Psychology Paper 2, Relationships

Question 1

Sheldon

Answer 1

Aim: to examine how self-disclosure, social-attraction, predictability, and trust influence Facebook relationships
Participants: 243 undergraduates with a mean age of 20

Procedure:
- Participants were given a set of questionnaires
- The questionairs would ask details of the online interactions the participant would have with one individual in particular, the person they would talk to the most on Facebook

Results:
- The perception of attraction would influence the amount of self-disclosure, in particular, the variety of topics discussed
- More self-disclosure would increase predictability, which would then in turn influence trust
- These results aligned with the uncertainty reduction theory, where when two people communicate more, the level of uncertainty decreases, which then in turn feelings of attraction to the other individual

Conclusion:
- In online Facebook relationships, the more an individual likes someone, the more they self-disclose
- Self-disclosure decreases uncertainty, which therefore increases predictability and trust, which in turn increases the amount of self-disclosure

Evaluation:
1. Strengths:
- Large sample size of 243 participants = more generalisable
- Standardised questionairs and form of relationship
- High ecological validity in the realm of Facebook relationships (no variables were manipulated)

2. Weaknesses:
   - Reductionist approach to relationships (relationships are not just online ineractions)
   - Self Reporting Bias (Recall bias, social desirability bias, conformation bias)
   - Correlational study

Question 2

Gottman and Krokoff

Answer 2

Aim: To investigation which aspects of communication identified with marital dissatisfaction

Procedure:
- The study was longitudinal, and observed couples in both a lab and home environment whilst they discussed either low or high conflict issues
- At multiple points, the researchers would assess the marital dissatisfaction levels with questionairs, and a dyadic adjustment scale (DAS)

Results:
- The researchers found that the expression of anger or disagreement was not necessarily a sign of marital dissatisfaction
- Couples which resolved conflicts constructively had higher marital satisfaction levels
- Couples which avoided conflict had lower marital satisfaction levels. The researchers attributed this to the fact that the couples didn’t have a chance to work through conflicts productively, which led to marital dissatisfaction

Conclusion:
- 3 dysfunctional communication patterns were identified to be associated with lower marital dissatisfaction over time: Defensiveness, Stubbornness, and withdrawal from the interaction
- All 3 of these interactions hindered communication

Evaluation:
1. Strengths:
- Longitudinal
- Standardised method of measuring marital dissatisfaction with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale which is a validated measurement
- Standardised questionnaires
- No variables manipulated

2. Weaknesses
   - Observer Bias
   - Social desirability Bias
   - Low ecological validity

Question 3

Moreland and Beach

Answer 3

Aim: to investigate the validity of the ‘mere-exposure effect’
Participants: 130 total undergraduate psychology students, 63 men, 67 women which attended a psychology lecture

Procedure:
- The study had 4 female confederates who would attend a lecture at various rates/intervals in a semester
- Women A attended 0 times, Women B attended 5 times, Women C attended 10 times, and Women D attended 15 times
- When the confederate would attend a seminar in the semester was randomised.
- When a confederate attended a lecture, they would follow a standardised script where they would enter, sit, and leave the lecture in a fashion where they were seen by all students attending the lecture.
- The confederates were asked not to interact with any students throughout the entire study
- At the end of the semester, the students were then showed a slide show presentation of the 4 women, and were asked to rate them on a scale of 1-7 on several traits such as warmth, popularity, and intelligence. The students were also asked how familiar they were with the women, or if they knew them.

Results:
- Despite none of the students being familiar with the confederates, or knowing who the confederates were, a trend appeared where the confederates who attended the most frequently would be ranked the highest on positive traits.
- These results support the mere-exposure effect

Evaluation:
1. Strengths:
- High ecological validity
- Large samples size
- Extremely natural environment

2. Weaknesses:
   - Women varied in physical appearance, serving as a confounding variable
   - Low generalisability as the study only included one lecture cohort
   - Deception was used.

Question 4

Jones et al.

