Deck 11: Personal Relationships

Question 1

The more people know about others, the less inclined they are to like them. This is because knowledge about someone's characteristics:

A)always reveals his or her flaws
B)increases an actor's power over that person
C)makes it less likely that that that individual's undesirable behaviors will be attributed to situational factors
D)reduces the perception that that person is similar to oneself
E)renders positive social comparisons more difficult

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The two relational bases of power reflect:

A)macro-level social inequalities
B)patterns of secondary socialization
C)the equity rule
D)the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
E)the principle of least interest

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Research suggests that gender has little effect on individuals' likelihoods of imposing identities on their spouse:

A)in most heterosexual marriages, even when both partners subscribe to traditional gender roles
B)in couples who are not religious and live in urban areas
C)when a husband and wife have similar levels of education and equally prestigious occupations
D)when both partners are members of the Millennial generation
E)all of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In a romantic relationship, commitment is defined as:

A)a lack of relationship alternatives
B)balance in terms of costs and benefits
C)intent to stay in the relationship
D)the amount of time the couple spends together
E)the experience of passionate love

Question 5

Social exchange theorists have found that all of the following factors EXCEPT ______________ increase relationship commitment among college students.

A)a high relationship benefit-to-cost ratio
B)feelings of love for one's partner
C)relationship alternatives
D)relationship satisfaction
E)sexual involvement

Question 6

The state prior to the dissolution of a relationship where one's partner becomes interested in someone else when one has no similar (competing) interest in an alternative partner is called:

A)bidirectional advantage
B)negotiation
C)end game
D)nonmutual alternatives
E)relational inequity

Question 7

Among dating couples, breakups are associated with all of the following factors except:

A)having family members who don't support the relationship
B)having friends who don't support the relationship
C)little sexual activity
D)rarely spending time together
E)spending too much time together

Question 8

Why does parental divorce increase individuals' risk for getting divorced themselves?

A)Children whose parents divorce don't learn how to resolve conflicts effectively.
B)Individuals whose parents divorced when they are children tend to get married at younger ages, which puts them at risk for divorce.
C)People whose parents divorced when they were children are more likely than other individuals to have prodivorce attitudes.
D)The decrease in financial resources associated with divorce decreases the psychological well-being of children, which makes them less able to maintain stable relationships.
E)It doesn't. Parent's marital status has no effect on people's risk for divorce.

Question 9

The contemporary trends discussed in Chapter 11, on personal relationships, include the increase in same-sex relationships, the rise of the Internet, and:

A)the institutionalization of no-fault divorce laws in most states
B)the growth in media coverage of polygamy and other nontraditional family forms
C)the increase in stay-at-home fathers
D)the normalization of cohabitation
E)the shrinking size of families

Question 10

The cohabitation effect refers to the fact that:

A)cohabitation increases the risk for divorce only among couples who live together before getting engaged
B)cohabitation increases the risk for divorce only among individuals with substance abuse or other mental health issues
C)cohabitation reduces the risk for divorce
D)living together before marriage is considered deviant within the United States
E)the increase in divorce in the past 50 years can be explained by the increase in cohabitation

Question 11

The two relational bases of power in intimate relationships are relative love or liking and:

A)an individual's opportunities for other beneficial relationships relative to those of his or her partner
B)gender ideology
C)the sum total of an individual's assets relative to those of his or her partner
D)relationship history
E)relative earnings

Question 12

The two structural bases of power in intimate relationships are gender and:

A)age
B)attractiveness
C)control over sexual resources
D)intelligence or skill level
E)socioeconomic resources

Question 13

Once we have a positive view of people, or attribute a positive trait to them, we tend to assume they have other valued characteristics. This is called:

A)schematic misrepresentation
B)the fundamental attribution error
C)the halo effect
D)the misattribution of characteristics
E)trait bias

Question 14

People assume that attractive people are more intelligent, more successful, and more competent than their less comely peers. This is called:

A)schematic misrepresentation
B)the fundamental attribution error
C)the halo effect
D)the misattribution of characteristics
E)trait bias

Question 15

Propinquity refers to:

A)appearance
B)goal sharing
C)structural distance
D)power dependence
E)proximity

Question 16

Social networks are characterized by homophily when:

A)individuals within the network have similar characteristics
B)network members seek to minimize interactions with outsiders
C)people within the network show in-group favoritism
D)the majority of the network members are gay, lesbian, or bisexual
E)their composition is stable over time

Question 17

Social psychologists have studied the effects of all of the following factors except ___________________ on the initiation of personal relationships.

