Intimate Relationships 2nd Edition Bradbury Test Bank

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CHAPTER 2: Tools of Relationship Science

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following statements regarding the role of the scientific method in relationship studies is
true?
a. It helps self-correct erroneous conclusions.
b. It eliminates the risk of drawing erroneous conclusions.
c. It proves previously untested hypotheses.
d. It ensures the external validity of the findings.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Relationship science and the scientific method
MSC: Factual

2. Which of the following statements regarding the role of the scientific method in relationship studies is
FALSE?
a. It eliminates the risk of drawing erroneous conclusions.
b. It proves previously untested hypotheses.
c. It ensures the external validity of the findings.
d. All of the above are false.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Relationship science and the scientific method
MSC: Factual

3. “Do couples who cohabit before marriage have less conflict as newlyweds than couples who do not
cohabit before marriage?” This is an example of a(n) ________ research question.
a. descriptive c. explanatory
b. predictive d. predictive and descriptive
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Prediction of an outcome
MSC: Conceptual

4. Daniella wants to know if the birth of a child is linked to lower marital satisfaction. This is an example
of a(n) ________ research question.
a. descriptive c. explanatory
b. predictive d. conceptual
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Description of phenomena
MSC: Conceptual

5. Atiyeh is studying whether violations of expectations about the division of household chores lead to a
decline in relationship satisfaction. This is an example of a(n) ________ research question.
a. descriptive c. explanatory
b. predictive d. conceptual
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Explanation of why an
outcome occurs MSC: Conceptual

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6. U.S. divorce rates are nearly twice as high in low-income neighborhoods as in high-income
neighborhoods. To learn why this association exists, we must ask ________ research questions.
a. conceptual c. predictive
b. descriptive d. explanatory
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Explanation of why an
outcome occurs MSC: Applied

7. You meet a number of students in a graduate program studying intimate relationships. The students
describe their research to you. Which of the following students is conducting descriptive research?
a. Ahmed, who is investigating whether couples who cohabit before marriage have less
conflict as newlyweds than couples who do not cohabit before marriage
b. Jeremy, who is interested in marital satisfaction following the birth of the first child
c. Humpreet, who is studying whether violations of expectations about the division of
household chores lead to a decline in relationship satisfaction
d. All of the students are conducting descriptive research.
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Description of phenomena |
Asking and Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Prediction of an outcome | Asking and
Answering Questions: Types of research questions: Explanation of why an outcome occurs
MSC: Applied

8. Specific predictions suggested by ________ are called ________.

a. theories; hypotheses c. theories; data
b. hypotheses; theories d. data; hypotheses
ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Theories and hypotheses
MSC: Factual

9. A researcher is interested in interpersonal attraction and the factors that affect it. She designs a study in
which she looks at the effect of similarity and social warmth on interpersonal attraction. Participants in
her study meet a target person who either is or is not similar to the participant (the similarity variable)
and who is either friendly or aloof (the social warmth variable). After interacting with the target person
under these conditions, participants are then asked to rate how attractive they think the target person is.
Which of the following is most likely the hypothesis in this study?
a. People who are attractive and similar to their interaction partner will be perceived as
friendlier than people who are attractive and not similar to their interaction partner.
b. People who are aloof and not similar to their interaction partner will be perceived as less
attractive than people who are friendly and similar to their interaction partner.
c. People who are unattractive will be perceived as less friendly than people who are
attractive.
d. People who are not similar to their interaction partner will be perceived as less friendly
than people who are similar to their interaction partner.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Asking and Answering Questions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions: Theories and hypotheses
MSC: Applied
10. A researcher is interested in interpersonal attraction and the factors that affect it. She designs a study in
which she looks at the effect of similarity and social warmth on interpersonal attraction. Participants in
her study meet a target person who either is or is not similar to the participant (the similarity variable)
and who is either friendly or aloof (the social warmth variable). After interacting with the target person
under these conditions, participants are then asked to rate how attractive they think the target person is.
In this study, similarity and social warmth are the ________ variables and interpersonal attraction is
the ________ variable.
a. independent; dependent c. causal; control
b. dependent; independent d. control; outcome
ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Experimental research MSC: Applied