Answer 4

Aim: To investigate whether a women’s perception of male attractiveness relied on social context, in particular, the social cues displayed by other women.

Procedure:
-Initially, female participants were shown images of pairs of male faces, where they were asked to rate the men on a scale based of their attractiveness
- After the initial round of viewing and rating, the women were then placed through an identical procedure where they were shown identical pairs of images of the male faces, however this time, one of the images of a male would be accompanied by a female face. The female in the image would either be smiling, or have a neutral face.
- The women were then asked to rate the attractiveness of the men again after the second viewing.

Results:
- Men’s faces who continued not to be paired with an image of a female face in the 2nd round had no changes to their ratings of attractiveness.
- Men’s faces which were accompanied by a smiling female face on the second round would be rated higher than they were previously.
- Conversely, male faces which were accompanied by a neutral face of a woman in the second round would be rated worse off.

Conclusion:
- The researchers concluded that women may rely on social cues when forming an attraction on males

Evaluation:
1. Strengths:
- Cause and effect established
- Lab experiment and had a controlled environment

2. Weaknesses:
   - Reductionist approach when it comes to how attraction is formed
   - Low ecological validity
   - Subject to social desirability bias

Question 5

Walster et al

Answer 5

Aim: To investigate the validity of the matching hypothesis theory, and examine if individuals are more inclined to date someone of similar attractiveness
Participants: 376 men, and 376 women, all of whom were freshman

Procedure:
- Participants were deceived into believing a computer dance was taking place, where an algorithm would match them with a participant based on inputs. In reality, the dance was a setup for the study
- As participants would buy tickets to this dance, four secret confederates would rank the participant’s physical attractiveness.
- After two days since the participants purchased tickets, they would attend a dance with another participant who was their date. The dates were randomly assigned.
- During the dance, the researchers would examine the participant’s attitudes to their dates
- After a few weeks after the dance, the researchers would conduct a follow-up to examine if the participant and their date started to date in real life

Results:
- Some results of this study credited the matching hypothesis. It was observed that individuals who were ranked attractive would typically rank their dates as less attractive, and be less interested in dating them again.
- However, the matching hypothesis was also discredited as it appeared that no matter the attractiveness of the participant themselves, that they would pursue a date who was deemed to be attractive.

Conclusion: This study had discredited the matching hypothesis, as individuals would pursue those who were more attractive than themselves.

Evaluation:
1. Strengths:
- No variables were manipulated
- Large sample size
- High ecological validity

2. Weaknesses
   - Observer bias in ranking participant’s attractiveness and assessing participant attitude towards their dates during the dance
   - Correlational study only

Question 6

Byrne

Answer 6

Aim: To investigate the relationship between interpersonal attraction and the similarity of attitudes

Procedure:
- Participants were initially asked to fill out a questionnaire where they were asked to rank certain topics in order of important. The topics ranged from topics such as God and Marriage to Western Movies.
- After 2 weeks of initially answering the questionnaire, the participants were then anonymously given another participant’s response to that questionnaire. In reality, the questionnaire given to them was rigged to fit into one of these categories:
1. Exactly similar to the participant’s answers
2. Opposite to the participant’s answers
3. Similar on important topics but dissimilar on unimportant topics
4. Dissimilar on important topics but similar on important topics
- After viewing the answers of the questionnaire, the participants were then asked to share their feelings towards the anonymous participant who had answered the questionnaire, and to rank them on characteristics such as intelligence and morality.

Results:
- The similarity in response would lead to greater feelings of a positive attitude towards the person
- Similar attitudes in important topics would lead to an enhanced positive perception of the other individual over the similarity of unimportant topics

Conclusion:
- The perception of similar attitudes lead to an enhanced interpersonal attraction

Evaluation:
1. Strengths:
- Identified a cause effect relationship (was an experiment)
- Design of the study allowed for a broader set of results which understood how topic importance contributed to feelings of attraction
- Demand characteristics were reduced
- Standardised questionnaires.

