Human Relationships Studies

Discuss a biological approach to understanding social responsibility 

Madsen - Kin Selection Theory may be transcultural, wall-sitting length

De Dreu - Oxytocin’s effects on the Moral Choice/Trolley Dilemma and the treatment of out-groups

Discuss a sociocultural approach to understanding social responsibility

De Dreu - Oxytocin’s effects on the Moral Choice/Trolley Dilemma and the treatment of out-groups

Drury et al - Effect of in-group identification on helping behavior in VR metro fire, shopping vs. post soccer game

Discuss research on cooperation and/or competition

Dawes: The motivation for cooperation is primarily greed, people were not willing to donate if others could get more than them

Kerr: Social Loafing and Free Riding Effect, air pump activity alone, with capable vs. slacking partner

Evaluate two studies on prejudice and/or discrimination

Phelps et al. - Amygdala response to (familiar vs. unfamiliar) black vs. white people

Fein & Spencer - Threatened Egoism seen in male students rating the acting profile of a gay male, increased discrimination after receiving news of bad test results

Discuss theories of bystanderism

Piliavin et al. - Social exchange theory and Law of Social Impact observed in the time it took to help a drunk vs. old man

Darley & Batson - Good Samaritan parable priming seminary students (no effect) and time pressure (had an effect) and the likelihood of heping a student fallen over

Discuss/Evaluate a biological approach to personal relationships

Baumgartner et al. - Oxytocin effect on trust in virtual investment game, lower response from amygdala

Wedekind - Major Histocompatibility Complex T-Shirt Study, we prefer those with different genes because of natural selection

Discuss/Evaluate a sociocultural approach to personal relationships

Moreland and Beach - Mere Exposure Effect and increased attraction//good impression, women attending classes at different frequencies

Buss - Patterns in mate selection across 37 different cultures, showed universal preferences like men preferring younger partners and the fact that many countries do not rank love first as a priority for a relationship

Discuss/Evaluate a cognitive approach to personal relationships

Markey and Markey - Similarity Attraction Model using both self-reported questionnaires about preferences and their own profile, and seeing that the most stable relationships had many but not all characteristics similar

Dion - The Halo Effect and positive descriptors regarding marriage, happiness, and success

Discuss why relationships change or end

Gottman - The 4 horsemen that end relationships: Contempt, Criticism, Defensiveness, Stonewalling

Bradbury and Fincham - Relationship Enhancing vs. Distress Maintaining patterns of communication, saw that stability was based on this behavior, not the amount of perceived satisfaction

Discuss the role of communication in relationships

Gottman - The 4 horsemen that end relationships: Contempt, Criticism, Defensiveness, Stonewalling

Bradbury and Fincham - Relationship Enhancing vs. Distress Maintaining patterns of communication, saw that stability was based on this behavior, not the amount of perceived satisfaction