Question 1

Research on chronic and acute stressors shows that:

Accepted Answer

A)   both are associated with negative relationship outcomes, and there appears to be little to differentiate the kinds of outcomes that result from each type of stressor.
B)   only chronic stressors are associated with negative relationship outcomes, so it is important to differentiate the kinds of outcomes that result from each type of stressor.
C)   only acute stressors are associated with negative relationship outcomes, so it is important to differentiate the kinds of outcomes that result from each type of stressor.
D)   both are associated with negative relationship outcomes, but the kinds of outcomes that result from each type of stressor differ. D

Question 2

What is true with regard to Bronfenbrenner's social ecological model?

Accepted Answer

A)   The effects of proximal factors on a relationship are affected by distal factors.
B)   Distal elements rarely affect proximal influences in relationships.
C)   Distal, proximal, and meso-empirical contexts all interconnect to affect relationships.
D)   Children are largely sheltered from contextual influences, because parents serve as a buffer between the environment and the child. A

Question 3

2.As a relationship researcher at a major university, you have received a request from a television news show to take part in a panel discussing the effects of a devastating earthquake that has affected several communities where the residents vary in their socioeconomic status. Given what you know about the effects of acute and chronic stressors on relationships, what points will you make in the discussion?

Accepted Answer

First, in terms of trends, it is likely that there will be increases in births, divorces, and marriages in the few years following the earthquake. Acute stressors such as the earthquake seem to prompt people to evaluate the level of commitment and the quality of their relationships and to either end dissatisfying relationships or increase commitment in relationships by marrying or having children. Second, stress is associated with negative outcomes for a couple's relationships. Third, the nature of the effect may vary depending on preexisting levels of chronic stress. For couples who are already living in less affluent communities or who are coping with other chronic stressors, it is likely that this new stressorÑdealing with the earthquakeÑwill strap already depleted resources. Thus, the impact of the earthquake is likely to be much greater for couples who already had a lower socioeconomic status or who were coping with chronic stressors than for couples who have more resources to deal with the disaster.

Question 4

Social networks can benefit and harm intimate relationships. What is one way in which social networks do NOT affect intimate relationships?

Accepted Answer

A)   Social networks enable people to meet potential partners.
B)   Social networks provide a context of people who can help in times of need.
C)   Social networks can be damaging to relationships, particularly when partners' networks do not overlap much.
D)   Shared networks provide barriers that can prevent people from leaving good but not bad relationships.

Question 5

Research on gender differences in stress spillover has found that:

Accepted Answer

A)   stress at home is equally likely to spill over into work functioning for men and women.
B)   stress at home is more likely to spill over into work functioning for men than for women.
C)   stress at home is more likely to spill over into work functioning for women than for men.
D)   in most cases, stress spillover operates differently for women than for men.

Question 6

In a study to learn more about how arousal affects support behavior, you measure heart rate and blood pressure continuously while recording couples' marital discussions about an external stressor that one spouse is experiencing. Given the Yerkes-Dodson law, what is your hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A)   Perspective taking will decline to the extent that participants experience increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
B)   Perspective taking will be enhanced to the extent that participants experience increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
C)   Negative reciprocity will decline to the extent that participants experience increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
D)   Effective solutions to the stress will be more likely, to the extent that participants experience increases in heart rate and blood pressure.

Question 7

Joe's job is very stressful. When he comes home, he often feels grouchy, and he yells at his dog. Joe's wife, Karen, gets upset wondering what Joe will be like when he comes home at the end of the workday. She worries that she is starting to get a bit depressed by this. His dog is also starting to ignore him. This situation is best viewed as an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)   stress crossover.
B)   stress spillover.
C)   stress crossover and stress spillover.
D)   stressor salience and stress crossover.

Question 8

Joe's job is very stressful. When he comes home, he often feels grouchy, and he yells at his dog. Joe's wife, Karen, gets upset wondering what Joe will be like when he comes home at the end of the workday. She worries that she is starting to get a bit depressed by this. His dog is also starting to ignore him. Joe's grouchiness at home and the effects on his relationship with his wife and dog would be considered an example of:

Accepted Answer

A)   stress crossover.
B)   stress spillover.
C)   stressor salience.
D)   stress pileup.

Question 9

How does an experience of acute stress and physical arousal affect memory for the details of the event?

Accepted Answer

A)   Memory is enhanced for all details of the experience.
B)   Memory of central details of the experience is enhanced but not memory for peripheral details.
C)   Memory of all details is impaired by the hormones that flood the body.
D)   Memory of the central details is impaired because of trauma, and memory for peripheral details remains intact.