11. A researcher is interested in interpersonal attraction and the factors that affect it. She designs a study in
which she looks at the effect of similarity and social warmth on interpersonal attraction. Participants in
her study meet a target person who either is or is not similar to the participant (the similarity variable)
and who is either friendly or aloof (the social warmth variable). After interacting with the target person
under these conditions, participants are then asked to rate how attractive they think the target person is.
In this study, the dependent variable is:
a. similarity. c. interpersonal attraction.
b. social warmth. d. all of the above.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Experimental research MSC: Applied

12. A researcher is interested in interpersonal attraction and the factors that affect it. She designs a study in
which she looks at the effect of similarity and social warmth on interpersonal attraction. Participants in
her study meet a target person who either is or is not similar to the participant (the similarity variable)
and who is either friendly or aloof (the social warmth variable). After interacting with the target person
under these conditions, participants are then asked to rate how attractive they think the target person is.
In this study, the independent variables are:
a. similarity and interpersonal attraction.
b. similarity and social warmth.
c. social warmth and interpersonal attraction.
d. similarity, social warmth, and interpersonal attraction.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Experimental research MSC: Applied

13. Andy decides to use a measure of how many times per week research participants talk to their partners
as a measure of relationship closeness. According to the chapter on research methods, “closeness” is
________.
a. an imaginary construct
b. the operationalization of a psychological construct
c. the predictor variable
d. a psychological construct
ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Psychological constructs
MSC: Applied

14. Andy decides to use a measure of how many times per week research participants talk to their partners
as a measure of relationship closeness. According to the chapter on research methods, “how many
times per week research participants talk to their partners” is ________.
a. an imaginary construct
 b. the operationalization of a psychological construct
c. the predictor variable
d. a psychological construct
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Psychological constructs: Operationalization of constructs
MSC: Applied

15. According to the chapter on research methods, which of the following is FALSE?
a. Operationalization refers to the translation of an abstract idea into something concrete and
measurable.
b. A specific measure that does not represent a concept very well is said to lack construct
operationalization.
c. If a specific measure represents an abstract concept well, it has high construct validity.
d. We cannot directly measure abstract ideas, so they must be made observable or concrete.
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Psychological constructs
MSC: Factual

16. Andrea is studying the conditions under which people become attracted to each other. She invites male
research participants to visit the lab and interact briefly with an attractive person (a paid research
assistant). By flipping a coin, she places participants in one of two conditions: 1) The conversation
occurs without incident, or 2) There is a brief blackout in the research lab during the conversation. At
the end of each session, the attractive research assistant gives the research participant her home phone
number and invites him to call her later. In this study, whether the research participant calls the
number is the:
a. operationalization of the dependent variable.
b. operationalization of the independent variable.
c. control variable.
d. predictor variable.
ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Psychological constructs: Operationalization of constructs
MSC: Applied

17. Jacobson and Moore (1981) found that a spouse’s rating of a partner’s behavior on the Spouse
Observation Checklist often did not match the partner’s own rating of his or her behaviors. This study
suggested that the Spouse Observation Checklist may have a problem with ________.
a. construct validity c. reliability
b. operationalization d. reactivity
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Psychological constructs: Construct validity
MSC: Applied

18. You design a questionnaire where you first ask participants to briefly describe how they met their
current romantic partners and then ask them to rate how satisfied they are in their relationships on a
scale of 1 to 7. The first part of the questionnaire is an example of ________ and the second part is an
example of ________.
a. a fixed-response scale; open-ended questions
b. open-ended questions; a fixed-response scale
c. open-ended questions; qualitative research
d. qualitative research; correlational research
 ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Fixed-response scales versus
open-ended questions MSC: Applied

19. You are designing an exploratory study on couples who have polyamorous relationships (i.e., they
have multiple committed relationships at one time). There is very little research in this area, and not
much is known about how these couples manage their relationships. What kind of measurement
strategy would be the most appropriate for this new research area?
a. fixed-response scales c. global measures
b. observational measures d. open-ended questionnaires
ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Fixed-response scales versus
open-ended questions MSC: Applied

20. You are designing an exploratory study on couples who have polyamorous relationships (i.e., they
have multiple committed relationships at one time). There is very little research in this area, and not
much is known about how these couples manage their relationships. Which research approach would
be the most appropriate for this new research area?
a. qualitative research c. correlational research
b. observational research d. experimental research
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Fixed-response scales versus
open-ended questions: Qualitative research MSC: Applied

