quiz” which was put in the local newspaper and asked respondents to indicate which of three patterns best described their feelings of romantic relationships. The respondents were also asked to describe their parents’ parenting style. The sample consisted of over 700 self-selected participants between two studies.

Findings:
- 59% of the respondents demonstrated a secure attachment style
- 25% showed an anxious-avoidant pattern
- 19% showed an anxious-ambivalent pattern
- The securely attached individuals had parents who were readily available, attentive, and responsive
- People who were anxious had parents that were unresponsive, rejecting, and inattentive
- People who were anxious-ambivalent had parents who were only sometimes responsive, and generally out of step with their needs.

Conclusion: Romantic love is a process that shares important characteristics with early attachment relationships. They found that differences in adult attachment are related to how one sees themself and others. There is some correlation but it is not deterministic.

Question 10

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships limitations

Answer 10

• Some of the constructs are difficult to measure. It is not, for example, possible to identify one’s “internal working model.”
• Factors influencing relationship formation are impossible to isolate under natural conditions.
• The approach may be considered overly simplistic when not used in combination with other approaches to understanding human relationships.

Question 11

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships Markey and Markey strengths

Answer 11

• Relatively large sample size
• Large sample size
• Both partners involved

Question 12

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships Markey and Markey limitations

Answer 12

• Self-reported so influenced by demand characteristics
• Based on young American students - can’t be generalized
• correlational and can’t establish cause-and-effect relationships

Question 13

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships Hazan and Shafer strengths

Answer 13

• Large sample size
• Real-world relevance

Question 14

Discuss (or Evaluate) a cognitive approach to personal relationships Hazan and Shafer limitations

Answer 14

• Self-selected sample - not representative
• Self-reported data - subject to demand characteristics
• Study only shows one culture

Question 15

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships strengths

Answer 15

• Unlike biological theories, sociocultural theories account for cultural differences in what people find attractive.
• Several studies are experimental in nature and can be replicated to establish reliability.
• The theories are seen as less deterministic and most holistic.

Question 16

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships limitations

Answer 16

• Duck criticized the methods used to study relationships. Situations in the laboratory using strangers are highly artificial and do not predict what will happen outside of the laboratory.
• Several studies have poorly defined variables of “attraction” or “liking.”
• Cultural research has had a tendency to stress the differences between cultures when in actuality there may be more similarities than differences. Culture also changes over time, so we may be moving toward a more globalized version of attraction.
• Several studies are based on questionnaires and surveys - opening up the research to bias and demand characteristics.
• The majority of research is etic in nature, asking cultures to rank Western qualities sought out in relationships.

Question 17

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 17

• The sociocultural approach focuses on how environmental, cultural, and societal factors influence relationships. It examines the role of social norms, cultural expectations, and globalization in shaping attraction and relational behaviors.
• Zajonc’s Mere Exposure Effect explains that repeated exposure to someone increases liking, as familiarity fosters attraction. This helps explain why relationships often form in shared environments like schools or workplaces.
• Cultural norms shape perceptions of attraction. Buss’s cross-cultural research (1989) revealed that:
  • Western cultures prioritize love and physical attractiveness.
  • Non-Western cultures emphasize family alignment and social status.
  • Globalisation is blending individualistic and collectivistic values, but cultural norms still strongly influence relationship formation and maintenance.

Question 18

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships study 1

Answer 18

Zajonc
Zajonc conducted a study investigating the role that the mere exposure effect plays in the formation of a relationship. Participants, university students, were shown photos of male faces. Participants were told they were taking part in a study of visual memory. The participants were shown each photo for two seconds. The photos were shown at different rates of frequency in different groups. Each time participants saw the photo, they were asked to rate how much they would like the man on a 7 - point scale. The results showed that when participants were exposed to the image more frequently, their rating of the likeability of the man was significantly greater than only seeing the photo once.

Question 19

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships Zajonc strengths

Answer 19

highly controlled environment where researchers could operationalize the frequency of participants being exposed to the photos to produce empirical results

Question 20

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships Zajonc limitations

Answer 20

. ethical concerns with using deception, this helped to avoid demand characteristics as participants did not know the true aim of the study
- the ecological validity is questionable as the extent to which the study is predictive in real-life encounters between people is questionable
- The study would need to be replicated under naturalistic conditions to strengthen its reliability.