Question 10

In a longitudinal study of family transitions, Elizabeth Menaghan (1983) compared the changes in marital satisfaction in couples who experienced transitions (e.g., first child entering school) to changes in marital satisfaction in couples who were not experiencing those transitions. What did she find, and what was her explanation for the finding?

Accepted Answer

A)   The couples who experienced more transitions had a greater decline in marital satisfaction because the transitions were quite stressful.
B)   The couples who did not experience transitions had a greater decline in marital satisfaction because they did not experience the joys of having children.
C)   The couples who experienced more transitions had a greater decline in marital satisfaction only if they subjectively rated the transitions as stressful experiences.
D)   The couples in both groups had equal declines in satisfaction because the couples experiencing the transitions viewed them as controllable and had time to prepare for them.

Question 11

10.In your private practice, you are counseling a couple who is experiencing significant marital distress. As you learn more about their lives, it becomes apparent to you that both spouses are experiencing a lot of stress in domains outside their marriage. For example, the husband describes a long commute, long working hours, and a difficult working relationship with his boss. The wife is juggling school and work, while dealing with her mother's deteriorating health due to Alzheimer's disease. Given the research by Tesser and Beach (1998) on stressor salience and relationship functioning, what is a goal that you might have for this couple?

Accepted Answer

The answer of 10.In your private practice, you are counseling...

Question 12

8.Tyler and Andrea recently bought a new home and are expecting their first child. Money is tight, and Tyler has been working 60 hours a week to cover the cost of the mortgage and to save for the baby's arrival. Often exhausted and stressed at the end of the day, Tyler has been more moody and argumentative than usual. Consequently, Andrea is becoming less satisfied in her relationship. Which of the concepts discussed in the chapter about the impact of stress on relationships best describes Andrea's situation? Explain your choice.

Accepted Answer

The answer of 8.Tyler and Andrea recently bought a new...

Question 13

Whose relationship is most likely to end?

Accepted Answer

A)   Sally and Melinda's, because they have high social network overlap
B)   Greg and Sander's, because they have high network density
C)   DeAnda and Kevin's, because they have high substitutability in their social network
D)   Greer and Tameca's, because they have low substitutability in their social network

Question 14

15.Discuss the benefits and disadvantages of social networks for intimate relationships.

Accepted Answer

The answer of 15.Discuss the benefits and disadvantages of social...

Question 15

Whose relationship is LEAST likely to end?

Accepted Answer

A)   Sally and Melinda's, because they have low social network overlap
B)   Greg and Sander's, because they have high network density
C)   DeAnda and Kevin's, because they have high substitutability in their social network
D)   Greer and Tameca's, because they have low substitutability in their social network

Question 16

13.You have recently been appointed to a task force charged with allocating federal funds to strengthen marriages among low-income families. Each member of the task force has been asked to bring her or his suggestions for how to best use these funds. What suggestions will you make?

Accepted Answer

The answer of 13.You have recently been appointed to a...

Question 17

Carolyn Cutrona and colleagues (2003) studied the effect of neighborhoods on African American couples' marriages. What best describes their findings?

Accepted Answer

A)   The affluence of neighborhoods had less effect on marital satisfaction than acute stressors.
B)   Couples in affluent and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods had similar levels of marital satisfaction.
C)   Couples in affluent neighborhoods had lower marital satisfaction than couples in the economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, because social networks in the disadvantaged neighborhoods had a higher density.
D)   The chronic nature of living in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods had chronic negative effects on marital satisfaction.

Question 18

Annie has been working overtime to prepare for a big presentation. Although she and her partner have a good relationship, the extra time at work is cutting into the time they used to have together. What kind of effect is this?

Accepted Answer

A)   concrete
B)   behavioral
C)   distal
D)   chronic

Question 19

Socioeconomic status has many effects on relationships. What is NOT one of them?

Accepted Answer

A)   Women who have less than a high school education are less likely to marry than women who have more education.
B)   Low-income spouses experience more marital stress than do moderate- or high-income spouses.
C)   Low-income couples are four times more likely to have their first child prior to marriage.
D)   Marriages in less affluent neighborhoods end earlier than marriages in more affluent neighborhoods.

Question 20

Distal is to ________ as proximal is to ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   support from family; cultural context
B)   the wife's mood; divorce laws
C)   the quality of the school system; household income
D)   the husband's work hours; economic conditions

Exam 11: Relationships in Context