Option 1 : human relationships studies Flashcards
study for a biological explanation for the formation of relationships
Saxton 2008
study for a cognitive explanation for the formation of relationships
Markey and Markey 2007
study for a socio-cultural explanation for the formation of relationships
Buss 1989
2 studies for the role of communication in relationships
Bradbury and Fincham 1992
John Gottman 1986
2 studies for why relationships change or end
Bradbury and Fincham 1992
John Gottman 1986
2 studies for research methods into personal relationships
Bradbury and Fincham 1992
John Gottman 1986
2 studies for ethical considerations into personal relationships
John Gottman 1986
Saxton 2008
2 studies for Cooperation and competition
tajfel 1971
Sherif 1954
2 studies for Prejudice and discrimination (biological and cognitive)
Fein and Spencer 1997
Harris and Fisk 2006
2 studies for Conflict and resolution
Paluck 2009
Sherif 1954
2 studies for research methods into group dynamics
tajfel 1971
Sherif 1954
2 studies for ethical considerations into group dynamics
tajfel 1971
Sherif 1954
Buss aim
- test three evolution-based assumptions about human mate selection:
- As men are searching for women with high reproductive value, they will favour youth and physical appearance
- As women are searching for men who will invest in their offspring, they will favour a man with the resources he can provide
- As men do not want to invest in another man’s child, chastity will be highly valued
test parental investment theory
Buss sample
- 37 samples from 33 countries
- 10 047 participants
- Mean age 23
- Different sampling techniques for different countries
Buss method
- 2 surveys taken
- Questions such as ideal age gap, number of children desired etc then rate 18 characteristics
- Next rank 13 characteristics
- Everything back translated
Buss results
- 36/37 samples women liked financial prospects more than men
- All men valued youth and attractiveness
- Most women like men to be older
- 34/37 men cared more about appearance than women
- 23/37 valued chastity
Buss conclusion
- Generally support the three assumptions
- Not so much the chastity one but that could be more of a cultural then evolutionary factor and is not easily observed
Buss strengths
- Takes lots of nationalities and cultures into account but not representative of the whole population as rural, less educated and poorer regions underrepresented
-Back translated
Buss limitations
- Construct validity and western bias eg. places where couples live together but aren’t married and places with multiple wives
- Cannot say why the preferences exist, could be evolutionary, cultural, genetic differences etc
- Temporal validity
- Just because someone is from somewhere doesn’t mean they have the same values
Markey and Markey aim
Test similarity attraction model
Markey and Markey sample
212 volunteers
Markey and Markey method
- Questionnaire on their values, beliefs, priorities etc
- Also about their dream partner without thinking of anyone in particular
Markey and Markey results
- People attracted to people who are more similar to them
- Follow up of 106 straight couples who had been together for at least a year confirmed this
- Most harmonious relationships when they were most similar
Markey and Markey limitations
-Not generalisable sample
- Self Reported data = demand characteristics
- No cause and effect relationship
Bradbury and Fincham aim
Determine the role of communication in relationships
Bradbury and Fincham sample
- advertisements in local media
- 47 married, living together, no marriage counselling
average length of marriage 8.5 years
Bradbury and Fincham method
- Questionnaire - greatest problems and marital satisfaction
- chose common problem and then asked each about cause, who was responsible and a problem that partner did not identify individually
- brought together discuss solutions to the problem
- Observation in lab for 15 min and recorder
identify relationship-enhancing and distress-maintaining communication patterns
Bradbury and Fincham results
- lower levels of marital satisfaction = more distress maintaining communication patterns so more likely to attribute marital problems to the partner behaving intentionally and selfishly
Bradbury and Fincham conclusion
- happy relationships = don’t blame their partner or think they did it “on purpose” and so negative behaviors attributed to situational factors - relationship enhancing behaviour
- Unhappy relationships = blame their partners and their personality so dispositional factor - distress-maintaining pattern of behavior
Bradbury and Fincham strengths
3 researchers analysed tape individually - researcher triangulation
Bradbury and Fincham limitations
- Not generalisable sample
- No cause and effect relationship - bidirectional ambiguity
- Questionnaire might have affected results - not counterbalanced to prevent order effects
- No change over time
Gottman aim and theory
- Gottman and Levenson have studied couples since 1986
- found that 69% relationship problems never get resolved but are “perpetual problems” based on personality differences between partners
- Gottman predicts the way we communicate about and respond to conflict that is strong predictor of if relationship will survive = Four Horsemen of Apocalypse - criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling (belligerence added = provocative and that challenges the spouse’s power and authority)
- lead to a vicious circle
- interaction between couple reinforces behaviors eg. stonewalling makes partner more critical increasing stonewalling
Gottman sample
- 124 couples
- married for the first time within six months
- Childless
- ad in newspaper
Gottman method
- Marital Adjustment test (MAT) to test for marital interactive session
- asked to sit quietly for two minutes to establish baseline physiological measures
- discussed the chosen topics for 15 minutes
- Physiological predictors (like heart rate, pulse transmission, and skin conductivity) measured as levels of physical arousal
- recorded and The Specific Affect Coding System used to code conflict interactions = facial expressions, vocal tone, and speech content
- video was coded by two independent observers
- Active listening measured when one expressed negative affect and other partner validated
- each spouse returned separately to view the videotape
- rating dial that used a 9-point scale (very negative to very positive) to rate how they felt during the interaction
Gottman results
- both the husband’s and wife’s high-intensity negative affect (belligerence, defensiveness, and contempt) predicted divorce
- active listening model did not predict positive outcomes
- 17 divorces
Gottman strengths
- 2 researchers analysed tape individually - researcher triangulation
- data triangulation
- Using more than one coder so inter-coder reliability = internal validity
Gottman limitations
- Not generalisable sample
- No cause and effect relationship - bidirectional ambiguity
- Self selected = selection bias
- reductionist
Tajfel 1971 aim
investigate if intergroup discrimination would take place based on being put into different groups
Tajfel sample
- 48 boys
- 14 - 15
- British
Tajfel method
- asked to rate 12 paintings by abstract expressionist painters Klee and Kandinsky
- randomly allocated to one of two groups and told that they preferred either Klee or Kandinsky
- given the task to award points to two other boys, one from his same group and one from the other group
- If a Klee member chose a high value for another Klee member, it would give a higher profit to the out-group.