Question 21

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships study 2

Answer 21

Buss
Buss conducted a study investigating how culture factored into the formation of relationships. In this cross-cultural study, participants were given two questionnaires regarding male selection. Buss found many significant universal similarities in the responses. In almost all cultures, women ranked financial prospects as more important than males. In all cultures, men preferred younger mates while women preferred older mates. It was also found that in the majority of cultures, males rated chastity as more important than women did. However, differences included the fact that love was ranked first in the US, whereas it was ranked 7th in South Africa. Further ranking of aspects like intelligence and education also greatly differed.

Question 22

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships Buss strengths

Answer 22

• the study was one of the largest cross-cultural studies, meaning that the study has high reliability as a large sample size was used and that results can be generalized
• although no causation relationships were formed, the results were often very significant, further establishing the reliability

Question 23

Discuss (or Evaluate) a sociocultural approach to personal relationships Buss limitations

Answer 23

• the data was self-reported, meaning researchers have no way of verifying whether participants were telling the truth
• the study suffers from temporal validity as the study is quite outdated, meaning it is difficult to generalize the results into today’s globalised world with differing sociocultural factors

Question 24

Contrast a biological and cognitive approach to personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 24

Question 25

Contrast a biological and cognitive approach to personal relationships study 1

Answer 25

Markey and Markey (cog)

Question 26

Contrast a biological and cognitive approach to personal relationships study 2

Answer 26

Wedekind (bio)

Question 27

Contrast a biological and sociocultural approach to personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 27

Question 28

Contrast a cognitive and sociocultural approach to personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 28

Question 29

Discuss two or more ethical considerations in the study of personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 29

Deception involves intentionally misleading participants about the true purpose or nature of a study to avoid influencing their behavior and ensure more authentic responses. While this can be a valuable methodological tool, it raises ethical concerns about participants’ right to informed consent and their ability to make fully informed decisions about their involvement in the research.

In studies of personal relationships, deception might be used to prevent participants from altering their natural responses, particularly when studying sensitive topics such as attraction, infidelity, or attachment. For example, researchers may not disclose that the study is investigating perceptions of attractiveness to avoid biased responses. While such deception can enhance ecological validity and the reliability of findings, it may lead participants to feel misled or manipulated, potentially causing psychological discomfort once the deception is revealed.

To address these concerns, researchers are required to adhere to ethical guidelines, such as those outlined by the American Psychological Association (APA). This includes minimizing the use of deception and ensuring that it is justified by the study’s potential benefits. Debriefing participants after the study is essential, providing them with a full explanation of the research purpose and any deceptive elements used. This helps restore trust and allows participants to withdraw their data if they feel uncomfortable with the deception.

In conclusion, deception is a common ethical consideration in studying personal relationships. While it can enhance research validity, it must be used judiciously and accompanied by thorough debriefing to ensure that participants’ rights and well-being are protected.

Question 30

Discuss one or more research methods used to study personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 30

questionnaires are a commonly used method that allows researchers to gather large amounts of data efficiently and systematically about people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in relationships.

Questionnaires are typically structured or semi-structured sets of written questions designed to collect self-reported information. In the study of personal relationships, they can be used to assess factors like attraction, attachment styles, communication patterns, and satisfaction levels. Participants respond to questions or scales, providing insight into their subjective experiences or perceptions of their relationships.

This method is valuable because it allows researchers to collect data from a large, diverse sample, improving generalizability. Additionally, standardized questionnaires, such as Hazan and Shaver’s “love quiz” or the Relationship Assessment Scale, enable researchers to quantify abstract concepts like relationship quality or attachment, facilitating comparison across studies or cultural contexts.

However, questionnaires have limitations. They rely on participants’ self-reports, which may be influenced by biases like social desirability, where individuals provide answers they believe are socially acceptable rather than truthful. Additionally, questionnaires may not capture the complexity of relationships, as responses can lack depth and context.

In summary, questionnaires are an effective and practical research method for studying personal relationships, offering valuable insights while balancing the need for large-scale data collection with the limitations of self-reported information.