2. Weaknesses:
   - Reductionist approach to the formation of attraction
   - Extremely low ecological validity to design setup and manipulated variables
   - Self reporting bias
   - Experimenter bias (the importance of topics may differ from perception of researcher to participants)

Question 7

Buss

Answer 7

Aim: To explore the similarities and differences in mate preference in males and females across different cultures
Participants: 37 samples from 33 countries across 6 continents, which totalled over 10,000 participants.

Procedure:
- A survey was conducted where all participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire
- The questionnaire would ask participants for their ideal preferences in topics such as the age of marriage, amount of kids, and ideal age difference between their partner and themselves
- The questionnaire would also ask for participants to rank certain characteristics on a scale of desirability, characteristics such as intelligence, dependence, and loyalty were examined.

Results:
- Across cultures, females valued financial status more than males, supporting the evolutionary hypothesis that females aim to maximise offspring survivability by choosing a mate who can provide the most resources for themselves and the offspring.
- Across cultures, males valued physical attractiveness more than females, supporting the evolutionary hypothesis that males seek characteristics which are associated with fertility when choosing a mate
- Females generally preferred older men, and this was hypothesised to be due to the association between age and experience/longevity
- Males generally preferred younger women, and this was hypothesised to be linked with age and fertility

Conclusion:
- Females value traits which would maximise resources for themselves and their offspring, crediting the evolutionary hypothesis
- Males would value traits which suggest fertility, crediting the evolutionary hypothesis
- The similarities and differences of mate preference across genders were seen across various cultures and countries, which suggests that the variation seen is due to biological factors over cultural or cognitive.

Evaluation:
1. Strengths
- Large sample
- Multiple cultures/countries surveyed
- Standardised questionnaires

2. Weaknesses
   - Due to being a questionnaire, the scope of the participant’s answers were reduced as a result and couldn’t be explored further
   - Populations such as rural or uneducated individuals were underrepresented
   - Self-reporting bias
   - Surveys were conducted unevenly across countries, with sample sizes differing across countries

Question 8

Wedekind

Answer 8

Aim: To investigate whether one’s MHC type could influence mate choice
Participants: 44 males and 49 females who were students at one university in Switzerland. The males and females were chosen from separate courses to reduce the likelihood of already knowing each other

Procedure:
- Before the experiment had begun it was noted whether the women were taking oral contraceptives, and the MHC type of all participants was taken
- Men were asked to wear a shirt for 2 nights in a row, where during the day the shirt would be kept in an open plastic bag
- During this time period, the men were give perfume free detergent to wash their clothes and sheets, and perfume free soap for showering
- Men were also asked to refrain from activities such as smoking, drinking, eating spicy foods or engage in sexual activity.
- During this period, and leading up to the experiment, the women were asked to reduce the risk of activities which could result in sickness, and to use a nasal spray. This was done to attempt to improve their sense of odour.
- When the women would start their menstrual cycle after men had worn the shirts is when the test began
- Women were placed in a room with 7 boxes, with one t-shirt per box. The women had to smell the shirts through a ‘smelling hole’ and then rate the smell on a rank of pleasantness and sexiness
- 3 of the shirts would be from men of same MHC type, and 3 of the shirts would be from men of different MHC type. 1 shirt would be a control and would not have been worn by anyone.

Results:
- Women generally ranked shirts of different MHC type as being more pleasant than shirts of similar MHC type
- This trend was reversed when women would take oral contraceptives

Conclusion:
- It was concluded that one’s MHC type may indeed influence mate choice in humans

Evaluation
1. Strengths:
- High internal validity with lots of control
- The independent variable was naturally occurring and was not manipulated

2. Weaknesses:
   - High internal validity = low ecological validity
   - Low generalisability due to all participants coming from the same university and low participant number
   - Reductionist approach

Question 9

Flora and Segrin

Answer 9

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how one’s perception of relational history influences relational well-being in dating and married couples
Participants: 65 married couples, and 66 dating couples, all of whom were at least 20 years old