21. Kahni has developed a measure of conflict and she is using participants’ frequency of conflict to
predict their relationship satisfaction. She is assessing relationship satisfaction with the Marital
Adjustment Test, which is a self-report measure of satisfaction that taps in to how spouses resolve
disagreements, how much spouses confide in each other, and how much spouses agree about various
topics. Which of the following is NOT a potential problem with using the Marital Adjustment Test in
Kahni’s study?
a. poor construct validity c. social desirability effect
b. reactivity d. sentiment override
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Pros and cons of self-report
measures MSC: Applied

22. For Sally’s study, one member of a set of married couples carried voice-activated digital recorders for
two weeks and both spouses made relationship satisfaction ratings at the end of each day. The
recordings contained a lot of meaningless information, but they also contained daily conversations that
the spouses had with each other. Sally analyzed the conversations and examined whether the positive
and negative behaviors on each day predicted the relationship satisfaction ratings on subsequent days.
What kind of research is this?
a. home-based observational and cross-sectional
b. home-based observational and experimental
c. home-based observational and correlational
d. daily diary approach and experimental
ANS: C DIF: Medium
REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy | Designing the Study
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy | Designing the Study
MSC: Applied
23. Which of the following is a limitation of self-report data in the study of couples?
a. Self-report questionnaires are generally unreliable.
b. Self-report questionnaires are often invalid.
c. Self-report questionnaires cannot capture interactions between partners.
d. When asked to report on their relationship, partners often agree about their interactions.
ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Pros and cons of self-report
measures MSC: Factual

24. A researcher is surveying men about partner behaviors that are potentially annoying. When presented
with a list of possibly annoying behaviors and asked to rate their tolerance of these behaviors that have
occurred in the current relationship, respondents indicate a high level of tolerance for all behaviors,
even the most annoying ones. What phenomenon might these responses illustrate?
a. inaccurate recall c. social desirability effect
b. reactivity d. cognitive editing
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Pros and cons of self-report
measures MSC: Applied

25. Carly and Joan are very happy in their relationship and have been together for a long time. When
asked how often Joan says “I love you,” Carly responds that Joan says it almost every day. This is
surprising; Joan tells you that she rarely says “I love you,” because she keeps those words for special
occasions. Why might Carly’s report be so different from Joan’s?
a. social desirability effect c. prospective bias
b. sentiment override d. reactivity
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Observational measures: Who observes?: Sentiment
override MSC: Conceptual

26. Wei-Chin designed a self-report inventory to measure how intimate partners express affection and
hostility toward each other. The inventory is a list of positive behaviors (e.g., back rubs, holding
hands) and negative behaviors (e.g., slamming doors, raising voices). After a wide range of couples
completed the inventory, Wei-Chin found that happy couples endorsed all the affection items and
unhappy couples endorsed all the hostile items. Which of the following problems prevents Wei-Chin
from concluding that happy couples exchange more affectionate behaviors than unhappy couples?
a. sentiment override c. correlation does not imply causation
b. item-overlap problem d. social desirability effect
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Observational measures: Who observes?: Sentiment
override MSC: Applied

27. The measurement of agreement between independent observers when studying behaviors that require
some interpretation on the part of the observer is called ________.
a. reactivity c. correlation
b. construct validity d. reliability
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Observational measures: Reliability
MSC: Factual
28. Vinci is conducting a study comparing conflict strategies in newlyweds and couples who have been
married for 20 years. She has chosen to use laboratory-based observation. A disadvantage of this
choice is that:
a. because there are fewer distractions in the lab, couples in her study might use more
negative conflict strategies than they would have if she had observed them in their homes.
b. because the lab is an unusual setting, couples in her study might restrain their negative
conflict strategies, leading Vinci to underestimate the amount of negativity that goes on in
their relationships.
c. laboratory-based observation is very intrusive because it disrupts a couple’s standard
routines and habits.
d. her observations will have low reliability because the couples in her study will behave
differently than they would have if she had observed them in their homes.
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy
TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Observational measures: Where to observe?: Home-based
versus laboratory-based observation MSC: Applied

29. You have decided to conduct a research study examining the relationship between depression and
relationship satisfaction. To do this you have collected a sample of 120 newlywed couples. In 40 of the
couples, neither partner is depressed; in 40 of the couples, one partner is depressed; in the remaining
40 couples, both partners are depressed. You plan to assess both members of each couple on
relationship satisfaction and depression every 6 months for the first 5 years of marriage. What type of
design is this study?
a. correlational and cross-sectional c. experimental and cross-sectional
b. correlational and longitudinal d. experimental and longitudinal
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study MSC: Applied