Question 31

Discuss the formation of personal relationships definition/explanation

Answer 31

Question 32

Discuss the formation of personal relationships study 1

Answer 32

Wedekind
aim: testing if women would prefer the body odors of men whose MHC genes were the least similar to their own.

procedure:
* double-blind experiment
◦ neither the researcher nor the participants were aware of which t-shirt they were being exposed to at any point in the study in order to minimize researcher bias in the experimenters and demand characteristics in the participants
* recruited a group of 49 women and 44 men, with a wide range of MHC genes
* gave each man a clean T-shirt and asked him to wear it for two nights
* To ensure a strong body odor, he gave the men supplies of odor-free soap and aftershave and asked them to remain as “odor neutral” as possible
◦ they were also forbidden to eat spicy food.
* After the men returned the shirts, Wedekind put each one in a plastic-lined cardboard box with a sniffing hole on top.
* The women were scheduled to return at the midpoint of their menstrual cycle when women’s sense of smell is at its best, and each was presented with a different set of seven boxes.
◦ Three of the seven boxes contained T-shirts from men with MHC similar to the woman’s own
◦ three contained T-shirts from MHC-dissimilar men; and one contained an unworn T-shirt as a control. The women were asked to rate each of the seven T-shirts as pleasant or unpleasant.

results/link sentence (linking study to explanation):
* the women he tested were more likely to prefer the scent of men with dissimilar MHC
* although we might argue that this is strong evidence that MHC determines whom we find to be attractive, that would be a reductionist approach to relationships.
* as you will see in the next two sections, cognitive and sociocultural factors also appear to play an important role in human attraction.

Question 33

Discuss the formation of personal relationships Wedekind evaluation

Answer 33

• The study seems to support an evolutionary argument for mate selection in humans. The study has been successfully replicated by Jacob et al (2002). Yamazaki et al. (1976) showed this to be the case for male mice, which show a preference for females of different MHC.
• Research shows that couples who suffer from repeated miscarriages often share a higher proportion of their MHC than control couples in many different populations (Beer et al. 1985). Also, newborn babies of such couples often have a reduced birth mass (Reznikoff-Etievant et al. 1991). So the ability to detect MHC could play a key role in a woman’s search for the “best mate.” Of course, such a “decision” is not a conscious one.
• Despite all the evidence, some argue that the theory is too reductionist – that is, it over-simplifies the behavior of human mate selection by bringing it down to the MHC – ignoring cognitive and sociocultural factors.
• The design of the study was a double-blind experiment. This means that neither the researchers nor the participants were aware of which t-shirt they were being exposed to at any point in the study. This was done to minimize demand characteristics.
• The study also met ethical standards as consent was obtained from all participants and they were debriefed. The sample, however, may not be considered representative as the participants were similar in age and culture.

Question 34

Discuss the formation of personal relationships

Answer 34

Markey and Markey

Question 35

Discuss the role of communication in relationships definition/explanation

Answer 35

Question 36

Discuss the role of communication in relationships study 1

Answer 36

Collins & Miller (1994)
Aim: To investigate the link between self-disclosure and liking in the maintenance of relationships

Procedure:
A meta-analysis of research in the field of self-disclosure
Studies were selected from range of journal articles published between 1955 and 1992, isolating the key terms linked to self-disclosure and liking
Studies from a variety of academic textbooks were also included in the sample
A statistical programme was used to calculate the effect size in studies of self-disclosure in relationships.
Studies in the meta-analysis included lab experiments through to self-reports

Results:
Liking appeared to be associated with self-disclosure (seen via positive correlations and large effect sizes)
The effect was particularly strong in self-report studies (questionnaires)
Intimacy was also linked to liking:people will disclose more to those to whom they already feel close and the very act of disclosing increases liking

Conclusion:
Self-disclosure plays an important role in the maintenance of relationships

Question 37

Discuss the role of communication in relationships Collins and Miller strengths

Answer 37

• A meta-analysis uses triangulation:
  
  • Triangulation involves the use of more than one method, researcher and/or data set
  • Triangulation means that the findings from one study can be viewed in the light of the findings from other studies
  • Using triangulation in this way increases the internal validity of the findings.
• Meta-analyses are less prone to researcher bias:
  
