Deck 8: Close Relationships

Question 1

Are there gender differences in the experience of love and romance? Support your answer with relevant examples.

Answer 1

Researchers have rejected such dramatic claims of stark gender differences, seeing much more similarity and overlap between men and women in their data (Reis & Carothers, 2014). Yet, in her review of many studies, Fehr (2015) concluded that women often score somewhat higher on measures of companionate love, whereas gender differences are rarely found on measures of passionate love.
There are indications that men may be the more romantic gender. For example, a series of studies found that men were more likely to say 'I love you' first in relationships, and also think about getting serious earlier than women (Ackerman, Griskevicius, & Li, 2011). On the other hand, men are also more interested in casual sex and having many partners (Schmitt et al., 2003; Schützwohl, Fuchs, McKibbin, & Shackelford, 2009). Even when such differences are found, it is important to keep in mind that they describe averages, with many individual men and women bucking the overall trends. Fortunately, it seems that men and women are both from Earth when it comes to love.

Question 2

List and describe three things that facilitate the development of new close relationships.

Answer 2

Social psychologists learned that simple proximity and exposure to other people predicted liking them (Bornstein, 1989). Of all the people in the world with whom you might develop close relationships, it is most often the people who are physically near and who you see frequently.
Deeper relationships develop when people mutually share things. This applies to physical gestures; we tend to mimic people around us, and this mimicry indicates positive interactions (Lakin, Jefferis, Cheng, & Chartrand, 2003). For example, you might see a first date at a café, and, curiously, both people are leaning in, both with legs crossed, both with fingers resting lightly on their cheeks. This would be a good sign.
Through conversations, deeper relationships develop as people disclose increasingly personal information. Indeed, the power of this process has been harnessed in the 'fast friends' lab procedure where strangers can become quite close after about 45 minutes (Aron, Melinat, Aron, Vallone, & Bator, 1997).
In the early stages of romantic relationships, similarity in background, interests, values and personality is also conducive to liking (Botwin, Buss, & Shackelford, 1997; Montoya, Horton, & Kirchner, 2008). The adage 'opposites attract' is generally not supported by research.

Question 3

Describe and provide relevant examples of an active-constructive response, a passive-constructive response and a passive destructive response in partner communication.

Answer 3

When Jesse shares the news with her partner, an active-constructive response would be something like, 'That is wonderful! Do you know who your mentor will be? It sounds like you will be able to do some really exciting research there; tell me more!' The active-constructive response shows interest and savours the good news.
In contrast, a passive-constructive response would be much less enthusiastic, for example, a warm smile and, 'good job, sweetie'. It is still positive, but does not engage deeply or prompt additional conversation. Destructive responses are more obviously negative. For example, in an active-destructive response, Jesse's partner might say, 'Oh jeez, I guess that means you will have to move away from all your friends. And the heavy workload there-it's not like you'll have time for friends anyway. Are you sure you can keep up?' This response is active, but in taking good news and finding problems with it. Even when there are valid concerns, rushing to them first is unlikely to benefit the relationship.

Question 4

______ describes how separation from caregivers can produce problems later on in life.

A) Separation anxiety
B) Attachment theory
C) Socio-emotional theory
D) None of these

Question 5

Listing and rating the most typical features of a concept without clear rules or boundaries is at the heart of the ______.

A) experience sampling method
B) correlational method
C) experimental approach
D) prototype approach

Question 6

Strong friendship is synonymous with ______.

A) companionate love
B) passionate love
C) attachment love
D) selfless love

Question 7

The happiest, lasting relationships have high levels of both ______.

A) passionate and companionate love
B) wealth and support from in-laws
C) intense attraction and strong friendship
D) both passionate and companionate love and wealth and support from in-laws
E) both passionate and companionate love and intense attraction and strong friendship

Question 8

A study by Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, Turner, and Doyle (2015) found that people exposed to the cold virus became less ill if ______.

A) were treated by a medical professional
B) they got more hugs
C) they were given an oxytocin nasal spray
D) they talked on the phone with a loved one

Question 9

Broadly, attachment styles refer to ______.

A) the combination of passionate love and companionate love in close relationships
B) the anxiousness that people feel when they are separated from a loved one
C) the calmness that people feel when they are close to a loved one
D) the mental models or expectations that people have about close relationships

Question 10

Low self-esteem, doubt, and concerns that others will not be available when needed is characteristic of an ______.

A) anxious attachment style
B) secure attachment style
C) avoidant attachment style
D) None of these

Question 11

When people share good news with their partner through the process of ______, they are also more likely to experience greater ______.

A) attachment; growth over time
B) capitalization; mood boosts
C) communication; attachment
D) love; companionate love

Question 12

All the ways people provide assistance to others is also known as ______.

A) sympathy
B) agreeableness
C) capitalization
D) social support

Question 13

Self-expansion theory makes the assumptions that ______, and that ______.

A) people have deep motivation to grow; people can expand the self through romantic relationships
B) people are more likely to grow outside of romantic relationships; parents are responsible for implementing the motivation to grow
C) people are more likely to grow in romantic relationships with anxious attachments; these attachments provide hurdles necessary for learning and expansion
D) people who are more extraverted are more likely to be in romantic relationships; growth in romantic relationships necessitates consistent communication

Question 14

The frequency of sexual activity in romantic relationships is ______.

A) uncorrelated with subjective well-being
B) positively correlated with subjective well-being
C) negatively correlated with subjective well-being

Question 15

Indicating greater overlap in the ______ correlates positively with ______.

A) Big five model measure; relationship satisfaction
B) empathy index measure; number of romantic partners
C) inclusion of other in self measure; closeness and intimacy
D) future-self continuity measure; long-term relationship success