30. Sagga, a researcher studying couples who have been married for 20 years, finds a negative correlation
between depression and relationship satisfaction: spouses who are more depressed are less satisfied in
their marriages. How might Sagga interpret his findings?
a. Being depressed leads people to become less satisfied with their marriages.
b. Being dissatisfied with one’s marriage leads people to become depressed.
c. Some other factor, such as family background, is responsible both for people’s levels of
depression and for people’s relationship satisfaction.
d. All of the above are possible interpretations of Sagga’s findings.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Correlational research: Causation MSC: Applied

31. Spouses who are experiencing a lot of stress in their lives also tend to experience more symptoms of
depression. This is an example of a:
a. positive correlation. c. causal association.
b. negative correlation. d. descriptive association.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Correlational research MSC: Factual

32. Ajay wanted to learn more about how romantic partners share good news with each other. He asked
sixty married couples to describe their conversations with their spouses and to rate their partners’
responses to any good news that was shared. The spouses also rated their relationship satisfaction. The
questionnaires were completed every day before bed for 14 days. What kind of research design is this?
a. experimental c. daily diary approach
b. cross-sectional d. experience sampling
 ANS: C DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Longitudinal research: Daily diary approach
MSC: Applied

33. In the 1970s, a number of studies suggested that over the course of a long marriage, spouses’
relationship satisfaction generally followed a U-shaped curve: first declining, then remaining stable,
and then increasing (presumably after children left home). In the 1990s, new research proved this idea
wrong. Generally, marital satisfaction declines throughout the course of marriage. What was the
difference between the earlier and the later research?
a. The early research was correlational, and the later research was experimental.
b. The early research suffered from attrition bias, and the later research did not.
c. The early research examined only American couples, and the later research examined
cross-cultural samples.
d. The early research was cross-sectional, and the later research was longitudinal.
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Correlational research: Cross-sectional data | Designing the Study:
Longitudinal research MSC: Conceptual

34. Which of the following is FALSE regarding research methods used to understand relationships?
a. Ideally, any method of data collection leads to the same results.
b. Data often reflect not only the phenomena of interest but also the method used to collect
the data.
c. It is difficult to reliably quantify thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in intimate
relationships, so relationship researchers instead rely on self-report data.
d. Direct observation provides unique information about interpersonal processes that cannot
be captured from self-report data.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study MSC: Factual

35. Why would you choose to design a longitudinal study rather than conduct an experiment?
a. We can have greater control of participant variables in longitudinal studies.
b. Some relationship factors cannot be manipulated in experiments.
c. Longitudinal studies are less time intensive than experiments.
d. Longitudinal studies allow us to make stronger causal claims than experimental studies.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study MSC: Conceptual

36. Which of the following is NOT a crucial element of a true experiment?

a. dependent variable c. random sampling
b. random assignment d. control
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Experimental research MSC: Factual
37. Danica put spouses in separate rooms, asked them to complete relationship satisfaction ratings, and
then videotaped all participants giving a brief speech, which she said their partners would later watch.
After the speech, participants were provided with written false feedback presumably provided by their
partners, and then they rated their relationship satisfaction again. Danica then assessed how
evaluations of relationship satisfaction changed when participants received three different types of
false feedback. In one condition, the feedback was positive and reassuring, in the second it was
negative and critical, and in the third it was mixed. In this experiment, the independent variable is
________ and the dependent variable is ________.
a. the false feedback; the relationship satisfaction
b. the relationship satisfaction; the false feedback
c. the speech; the false feedback
d. the speech; the relationship satisfaction
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Experimental research MSC: Applied

38. Harker and Keltner (2001) examined women’s yearbook photos from 30 years ago. They examined
how women’s facial expressions in the photos predicted whether or not they were more or less likely
to marry, and how happy they were if they stayed married. What kind of research is this an example
of?
a. archival c. longitudinal
b. experimental d. observational
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study
TOP: Designing the Study: Archival research MSC: Factual

39. Ravneet is doing a study on social support in romantic relationships and depression. He recruited a
sample of undergraduates to complete his questionnaires, but would like to generalize his findings to
anyone in a romantic relationship. What is one problem with his study?
a. It may lack internal validity. c. It may lack reliability.
b. It may suffer from attrition bias. d. It may lack external validity.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Choosing Study Participants
TOP: Sampling MSC: Factual