  • Using secondary data offers fewer opportunities to confound the results as they are reviewing the findings of existing studies

Question 38

Discuss the role of communication in relationships Collins and Miller limitations

Answer 38

• Secondary data is less secure than data gathered at first-hand:
  
  • The researchers are at the mercy of the original researchers’ procedures over which they have no control
  • This lack of control could affect the reliability of the findings
• There is a lack of ecological validity with a meta-analysis:
  
  • A ‘cold’ and detached statistical measure cannot reveal why and how self-disclosure takes place, only that it does

Question 39

Discuss the role of communication in relationships study 2

Answer 39

Regan et al. (2012)
Aim: To investigate differences in feelings about arranged or love-based marriages in an immigrant community.

Participants:
58 Indian adults (34 female; 24 male) aged 23-55 years
The participants were living in a city in the USA
The participants were married (though none of their spouses were included in the sample) and the average length of marriage was 9.7 years
28 of the participants reported that they had had an arranged marriage; 30 reported that their marriage was love-based (i.e. self-chosen)

Procedure:
Participants completed rating scales designed to measure:
companionate love (e.g. how much they cared about their spouse)
passionate love (e.g. how much ‘in love’ they were with their spouse)
relationship satisfaction and commitment (e.g. how much they wanted to stay with their partner).

Results:
There was no difference found between arranged marriages and love marriages:

Both types of marriages produced responses from those in them that were high in love, commitment and satisfaction

Men across both groups reported higher levels of commitment, passionate love and companionate love than the women did

Conclusion: There may be little difference in how married Indian people view their marriage, whether it is arranged or love-based

Question 40

Discuss the role of communication in relationships Regan et al. strengths

Answer 40

The use of an immigrant community living in the USA means that the study has cultural relativism:
- It does not take an ‘outsider’ perspective which would have occurred if a non-culturally specific sample had been used
- It does not make assumptions about arranged marriages or Indian culture

• The findings go some way towards challenging the idea that arranged marriages are not as loving or satisfying for those involved in them as love-based marriages are

Question 41

Discuss the role of communication in relationships Regan et al. limitations

Answer 41

• The use of such a small sample means that the results lack statistical power:
  
  • a larger sample might have yielded some evidence of differences between the marriage types
• All of the participants lived in the USA and had married there which means that:
  
  • they may already have been of a similar mind-set compared to Indians living in India, particularly in more rural areas
  • the findings lack external validity as they represent a limited demographic

Question 42

Discuss why relationships change or end. definition explanation

Answer 42

Question 43

Discuss why relationships change or end study 1

Answer 43

Mitnick et al. (2009)
Aim: To investigate changes in satisfaction levels of couples after becoming parents compared to couples who have not had children (with reference to Duck’s phase model)
Participants:
Samples from the data of 37 US-based longitudinal studies tracking first-time parents from pregnancy up to the child being about a year old
4 longitudinal studies of childless couples were used for comparison
A total of almost 6,000 individual samples were included in the study
Procedure:
A meta-analysis was conducted using research articles of couples with and without children dating from as far back as 1887 up to and including 2006
The researchers identified keywords which formed the basis of the research, for example:
‘transition’
‘parenthood’
‘relationship satisfaction’
The researchers also obtained unpublished research from key researchers in the field of relationships to add to their findings
The studies included in the meta-analysis were generally self-report questionnaires and surveys which used rating scales to measure the level of satisfaction expressed by the participants
Results:
There was a significant decline in relationship satisfaction for the couples who had children compared to the childless couples: This decline was particularly true for the first couple of years after the first child had been born
There was a good deal of variability in the above finding, with some couples recording large decreases in satisfaction compared to slight increases in some cases
The above findings are relevant to Duck’s intra-psychic and dyadic phases of his model in which dissatisfaction is a key trigger for the onset of relationship breakdown
Conclusion:
Becoming first-time parents may affect the satisfaction levels of a relationship, with most impact on the relationship being negative

