Exam 2: Tools of Relationship Science

Which of the following is FALSE regarding research methods used to understand relationships?

Atiyeh is studying whether violations of expectations about the division of household chores lead to a decline in relationship satisfaction. This is an example of a(n) ________ research question.

Sagga, a researcher studying couples who have been married for 20 years, finds a negative correlation between depression and relationship satisfaction: spouses who are more depressed are less satisfied in their marriages. How might Sagga interpret his findings?

Andrea is studying the conditions under which people become attracted to each other. She invites male research participants to visit the lab and interact briefly with an attractive person (a paid research assistant). By flipping a coin, she places participants in one of two conditions: 1) The conversation occurs without incident, or 2) There is a brief blackout in the research lab during the conversation. At the end of each session, the attractive research assistant gives the research participant her home phone number and invites him to call her later. In this study, whether the research participant calls the number is the:

9.David conducted an experiment where he assigned one group of couples to go on weekly dates and to do something that neither spouse had ever done before or had not done very often (e.g., rollerblading, opera, cooking class); he called this the ÒnovelÓ group. He assigned a second group of couples to go on a date every Saturday but to do the same activity every week; David called this the ÒroutineÓ group. The couples were asked to go on their date nights every Saturday for 6 weeks. The couples completed relationship satisfaction questionnaires prior to starting the date nights and again at the end of the 6 weeks. This allowed David to see whether the couples in the novel activity group were happier in their relationships at the end of the study compared to the couples in the routine group. When couples volunteered to be in the study, David asked them which group they would prefer to be in because he thought if couples could choose their own group they would be more likely to complete the 6-week study, and thus David could avoid attrition bias. What is the problem with David's study, and why is it a concern?

U.S. divorce rates are nearly twice as high in low-income neighborhoods as in high-income neighborhoods. To learn why this association exists, we must ask ________ research questions.