A)attractiveness
B)familiarity
C)partiality
D)propinquity
E)similarity

Question 18

The stages of personal relationships discussed within the social psychological literature include all of the following except:

A)a period of negotiation
B)a probationary phase
C)an initial "getting to know you" stage
D)initiation
E)maintenance

Question 19

______________ is both the source and consequence of intimacy in a developing relationship.

A)Altercasting
B)Feigning
C)Mere exposure
D)Propinquity
E)Self-disclosure

Question 20

Altercasting occurs when:

A)a paradigm shift leads someone to view another individuals in a new light
B)individuals construct new identities that fit the reflected appraisals of significant others
C)people are thrust into social roles that allow for the maintenance and success of their work organization
D)people project their motives onto others
E)someone projects an identity consistent with his or her own goals onto another individual

Question 21

Altercasting occurs during the stage of a personal relationship during which people:

A)cease contact
B)either engage in repair work or leave the relationship
C)first initiate interaction
D)negotiate roles
E)work toward maintenance

Question 22

Who studies cohabitation and its consequences at the macro level?

A)social exchange theorists
B)social identity theorists
C)social structure and personality researchers
D)status characteristics theorists
E)symbolic interactionists

Question 23

Why are couples who cohabitate before becoming engaged more likely to divorce than individuals who cohabitate only after an engagement or never live together before getting married?

A)Cohabitation and prodivorce attitudes are highly correlated.
B)Cohabitation before an engagement is associated with infidelity, which often persists after the couples marry.
C)Couples who cohabitate before an engagement tend to be from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and poverty increases the risk for divorce.
D)Couples who cohabitate before getting engaged tend to have lower relationship commitment when they get married than other couples.
E)both b and c

Question 24

Core ties are:

A)better sources of information than significant ties
B)casual acquaintances, family members, or friends who know many of the people you know
C)individuals known since childhood
D)those individuals who can help you succeed in life
E)people you have close relationships with

Question 25

What is the hookup culture and how does the college environment facilitate hookups? Among college students, who is most likely to participate in the hookup culture? Is this surprising? Explain.

Question 26

What characteristics do college students value in friends? How and why does the gender of the friend (opposite sex vs. same sex) matter?

Question 27

How do common perceptual biases affect person perception and attraction? Using this information, discuss how people can make themselves more attractive to others they are meeting for the first time

Question 28

Which of the factors that affect person perception and attraction in face-to-face encounters are less relevant to relationships that begin online? Why is this the case?

Question 29

Discuss the structural and interpersonal causes of divorce. Why does having divorced parents increase individuals' risk for divorce?

Question 30

Evaluate the following statement using information presented in Chapter 11 on personal relationships to support your position: Same-sex and opposite-sex couples are more similar than different.

Question 31

What is the cohabitation effect and how has it been explained within the social-psychological literature?

Question 32

Discuss the results of studies of Internet use among adolescents. Do your experiences fit the patterns described in the literature? Explain.

Question 33

List and describe the advantages of Internet (vs. face-to-face) communication in the early stages of a romantic relationship.

Question 34

Discuss how the institution of marriage perpetuates the romantic love myth within this culture.

Question 35

What is your dominant love style? Do your relationship experiences seem to fit this categorization? Explain. Discuss how broader societal characteristics or patterns shape people's love styles?

Question 36

Within your social network, people you know from work, class, or your place of residence who are more than acquaintances but not good friends can be considered:

A)ambiguous links
B)core ties
C)peripheral links
D)significant ties
E)subsidiary connections

Question 37

People who communicate with others via the Internet using email:

A)have smaller social networks than people who don't use email to communicate with others
B)interact more with others in person and over the phone than individuals who don't use email to communicate with others
C)often report that it is difficult to relate to others in face-to-face encounters
D)report more leisure time than individuals who rarely or never use email
E)all of the above

Question 38

What is the biggest concern about adolescents' Internet use, given the results of studies on this topic?

A)identify formation
B)its effects on self-esteem
C)safety
D)social integration
E)stunted development

Question 39

Who benefits the most from communicating with others via the Internet?

