Relationship Science: Introduction, Research Methods, Evolutionary Concepts, and Attachment Theory

Vocabulary flashcards covering Topic #1 (Introduction), Topic #2 (Research Methods), Topic #3 (Evolutionary Concepts), and Topic #4 (Attachment Theory).

Need to belong

A fundamental human motivation to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships, essential for well-being and health.

History of scorn

The historical skepticism and dismissive attitude faced by researchers seeking to use scientific methods to study human love and relationships.

Relationships and health

The scientific finding that social connections and high-quality marriages positively influence physical and emotional health, whereas social rejection causes hurt feelings.

Hindsight bias

The psychological tendency to believe, after an outcome has occurred, that one would have predicted or already known it all along.

Theory

An organized set of principles and abstract concepts used to explain observed phenomena and guide scientific research.

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction derived from a theory regarding the relationship between two or more variables.

Operational definition

The exact specification of how a concept or variable is measured or manipulated within a research study.

Reliability

The consistency and repeatability of a research measure or measurement instrument across repeated assessments.

Validity

The extent to which an instrument or experimental procedure accurately measures or tests what it claims to measure.

Measures of central tendency

Statistical metrics, such as the mean, median, and mode, used to identify the central score or representative value of a data set.

Independent variable

The variable manipulated or controlled by the experimenter to determine its causal effect on an outcome.

Dependent variable

The measured outcome variable in an experiment that is hypothesized to change as a result of manipulating the independent variable.

Random assignment

The experimental technique of assigning participants to different conditions by chance, ensuring groups are equivalent prior to the manipulation.

Correlation coefficient ($r$)

A statistical index ranging from $-1.0$ to $+1.0$ that measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables.

Reverse causality

A limitation of correlational designs where the direction of cause and effect is uncertain (e.g., whether variable A causes variable B or B causes A).

Third variable problem

A confounding issue in correlational research where an unmeasured extraneous variable causes the observed association between two variables.

Retrospective design

A developmental research design that asks participants to recall and report on events, behaviors, or experiences that took place in the past.

Longitudinal design

A developmental research design in which the same participants are tracked, assessed, and followed repeatedly over an extended period.

HMS Beagle

The vessel on which Charles Darwin conducted exploratory voyages, yielding observations that showed species can change over time.

Natural selection

The evolutionary mechanism requiring phenotypic variation and heritability, whereby traits that enhance survival and reproduction are retained across generations.

Sexual selection

The evolutionary process favoring traits that confer an advantage in attracting or competing for mates, driving sexual dimorphism and costly handicaps.

Sexual dimorphism

Systematic differences in physical appearance, size, or ornamentation between males and females of the same species.

Handicaps

Costly physical features or displays that signal high genetic fitness to potential mates because only robust individuals can afford to maintain them.

Adaptations

Heritable anatomical structures, physiological processes, or behavioral mechanisms that evolved to address ancestral challenges of survival or reproduction.

Parental investment

Any allocation of time, energy, and resources by a parent to an individual offspring that increases offspring survival at the expense of investing in other mating opportunities.

Life history theory

An evolutionary framework analyzing trade-offs organisms make in allocating limited energy and time across growth, maintenance, and reproduction.

Hazan & Shaver's 3-category model

A framework translating infant attachment styles into adulthood, classifying adult romantic attachment into secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent categories.

Dimensional models (2 dimensions)

An approach to adult attachment that assesses individual differences continuously along two underlying axes, typically attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance.

Normative attachment in adulthood

The typical, species-wide patterns, stages, and emotional mechanisms through which adult romantic partners form and maintain attachment bonds.

Cads vs. dads

A life history dichotomy describing male reproductive strategies: uncommitted, low-investment mating ('cads') versus committed, high-investment parenting ('dads').