40. Ravneet is doing a study on social support in newlyweds and depression. He would like to collect data
from a representative sample. This means Ravneet should:
a. recruit couples at bridal shows so he can ensure that couples will be newly married when
they enter his study.
b. ensure that the couples in his sample are similar to the population of newlywed couples to
which he would like to generalize.
c. make sure there aren’t any college student couples in his study, because these couples
have been overrepresented in relationship research.
d. give up now—there is no way he will be able to find a representative sample of newlywed
couples.
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Choosing Study Participants
TOP: Sampling: Representative samples MSC: Applied

41. What is a positive consequence of choosing a representative sample?

a. It will result in high external validity.
b. It will result in larger differences between groups.
c. It will be easier to collect than a nonrepresentative sample.
d. It will reduce the effects of social desirability.
 ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Choosing Study Participants
TOP: Sampling MSC: Factual

42. A sample that is recruited solely because it is easy to find is called a ________ sample.
a. representative c. biased
b. valid d. convenience
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Choosing Study Participants
TOP: Sampling: Convenience samples MSC: Factual

43. The goal of gathering data in relationship research is ultimately to:

a. confirm our hypotheses. c. confirm the null hypothesis.
b. disconfirm the null hypothesis. d. develop hypotheses.
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Disconfirming hypotheses?the null hypothesis
MSC: Factual

44. What is the null hypothesis?

a. There is an effect. c. There is no external validity.
b. There is no construct validity. d. There is no effect.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Disconfirming hypotheses?the null hypothesis
MSC: Factual

45. A researcher is interested in interpersonal attraction and the factors that affect it. She designs a study in
which she looks at the effect of similarity and social warmth on interpersonal attraction. Participants in
her study meet a target person who either is or is not similar to the participant (the similarity variable)
and who is either friendly or is aloof (the social warmth variable). After interacting with the target
person under these conditions, participants are then asked to rate how attractive they think the target
person is. What is the null hypothesis in this study?
a. Similarity and social warmth have no effect on interpersonal attraction.
b. Similarity and social warmth have a positive effect on interpersonal attraction.
c. Similarity has a positive effect on interpersonal attraction, but social warmth does not.
d. Similarity has no effect on interpersonal attraction, but social warmth has a positive effect.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Disconfirming hypotheses?the null hypothesis
MSC: Applied

46. Patrice randomly assigns thirty couples to a problem-solving skills training group and another thirty
couples to a group where they have group discussions about their relationship problems, but no
specific training is provided. She assesses positive and negative problem-solving behavior before and
after the groups, and she finds that after the groups, couples in the skills training group have higher
positive and lower negative behavior scores than couples in the discussion group. What can Patrice
conclude from this?
a. Patrice can conclude nothing; she has to conduct statistical analyses to determine whether
there is a significant difference between her groups.
b. Patrice can conclude that her skills training program improves behavior because she
conducted a controlled experiment.
c. Patrice can conclude nothing until she conducts a meta-analysis of her results.
d. Patrice can conclude that the skills training program improves behavior, and that this
finding is not due to chance.
 ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Statistical analysis MSC: Conceptual

47. An effect that is large enough to occur less than 5 percent of the time if the null hypothesis were true is
called a:
a. meaningful statistical effect. c. statistically significant effect.
b. statistically important effect. d. meta-analytic effect.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Statistical analysis: Statistically significant effects
MSC: Factual

48. Michael has obtained the results from all the published and unpublished studies he can find on the
association between cohabitation prior to marriage and later marital functioning. He combined the
studies and analyzed them to determine whether cohabitation has a negative effect on later relationship
satisfaction. This is an example of:
a. a statistically significant effect.
b. a meta-analysis.
c. disconfirmation of the null hypothesis.
d. a research review.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Statistical analysis: Meta-analysis
MSC: Applied

49. Which is an example of the “showing respect for persons” principle?

a. maintaining confidentiality
b. asking nontrivial questions
c. publishing only part of the data that couples have provided
d. not harming the research participants
ANS: B DIF: Medium REF: Ethical Issues
TOP: Ethical Issues: Respect for persons MSC: Factual

50. ________ means not sharing participants’ information with people not directly involved with the
research, whereas ________ means that, if it were inadvertently released, participants’ information
could not be linked to them.
a. Anonymity; confidentiality c. Anonymity; informed consent
b. Confidentiality; informed consent d. Confidentiality; anonymity
ANS: D DIF: Medium REF: Ethical Issues
TOP: Ethical Issues: Protecting from harm: Confidentiality or anonymity maintained
MSC: Factual

