Human Relationships Studies (Only interpersonal relationships)

Gottman

Aim: To determine different communication styles and their effects on relationships

Procedure:

• Gottman mostly examined these styles through observing and interviewing couples in his lab.

• The couples were measured having low-conflict and high-conflict conversations while having physiological factors like blood pressure and skin galvanization measured.

• Gottman also studied micro-expressions during these conversations

Results:

• The 4 horsemen in communication: Criticism, Contempt, Defensiveness, Stonewalling

• Micro-expressions, our heart rate exceeding 100bpm, and oral communication are factors that heavily influence the stability of relationships

• He claimed that he could predict likelihood of divorce with a 90% accuracy (doesn’t completely show the effectiveness of the model since the couples coming to him had already experienced long term issues)

Bradbury and Fincham (1990 and 1992)

Aim: To determine patterns of behavior that characterized happy relationships and unhappy relationships.

Procedure: A meta-analysis of studies on couples and how they communicated vs. a prospective 12 month study to see the role of communication styles on relationship success.

Results:

• Relationship-enhancing patterns (not blaming each other in disagreements) vs. Distress-maintaining behaviors (blaming and not giving e/o credit for positive events)

• When couples engaged in relationship-enhancing patterns at the beginning it was a good predictor of marital satisfaction at the end

• But, the level of satisfaction at the beginning of the study was not a good predictor of whether relationship enhancing or distress maintaining patterns of behavior would be performed

• One-way relationship

Baumgartner et al.

Aim: To investigate the role of oxytocin following breaches of trust

Procedure:

• Trust game: investor decides to keep or share money. If shared, investment is tripled. Receiver either shares the tripled gain, or keeps all the money. Trust is profitable but risky.

• Participants played the trust game in an fMRI, receiving either oxytocin or placebo spray. They played with real humans or computers

Results:

• Oxytocin participants continued to invest at similar rates despite having trust broken. Placebo participants saw decrease in rate of trust.

• Oxytocin participants had decreased amygdala activity (reward related responses and trust)

• Oxytocin may have a role in decreasing fear reactions in the amygdala, even after trust is violated.

• There was no effect on trust when playing with a computer.

Wedekind

Aim: To see if women would prefer the body odors of men whose MHC genes were least similar to their own.

Procedure: A wide variety of MHC samples were taken and the uni students were from mostly different courses to avoid them knowing each other. The men were asked to wear a T-shirt for two nights and to keep it in a plastic bag during the day and given perfume-free detergent and body wash, prohibited from smoking, alcohol, or sexual activity. After two days the women were asked to rank 7 shirts, 3 of similar MHC, 3 of dissimilar MHC, and 1 that was a control shirt, done so whenever possible in the second week of menstruation where they seem to be more odor-sensitive. The women were given a nasal spray before the test to regenerate the nasal mucous membrane and a book called Perfume to sensitize smell perception. The women ranked them alone in a room by intensity, pleasantness, and sexiness.

Results:

• Women seemed to score body odors more pleasant when the MHC differed more from their own, and this difference in odor assessment was reversed when they were taking oral contraceptives.

Markey and Markey

Aim: To investigate the extent to which similarity is a factor in the way people choose a partner

Procedure:

• Questionnaires, large self-selected sample of American undergrads describes the characteristics, values, and attitudes of their ideal partners, then to describe themself.

• Follow up study, 1 year self-selected couples filled out a similar questionnaire about them and their partner

Results:

• In both studies, people described themselves similarly to their partners

• Couples in the best relationships had romantic partners who were similar to some but not all characteristics (ex. dom vs. sub)

Dion

Aim: To see what role the halo effect would play in partner choice

Procedure:

• Participants were given 3 photos: one physically attractive, another moderately attractive, and a third unattractive. Half of the participants received the same gender and the others received the opposite. Gender, order, and set of photos were randomized

• Participants rated the people in the photos on 27 personality traits and on a 6-point scale, then to complete a survey to rate which person in the photos would be most likely to experience marital, parental, and overall happiness. Then, to rate if they would pursue low, average, or high status occupations.

Results:

• Attractive individuals predicted as happier, more successful, and with more positive personality traits.

• “Attractiveness” of individuals in photo was determined via pilot study

Moreland and Beach

Aim: To test the validity of the Mere Exposure Effect

Procedure:

• Field experiment in a psychology college course where 4 women attended classes in differing frequency: 0, 5, 10, or 15 sessions. The choice of which session to attend was random.

• All women followed the same procedure in attending: arrive a few minutes before class, walk slowly towards front, sit in a visible place, listen and take notes, no interaction with students.

• After the semester, participants were shown the women and asked to rank them 1-7 on attractiveness, popularity, intelligence, warmth, honesty, success.

• They were also asked if they knew the women or if they were familiar

Results:

• Sex of the students did not impact results

• Participants did not find the women familiar, but the more classes she attended, the more positive traits she had (3.6

Buss

Aim: To investigate cross-cultural similarities and differences in mate preferences

Procedure:

• One of the largest cross-cultural studies on relationships spanning 10,000 responders in 37 cultures.

• Two questionnaires were given to participants regarding mate selection

Results:

• In all cultures, men preferred younger mates and women preferred older mates

• In 36 cultures, women ranked financial prospects are more important than men did

• in 23 cultures, males rated chastity as more important than women did

• The degree of agreement led to the conclusion that mate selection preferences were universal, arising from different evolutionary selection pressures.

• Differences:

  • USA: Love ranked 1st

  • Iran: Education, intelligence, ambition, chasti