Question 44

Discuss why relationships change or end Mitnick et al. strengths

Answer 44

• This meta-analysis used a variety of statistical measures, which is an objective and consistent way of conducting the procedure which increases the reliability of the findings
• The study lends support to the idea that there may be a common pattern to relationship breakdown as predicted by Duck’s phase model:
  
  • A stress point (in this case the birth of a child) threatens the relationship
  • Dissatisfaction is expressed, which may be shared with the other person and which may ultimately lead to the relationship being terminated

Question 45

Discuss why relationships change or end Mitnick et al. limitations

Answer 45

• A meta-analysis cannot hope to fully explore (or explain) why and how relationship breakdown occurs as it ignores both individual differences and qualitative methodology, for example:
  
  • The lack of satisfaction expressed may have already existed before the birth of the first child
  • Some couples may express dissatisfaction more easily than others - but this does not mean that they necessarily feel dissatisfied
  • A lack of qualitative data robs the study of explanatory power, the ‘why’ of relationship breakdown
• One of the issues with this study is that it measures satisfaction up to only one year after the birth of the child, which means that long-term effects of becoming a parent and the effect on satisfaction are unknown

Question 46

Discuss why relationships change or end study 2

Answer 46

Felmlee (1995)
Aim: To investigate the fatal attraction hypothesis (FAH) as an explanation for relationship breakdown.
Participants: 301 students from the University of California
Procedure:
The participants completed a self-report in which asked them to list the qualities that had first attracted them to a recent partner
After making this list they were then asked to list the qualities that they least liked about that person.

Results:
Felmlee identified 88 (almost 30%) of what she termed FA break-ups
These FA relationships could be defined as being relationships based on the other person having qualities that initially provoked excitement or fascination
Felmlee identified three patterns that are typical of FA breakdowns:
1. Fun to foolish: This was the most common reason for relationship failure: A ‘fun’, outgoing, party loving person is gradually seen as immature, irresponsible and foolish by their partner
2. Strong to domineering: The attraction here might be based on someone who offers strength, who has definite opinions and a reassuring presence: These traits may be perceived as being dictatorial, bossy, forceful and overbearing after a while

3. Spontaneous to unpredictable: This describes the sort of person who may suddenly suggest a weekend in Paris out of the blue: The person initially appears to be living in the moment, living life to the full, but they may ultimately be viewed as having a lack of focus, being unreliable, inconsistent and just overall ‘flaky’.

Conclusion: There does seem to be a consistent and predictable pattern to FA relationships

Question 47

Discuss why relationships change or end Felmlee strengths

Answer 47

• The study could be said to have good validity:
  
  • Patterns in the data do seem to support the fatal attraction hypothesis
  • Additionally, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence and real-world observations that back up Felmlee’s findings (there is even a film called ‘Fatal Attraction’ which the theory takes its name from)
• This theory attempts to explain why relationships break down, as opposed to Duck’s phase model which simply charts the progression of relationship breakdown

Question 48

Discuss why relationships change or end Felmlee limitations

Answer 48

• The sample is ethnocentric as it only used students from the University of California,making it limited in generalisability
• The FAH is biased towards individualistic cultures
  Collectivist cultures do not necessarily conform to the - FAH:
  
  • People from collectivist cultures are less likely to actively choose unsuitable partners, particularly if the tradition is for arranged marriages
  • Having several ‘experimental’ relationships - particularly in cultures where marriage is highly valued - would be frowned upon and may render the person unsuitable for marriage

Question 49

Discuss one or more research methods used to study personal relationships study 1

Answer 49

Markey and Markey

Question 50

Discuss one or more research methods used to study personal relationships study 2

Answer 50

Hazan and Shafer

Question 51

Contrast a biological and sociocultural approach to personal relationships study 1

Answer 51

Wedekind (bio)

Question 52

Contrast a biological and sociocultural approach to personal relationships study 2

Answer 52

Buss (sociocultural)

Question 53

Contrast a cognitive and sociocultural approach to personal relationships study 1

Answer 53

Markey and Markey (cog)

Question 54

Discuss two or more ethical considerations in the study of personal relationships study 1

Answer 54

Wedekind: DID debrief

Question 55

Discuss two or more ethical considerations in the study of personal relationships study 2

Answer 55

Zajonc: DIDNT debrief