51. Why is it important to maintain the confidentiality of our research participants?

a. Revealing information about them to others could violate the principle of protecting from
harm.
b. Revealing information about them to others could make our research findings invalid.
c. People will not volunteer in research studies unless we promise confidentiality.
d. Revealing information about them to others would violate the principle of respect for
persons.
ANS: A DIF: Medium REF: Ethical Issues
TOP: Ethical Issues: Protecting from harm: Confidentiality or anonymity maintained
MSC: Conceptual
 52. Informed consent involves:
a. telling participants the hypothesis and procedure of the study in advance of their
participation.
b. guaranteeing participant confidentiality but not necessarily anonymity.
c. an explanation of the research procedures and what participants can expect.
d. none of the above.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Ethical Issues
TOP: Ethical Issues: Protecting from harm: Informed consent
MSC: Factual

ESSAY

1. Your friend Mathilda learns that you are taking a course on the scientific study of relationships. She
scoffs that it isn’t possible to study relationships scientifically. Explain to Mathilda how the scientific
method can be applied to the study of intimate relationships.

ANS:
Relationships can be studied scientifically by applying the scientific method. This is a set of
procedures for making predictions, gathering data, and comparing the validity of competing claims
about the world. For example, we may make an observation about relationships we see in the world
around us, or we may have a theory about how relationships work. We can then develop specific
hypotheses about how concepts should be associated and translate our abstract concepts into concrete
terms (operationalization). We then devise a measurement strategy and a study to test our specific
predictions. After analyzing the data and drawing conclusions, we can then accept or reject our
hypotheses and thereby refine our theories about relationships.

DIF: Easy
REF: Asking and Answering Questions | Choosing a Measurement Strategy | Designing the Study |
Drawing Conclusions
TOP: Asking and Answering Questions | Choosing a Measurement Strategy | Designing the Study |
Drawing Conclusions MSC: Applied

2. Describe some of the pros and cons of using physiological measurement in relationship research.

ANS:
Cons: It is extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive to collect physiological measurement. It
requires the participation of outside trained observers; it involves recording the couples, making the
use of expensive equipment and the logistics of arranging the meetings difficult; and it may work
against the validity of observations because of participant reactivity to the situation—the act of
observing may change the participants’ behavior. Pros: Observations directly assess the behaviors of
interest to relationship researchers and can provide information that the couple is unable or unwilling
to provide through self-report. These observations provide a rich source of data on couples’
interactions and avoid problems associated with self-reports, such as retrospective biases, memory
biases, and social desirability.

DIF: Easy REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy

TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Observational measures: What to observe?: Physiological
responses MSC: Factual

3. Describe some of the pros and cons of using self-reports in relationship research.
 ANS:
Pros: Self-report measures are cheap and easy to administer—no fancy equipment is required. They
may also be the only way to measure certain constructs: if a researcher is interested in what people are
thinking and feeling, the only way to find out is to ask them. As a result, self-report measures may
have high construct validity—a great deal of overlap between the operationalization and the construct.
Cons: One difficulty in using self-report measures is the specific phrasing of a question, which can
affect and sometimes significantly change the way people respond. This is a problem whether using
open-ended questions or fixed-response scales. A second difficulty is that a variety of factors may
result in low construct validity: 1) People will answer the questions asked even if they are unable to
provide meaningful answers; 2) People may not remember something and will fill in the gaps with
guesses; 3) People may misunderstand the questions asked; 4) People may be reluctant to answer
questions accurately when the answer makes them look bad.

DIF: Easy REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy

TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy: Self-report measurement: Pros and cons of self-report
measures MSC: Factual

4. Imagine that you wanted to learn more about how couples communicate about hurt feelings, whether
and how they forgive each other for interpersonal transgressions, and how these behaviors relate to
relationship quality. How would you design your study? Comment on what measurement strategy and
what type of design you would use and why.