A)females in early to middle adolescence
B)males in early to middle adolescence
C)middle-aged men
D)middle-aged men
E)women living in rural areas

Question 40

Why do males in early to middle adolescence benefit more than other groups from communicating with others via the Internet? Because:

A)boys in this age range are the individuals most likely to engage in deviant behavior when they are not otherwise occupied
B)boys in this age range are more likely than other individuals to communicate with others online about academic and other school-related matters
C)boys in this age range are more visually oriented than other individuals
D)boys in this age range are the least vulnerable to Internet predators
E)boys in this age range often avoid self-disclosure in face-to-face interactions

Question 41

The results of Dutton and Aron's famous bridge experiment suggest that romantic attraction may result from:

A)a mismatch in individuals' relative levels of power within a social encounter
B)social comparison processes
C)the misattribution of arousal
D)people's desire to comply with the norm of reciprocity
E)the receipt of positive interpersonal feedback, even when it is known to be false

Question 42

The results of Dutton and Aron's famous bridge experiment suggest that romantic attraction may result from:

A)a mismatch in individuals' relative levels of power within a social encounter
B)social comparison processes
C)the misattribution of arousal
D)people's desire to comply with the norm of reciprocity
E)the receipt of positive interpersonal feedback, even when it is known to be false

Question 43

Among dating couples, breakups are associated with all of the following factors except:

A)having family members who don't support the relationship
B)having friends who don't support the relationship
C)little romantic activity
D)rarely spending time together
E)spending too much time together

Question 44

What is romantic or passionate love? How has the misattribution of arousal been used to explain this phenomenon? Why are studies on the misattribution of arousal usually conducted by psychological rather than by sociological social psychologists?

Question 45

Choose two of the faces of sociological social psychology and compare and contrast research on personal relationships conducted within the two orientations.

Question 46

On average, women score higher than men on Hatfield and Sprecher's Passionate Love Scale.

Question 47

Married couples are more likely than dating couples to cite better relationship alternatives as a reason for breaking up.

Question 48

Research suggests that gay and lesbian and heterosexual couples are more similar than they are different.

Question 49

Endogamous marriages are marriages between people with similar aspirations and goals that are characterized by harmony over tension.

Question 50

Internet users have larger social networks than people who don't use the Internet.

Question 51

The use of cell phones to stay in constant contact with friends is perceived by adolescents and young adults as having both positive and negative consequences.

Question 52

What distinguishes personal relationship from other kinds of social relationships?

A)People respond to each other as individuals and not as the occupants of one or more statuses.
B)The family serves as their basis and they involve deeper emotions than other kinds of relationships.
C)They involve dependence rather than interdependence.
D)They have a clear starting point and they often end abruptly.
E)They involve sexual intimacy.

Question 53

Social psychologists have distinguished between what they refer to as ____________ and ____________love.

A)companionate, romantic or passionate
B)dependent, mature
C)emotional, pragmatic or need-based
D)role-based, impulse-based
E)routinized, expressive

Question 54

In Dutton and Aron's famous experiment, male subjects were interviewed by a female confederate of the experimenter on either a stable platform bridge or on a flimsy suspension bridge that extended over a river gorge (the independent variable) What was the dependent variable in this study?

A)how long it took subjects to cross the bridge
B)subjects' body temperature and heart rate
C)subjects' willingness to obey instructions given by the female interviewer, who told them not to cross the bridge, but to go back the way they had come
D)whether subjects sought contact with the female interviewer after the study had ended
E)both a and b

Question 55

The results of Dutton and Aron's famous bridge experiment (where male subjects were interviewed by a female confederate of the experimenter on either a stable platform bridge or a flimsy suspension bridge) suggests that romantic attraction may result from:

A)a mismatch in individuals' relative levels of power within a social encounter
B)social comparison processes
C)the misattribution of arousal
D)people's desire to comply with the norm of reciprocity
E)the receipt of positive interpersonal feedback, even when it is known to be false

Question 56

Even when family members and friends support the relationship, interracial romantic relationships are more likely to end than same-race romantic relationships.

Question 57

About one in five romantic relationships begin online.

Question 58

Someone who exhibits the love style called "storage" has a companionate or "best friends" approach to love.

Question 59

The concept of romantic love has died out within this culture because it is incompatible with the current structure of the institution of marriage.

Question 60

Research suggests that "hooking up" is broadly defined and may mean different things to different people.

Question 61

Members of the Millennial generation are more likely to be sexually active than individuals who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s.

Question 62

There has been more research on "friends with benefits" relationships than on the hookup culture.

Question 63

The fundamental attribution error is more common in the United States than in other cultures.