Procedure:
- The study analysed the participant’s relational well-being (satisfaction and stability) through** 2 interviews over an interval of 6 months**
- The interviews were semi-constructed oral interviews where participants would answer open-ended questions asking about in a room with their partner
- The transcripts were later than analysed by researchers using a standardised coding format where relationship qualities such as fondness, satisfaction, and negative attributes were analysed alongside other relational traits
- In addition to the interviews, participants were also given questionnaires which analysed the participant’s relational developmental depth
- Relational developmental depth refers to diverse relational experiences such as intimate behaviour, cognitive factors such as thinking they’re ‘the one’, and emotional fondness/connection
- The greater the experiences, the participant’s would have, the greater the relationship developmental depth
- The participants would take these questionnaires individually

Conclusion:
- Through this study, the researchers had found that participants with a lesser relationship developmental depth and more negative appraisal in the oral interview, had lower relational satisfaction and were also more likely to break up within the 6-month period before the 2nd interview

• The researchers then concluded that have diverse relational experiences such as cognitive, behavioural, and emotional, were important for the long-term maintenance of relationships with high satisfaction

Evaluation:
**1. Strengths: **
- Longitudinal, and tracked participant’s over time instead of relying on a single snapshot of time
- The study also had high-ecological validity where no variables were manipulated. This contributes to the applications of the findings
- Having participants whom were both married and dating meant for greater diversity in participant sample

**2. Weaknesses: **
- Self-reported data falls victim towards biases such as recall bias and social desirability bias (especially considering the participant’s partner was in the room for the oral interview)
- The study was only a correlational study which means there was no cause effect established, but more so a casual relationship between the variables of relationship depth and satisfaction/stability
- 6 month follow up is relatively short for how long relationships can last

Question 10

Lefebvre, blackburn, and brody

Answer 10

Aim: To investigate Facebook users alter their behaviour during and after a breakup by applying Rollie and Ducks relationship dissolution model to online interactions
Participants: 226 college students, all of whom were Facebook users

Procedure:
- Participants had to complete an online survey with open-ended questions about a romantic relationship which had ended in the last 2 years
- The survey had them provide information on:
1. The seriousness of the relationship
2. The frequency of interactions with their ex-partner (including face to face and online)
3. Their online interactions with their partner
4. Their behaviour during and after the break-up
- The data was then analysed using an inductive content analysis to identify patterns and themes in participant’s responses

Results:
- The researchers had found several common online behaviours which had occurred during and after the breakup
- During the breakup: Reduction of their Facebook activity, Removal of the relationship from their Facebook status, untagged or deleted photos of their partner, hid or removed public displays of affection, monitored/stalked their ex’s online profile
- After the breakup: Continued to remove traces of their relationship, unfriended/blocked their ex-partner or sometimes mutual friends, frame themselves in a more positive matter online, some behaviours aimed to have their ex-partner feel regretful or remorseful that the relationship had ended

Conclusion:
- The researchers had concluded that the findings support Rollie’s and Duck’s relationship dissolution model, in particular, the last 3 stages

1. The social stage: Participants often attempted to seek support from their social network and made their breakup more public
2. Grave-dressing stage: Participants would curate how the breakup had looked online and managed how others perceived the breakup
3. Resurrection Stage: Many participants had engaged in positive self-representation and behaviours aimed at influencing their ex partner’s perception

This study highlights how breakup behaviours extend into the digital world, reflecting real-life relationship dissolution patterns.

Evaluation:
1. Strengths
- High ecological validity
- Using online survey’s allowed for the collection of qualitative data, which allowed for more compressive qualitative data to be collected and analysed, serving as a good representation of the thoughts and behaviours participants would carry out admist and after a breakup

2. Weaknesses
   - The self reported nature of the data gives way to self-report biases such as social desirability or recall bias
   - Data involving qualitative data gives way to researcher bias in the interpretation of the categorization/intention of the participant’s behaviours