- If a Klee member chose a mid-range value for another Klee member, it would give the same points to the other group.
- If a Klee member chose a low value for another Klee member, it would award only 1 point to the other team
Tajfel results
- boys were willing to give their own team fewer points to maximise the difference
-surprising as the boys left the study with fewer points than if they had all given each other the largest number of points
Tajfel conclusion
- natural tendency of members of a group to favour their in-group even in minimal groups without competition
Tajfel strengths
- The experiment had a high level of control
- Confounding variables were minimised
- The procedure can be replicated to establish reliability
Tajfel limitations
- low ecological validity
- demand characteristics, trying to please the researcher
- may have interpreted the task as competitive and tried to win
- Sampling bias
- ethical
Fein and Spencer aim
To test theory that prejudice is response to “threatened egotism” = perception of ourselves is threatened and act out against out group
Fein and Spencer sample
- 61 male introductory psychology students from Williams College
Fein and Spencer method
- Test with hard questions
- randomly allocated to either the control or negative feedback conditions
- control group told fake intelligence test and received good scores
- Negative feedback told true test of intelligence and received low scores
- social judgment task
- one of two scenarios
- 31-year-old male struggling artist in New York City
- In 1 he had a girlfriend and in 2 made to seem gay “eg. partner”
- questionnaire about his personality traits (some more “gay” eg. femininity, creativity, sensitivity)
- would they like him as a friend and to what extent they were similar
Fein and Spencer results
negative feedback = more stereotypically gay and less likely to like Gregg
Fein and Spencer limitations
- Not threatened by the low test score - maybe something more masculine needed to be threatened
- Didn’t pick up on that greg is gay
- Might not like him for other reasons eg. being from new york or his personality
- Small biased sample
- Low ecological validity
Harris and Fiske aim
to observe the role of the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in reacting to what they called “extreme out-groups” - that is, homeless and addicts. The researchers wanted to see the biological correlates of a “contemptuous stereotype.” according to the stereotype content model
Harris and Fiske sample
22 Princeton University undergraduates
Harris and Fiske method
- divided into two - half images of people and half images of objects
- Before fMRI practice rating photos of four emotions: pride, envy, pity, and disgust.
- fMRI
- shown six sets of ten photographs
- people with disabilities
- rich businessmen
- older people
- American Olympic athletes
- homeless people
- used joystick and chose which four emotions they felt
Harris and Fiske results
- pictures of addicts or homeless people
- activation of amygdala = associated with disgust
- Insula activated = response to non-human objects such as garbage
- the medial prefrontal cortex not activate = what happens when we see people
Harris and Fiske strengths
- fMRI - accurate, doesn’t allow for demand characteristics or confounding variables
- Practice test
Harris and Fiske limitations
- small biased sample
- Low ecological validity
Paluk aim
to determine if social cognitive theory could be used in the form of media to reduce conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda
Paluk sample
- stratified sample
- 480 participants
- 99% living in Rwanda at the start of genocide
Paluk method
- either control group = listened to soap opera about AIDS
- Or experimental group = listened to radio soap opera about reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi characters
- 1 year
- Then interviews, focus groups and observations
Paluk results
in the experimental = more trust in out-group and cooperation even though their own beliefs about events of genocide remained same
Paluk conclusion
- feelings of empathy toward characters led to development of empathy for real-life people
- Don’t need direct contact with out-group but need education = less threatening way to resolve conflict
Paluk limitations
- Didn’t measure trust and cooperation and independent samples design = participant variables
- Demand characteristics
- Can’t tell if they actually did pay attention and have empathy to characters
- Low internal validity - others things could have happened