ANS:
There are many possible responses to this question, but ideally the student would use a
multiple-method approach and examine relationship quality longitudinally. Regarding measurement,
the student could use a strategy that employed questionnaires in a fixed-response format to assess
relationship quality, communication about hurt feelings, and forgiveness; the student could obtain a
self-report and partner report of these processes. Observations of the spouses as they talked about a
time that each of their feelings were hurt could also be collected. It would also be possible to obtain
physiological measurements while couples discussed the hurt feelings to evaluate how such responses
are related to the outcome of interest. The student could opt for laboratory- or home-based observation.
Finally, a correlational but longitudinal design would probably be most appropriate, as this would
allow for better understanding of the causal nature of the associations between forgiveness and marital
satisfaction. An experimental design probably would not be the first choice for this type of study, but it
is possible that the student could employ a false feedback experimental manipulation and then assess
feelings about the relationship to better understand this process. Given that appropriate measures of
forgiveness and marital satisfaction are available, a qualitative study or an open-ended questionnaire is
probably not a first choice for the design and measurement strategy.

DIF: Difficult REF: Choosing a Measurement Strategy | Designing the Study

TOP: Choosing a Measurement Strategy | Designing the Study
MSC: Applied

5. Many studies of intimate relationships use the correlational method to describe associations among
variables. Distinguish positive correlation from negative correlation and provide an example of each.
(Do not worry if your examples are supported by actual research.)

ANS:
 A positive correlation indicates that when levels of one variable are high, levels of the other variable
tend to be high as well, and when levels of one variable are low, levels of the other variable also tend
to be low. Although student examples will vary, an example would be that sexual satisfaction and
relationship satisfaction are positively correlated because couples who are satisfied with their sex lives
tend to be satisfied with their relationships, whereas couples who have complaints about their sex lives
tend to feel less satisfied with their relationships. A negative correlation indicates the opposite
association, where high levels of one variable tend to be associated with low levels of another variable.
Again, student examples will vary; however, an example would be that depression and relationship
satisfaction are negatively correlated because people who are more depressed or exhibit higher levels
of depressive symptoms tend to be less satisfied in their relationships, whereas people who are less
depressed tend to be more satisfied.

DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study

TOP: Designing the Study: Correlational research MSC: Applied

6. Parminder has just finished a 4-year study of engaged couples. Her intention was to find out how
relationships with in-laws and the changes in family structures were related to the success or failure of
couples’ relationships. During the 4 years, about 20 percent of the couples dropped out of the study. Is
this a problem for Parminder? Why or why not?

ANS:
Attrition in longitudinal studies is always a concern, even though the attrition in Parminder’s study
isn’t as large as the average dropout rate of 30 percent. In this case, we don’t know whether the
couples who dropped out are different from the couples who remained in the study or not. If only
unhappy couples dropped out, then the study could be said to suffer from attrition bias.

DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study

TOP: Designing the Study: Longitudinal research: Attrition bias
MSC: Conceptual

7. Why would a researcher choose to conduct an experiment rather than longitudinal research to
understand relationship processes?

ANS:
Experimental designs are better suited to help answer questions about why things happen in
relationships rather than just questions about what and when things happen. In other words, we can
begin to clearly understand causal relationships when we manipulate a variable under controlled
conditions and observe the effect of that manipulation on the outcome of interest. Longitudinal
research allows us to begin to understand possible causal associations by examining whether early
variables predict changes in outcomes of interest, but we cannot say that one causes the other because
we cannot rule out third-variable problems. Thus, longitudinal designs do not allow for strong causal
statements in the way that experimental designs can.

DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study

TOP: Designing the Study: Longitudinal research | Designing the Study: Experimental research
MSC: Conceptual

8. Why would a researcher choose to conduct a longitudinal study rather than an experiment to
understand relationship processes?

ANS:
 Although the experimental design allows us to make stronger causal statements than does the
longitudinal design, some research questions aren’t amenable to the experimental design. For example,
researchers cannot assign couples to engage in varying levels of conflict to observe the effects on
relationships or to divorce or stay together. Also, if the researcher’s interest is in processes that unfold
over very long periods of time (e.g., years), then experiments may not be possible.

DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study

TOP: Designing the Study: Longitudinal research | Designing the Study: Experimental research
MSC: Conceptual

9. David conducted an experiment where he assigned one group of couples to go on weekly dates and to
do something that neither spouse had ever done before or had not done very often (e.g., rollerblading,
opera, cooking class); he called this the “novel” group. He assigned a second group of couples to go on
a date every Saturday but to do the same activity every week; David called this the “routine” group.
The couples were asked to go on their date nights every Saturday for 6 weeks. The couples completed
relationship satisfaction questionnaires prior to starting the date nights and again at the end of the 6
weeks. This allowed David to see whether the couples in the novel activity group were happier in their
relationships at the end of the study compared to the couples in the routine group. When couples
volunteered to be in the study, David asked them which group they would prefer to be in because he
thought if couples could choose their own group they would be more likely to complete the 6-week
study, and thus David could avoid attrition bias. What is the problem with David’s study, and why is it
a concern?

