Exam 1: Why Study Intimate Relationships?

On his way home from work each day, Abdul buys his favorite bread from Nisa's bakery. As defined by your textbook, which element of interdependence is likely missing from Abdul and Nisa's relationship?

1.Describe the four defining features of an intimate relationship.

As an adolescent, Sandy hung out with a rough crowd, used drugs, and skipped school. In her last year of high school, she began a relationship. Sandy is now less likely to use drugs and has maintained a full-time job without a problem. What theory explains this change in her behavior?

11.You are asked to appear on a radio talk show to discuss arranged marriages. Given the research discussed in the text, what would you say about the nature of arranged marriages, how rates of arranged marriages are changing, what the consequences are of those changes, and what differences you might expect between arranged marriages and ÒloveÓ marriages, and why?

Bradlei buys organic steak from his favorite butcher shop every Saturday. He prefers it when Veronica slices the steak for him, but he doesn't mind when Ruth slices it. How would you characterize Bradlei's relationship with Veronica?

Your friend Yayoi recently started dating someone new. Which of the following is NOT one of the features you would look for if you were trying to determine whether she and her new partner have formed an intimate relationship?

You participate in a study where researchers scan your brain using MRI technology while you look at a picture of your intimate partner. Researchers should see decreased activity in areas of your brain associated with:

You are taking part in a study on relationships and pain. You are asked to place your hand in freezing-cold water for as long as you can. It becomes quite painful after a few minutes. Given what you know about the neurochemistry of close relationships, under what condition do you think you would subjectively experience the least pain?

13.On a long flight to a conference, you get into a debate with your seatmate about whether it is better to be in an intimate relationship or not. What would you argue and why?

Evidence for the idea that relationships act as a form of social control was found in a study of cocaine use among men. In this study the only group of men that showed an increase in cocaine use was men who were __________ at baseline and were __________ two years later.

8.Discuss how the capacity for human love and intimacy is both a biological and a social-cultural phenomenon.

7.Contrast how love is experienced and perceived in individualistic societies such as the United States and collectivist societies such as China.

5.Discuss the importance and significance of oxytocin in human bonding.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study showed that threat-related brain structures are deactivated when women hold their husbands' hands, and, in another study, relationship communication predicted how long people may survive after a diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Why were the two different studies contrasted in the text?

Huang, an 18-year-old Chinese student, and Jim, a 19-year-old American student, participate in a cross-cultural study about love. Huang's description of love is more likely to mention ________ than is Jim's description of love.

In a study of 4,800 U.S. households (Rank & Hirschl, 1999), children with unmarried parents were more likely to experience severe poverty compared to black children or children with heads of household who completed less than 12 years of school. What can we conclude from this study?

Comparing China and the United States, the experience of romantic love is ________, and the expression of romantic love is ________.

Tremayne and Jose have both been married 30 years. Tremayne has continued to feel satisfied in his relationship with his wife; Jose, on the other hand, has found he has become less satisfied in his relationship over time. Both men suffer from congestive heart failure and are participating in a study of relationships and health. Based on material presented in the textbook, who would you expect to live longer?

What is the significance of the findings linking oxytocin and human bonding?

4.Imagine you play matchmaker and introduce your good friends, Pat and Chris, to each other. You know they both enjoy creative writing as well as share a general love of the outdoors. Assume that Pat and Chris have begun to spend more and more time together. What features would you look for if you were trying to determine whether Pat and Chris have formed an intimate relationship?