Question 64

The results of studies on the effects of similarity on person perception and attraction support the adage "opposites attract."

Question 65

Research on online dating supports the matching hypothesis.

Question 66

Statistics suggest that about 40% of all couples in the United States meet in college.

Question 67

Psychological orientations, or approaches to love, composed of complexes of attitudes and beliefs about love, which lead to particular types of romantic behavior, are called:

A)affective attitudes and role scripts
B)orientations toward intimacy
C)love styles
D)passion guides
E)romantic schemata

Question 68

Someone who enjoys Internet dating and meets lots of potential relationship partners is exhibiting which of the following love styles?

A)agape
B)eros
C)mania
D)pragma
E)storage

Question 69

Which of the following love styles has historically been more common among college women than among college men?

A)agape
B)eros
C)ludus
D)mania
E)both a and b

Question 70

How do friends with benefits relationships differ from hookups?

A)Friends with benefits relationships tend to last longer than hookups, which are one night stands.
B)Friends with benefits relationships occur more frequently than hookups during adolescence, while hookups occur more frequently than friends with benefits among college students.
C)Gays and lesbians often hookup, but friends with benefits relationships occur primarily among heterosexuals.
D)Most parents of adolescents and young adults are accepting of friends with benefits relationships but not of hookups.
E)all of the above

Question 71

What characteristic has NOT been associated with the frequency with which college students participate in the hookup culture?

A)gender
B)religiosity
C)sexual orientation
D)social class
E)race/ethnicity

Question 72

A review of the research literature on dating relationships suggests that:

A)cohabitation is replacing the institution of marriage
B)social class has no effect on college students' sexual behaviors
C)the power dynamic associated with gender in dating relationships has changed little over the past 35 years
D)the sexual double standard (it's OK for men but not women to have casual sex or multiple sex partners) no longer exists
E)youths today are more likely to have premarital sex than individuals who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s

Question 73

What, in relation to other personal relationships, is unique about friendships?

A)Adult friends typically spend little time together.
B)Friendships are rarely emotionally intimate.
C)Friendships tend to be less egalitarian than romantic or work relationships.
D)The ending of a friendship is often gradual and tends not to be formally recognized.
E)all of the above

Question 74

Which of the following characteristics is NOT something that college students have reported highly valuing in their friends (same- or opposite-sex)?

A)a good sense of humor
B)openess and attractiveness
C)intelligence
D)social status
E)warmth and kindness

Question 75

Which of the following characteristics are college students more likely to value in opposite-sex than in same-sex friends?

A)a good sense of humor
B)intelligence
C)openness and expressiveness
D)warmth and kindness
E)social status

Question 76

Most of the literature on _________________________ is within psychological social psychology.

A)the causes and consequences of divorce
B)person perception and attraction
C)relationship dissolution
D)relationship maintenance
E)role negotiation within personal relationships

Question 77

The more familiar you are to people, the more likely they are to find you appealing. This is called:

A)the bias of visual routine
B)the commonality principle
C)the mere exposure effect
D)the misattribution of liking
E)the presence fallacy

Question 78

The fundamental attribution error occurs when:

A)actors attribute positive characteristics to themselves and negative characteristics to other people
B)behaviors caused by a stable personality characteristic are assumed to be the result of variable situational factors, such as social norms
C)individuals minimize negative and maximize positive social comparisons
D)people misattribute behaviors caused by situational factors to an actor's personal characteristics
E)people misattribute emotions caused by one source to something or someone else

Question 79

Sociological social psychologists who study the hookup culture have argued that the college environment facilitates hookups by:

A)allowing students to live communally in co-ed residence halls
B)making students feel like the other risk behaviors (e.g., alcohol or drug abuse) will be punished, leaving them few other options for low-consequence deviance
C)promoting a sense of safety by making campus security personnel and procedures highly visible
D)providing a social context in which individuals have similar characteristics and feel familiar to one another even when they are strangers
E)providing access to birth control and testing for STDs

Question 80

Thorne and Luria suggest that "fag talk" is more common among boys than among girls because:

A)boys' group interactions are accompanied by a sort of communal arousal that could readily facilitate sexual encounters
B)boys are less likely than girls to be punished for using foul language
C)girls are more accepting than boys of anyone who differs from dominant cultural patterns
D)girls develop romantic desires later than boys do and are thus less concerned with issues pertaining to sexual orientation
E)heterosexual girls are more likely than heterosexual boys to identify with groups within society that are the targets of prejudice and discrimination