ANS:
David allowed his participants to choose their group and did not employ random assignment, which is
a requirement of an experiment, thus the two groups may not have been equally matched at the start of
the study. Couples who choose to engage in novel activities on their date nights may be quite different
from those who do not. David will not be able to rule out the possibility that any differences between
the two groups in relationship satisfaction at the end of the study are attributable to those preexisting
differences instead of the activity manipulation.

DIF: Medium REF: Designing the Study

TOP: Designing the Study: Experimental research MSC: Conceptual

10. What are the pros and cons of using archival research?

ANS:
Pros: When questions can be addressed with archival data, this approach is economical and effective.
It can be more efficient than, and just as accurate as, conducting an entirely new study. Archival
studies may be the only way to study historical trends or to examine how variables were associated in
the past. Any data set may contain new insights that could be uncovered with new analytical strategies
or as new theoretical approaches are developed. Cons: Because archival researchers do not gather the
data to be analyzed, they cannot control the quality of those data. Similarly, the design of an archival
study depends on the design of the original data. A final limitation of archival research is that the
researcher can examine only the questions asked in the original study. Archival research cannot be
used to test new questions that have not yet been asked in existing data sets.

DIF: Easy REF: Designing the Study

TOP: Designing the Study: Archival research MSC: Factual

11. In a review of 280 studies published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, over half of
all the studies sampled college students. What are the pros and cons of using samples of college
students in relationship research?
 ANS:
Pros: Samples of college students are common because these samples are convenient. In other words,
for researchers based in a university or college setting, undergraduate students are readily available,
and it is easy to collect data on this population. Cons: The problem with this strategy is that college
students tend to be middle class, educated, and less likely to be married. Thus, data based on these
samples may not generalize to other types of couples or relationships because the sample is not
representative.

DIF: Easy REF: Choosing Study Participants

TOP: Sampling: Convenience samples MSC: Factual

12. In your study on how relationship satisfaction predicts changes in weight, you find that couples who
are happy weigh less than couples who are unhappy. Why would you conduct statistical analyses
rather than simply describing your data?

ANS:
Averages are not perfect, and no two groups of people are ever exactly the same, thus any differences
need to be evaluated in terms of whether they represent significant or reliable differences. In other
words, the differences between the two groups might be due to chance. By conducting statistical
analyses, we can evaluate whether there really is an effect that is statistically significant—that is, large
enough to occur less than 5 percent of the time if the null hypothesis were true (if using the convention
of a probability of .05).

DIF: Difficult REF: Drawing Conclusions

TOP: Drawing Conclusions: Statistical analysis MSC: Conceptual

13. When conducting research, it is critical to adhere to the highest ethical standards. Describe the two
ethical principles discussed in your text and why it is important to adhere to them.

ANS:
The first principle is respect for persons. This may mean not wasting participants’ time collecting
information about trivial matters or not utilizing (publishing) the data that have been collected. Making
sure that participants understand what will be asked of them and providing them with all the
information required to make an informed decision about whether to participate could be considered
an example of this first principle, although it is not described as such in the text. A second principle is
to protect participants from harm. This means protecting their confidentiality or, if possible, their
anonymity in the research process and not causing them to experience distress because of the research
process.

DIF: Easy REF: Ethical Issues TOP: Ethical Issues

MSC: Factual

14. Distinguish participant confidentiality from participant anonymity, and explain how each can be
maintained in the research process.

ANS:
Maintaining participant confidentiality means that information is not shared or discussed with anyone
not directly associated with the research. In studies where partners provide information about each
other, confidentiality also includes not revealing information to participants’ partners. Maintaining
participant anonymity means identifying participants by identification numbers rather than by their
names. This ensures that even if participants’ information were to be released unintentionally it cannot
be linked to the individuals who provided it.

DIF: Easy REF: Ethical Issues

Intimate Relationships 2nd Edition Bradbury Test Bank
Full Download: http://alibabadownload.com/product/intimate-relationships-2nd-edition-bradbury-test-bank/
TOP: Ethical Issues: Protecting from harm: Confidentiality or anonymity maintained
MSC: Factual

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