,CHAPTER 1: Love and Why It Matters
1. Why Intimate Relationships Are Important
a. Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being
i. Relationship status
ii. Relationship quality
iii. Associations with happiness
1. Physical health
2. Sexual intimacy
3. Financial well-being
a. Relationship transitions
iv. Subjective happiness
1. Selection effects
2. Protection effects
b. Intimate relationships influence the well-being of children
i. Role of relationship status, relationship quality, and relationship transitions
ii. Longitudinal effects and genetic influence
c. Intimate relationships contribute to larger communities
i. Social control theory
d. Intimate relationships are universal
i. Pairbonds
ii. Cross-cultural research on Western and Eastern cultures (individualistic vs. collectivistic
societies)
1. Role of globalization
a. Arranged marriages
b. Westernized values in intimate relationships
e. Intimate relationships determine the survival of our species
i. Natural selection and fitness
ii. Oxytocin
2. What Makes a Relationship Intimate?
a. Interdependence
i. Mutual influence
1. Between two individuals
2. Bidirectional
ii. Extends over time
iii. Necessary for intimacy (you cannot have intimacy without) but not sufficient
b. Social Relationships that are Personal Relationships
i. Impersonal versus personal relationships
c. Personal Relationships that are Close Relationships
i. Closeness
d. Close Relationships that are Intimate Relationships
i. Sexual passion between partners that could be expressed and shared
3. Love and the Essential Mystery of Intimate Relationships
a. Seven attributes of love
b. Components of love
c. Types of love
,MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. You are taking part in a study on relationships and pain. You are asked to place your hand in
freezing-cold water for as long as you can. It becomes quite painful after a few minutes. Given what you
know about the neurochemistry of close relationships, under what condition do you think you would
subjectively experience the least pain?
a. when there is a stranger in the room with his or her hand on your shoulder
b. when your romantic partner is in the room with you with his or her hand on your shoulder
c. when you are alone in the room
d. when you are alone in the room but know your partner is in the room next door
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important MSC: Applied
2. Married versus unmarried couples differ in terms of their well-being. Although it could be that being
married provides benefits that lead to increases in well-being, it is also possible that this is a “selection
effect.” A selection effect occurs when
a. groups of people differ not because of something special about their group but because they
have chosen the group.
b. researchers do not randomly select the groups of people they are comparing, which results
in group differences.
c. couples selected mates based on compatible personalities and “love” versus arranged
marriages.
d. couples in one group are more satisfied because they are part of a select group of
high-functioning couples.
ANS: A DIF: Medium
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being
MSC: Factual
3. Under what circumstances would something have a “protection effect”?
a. Something about a specific experience (e.g., being married) confers advantages or benefits.
b. Random changes in genes from one generation to the next result in increased fitness.
c. Love leads to a strong desire to protect the object of affection.
d. The family circumstances of children influence the way children will manage their own
intimate relationships as adults.
ANS: A DIF: Easy
REF: Intimate Relationships Are Universal | Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and
Well-Being | Intimate Relationships Influence the Well-Being of Children
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Relationship status | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective
well-being: Relationship quality | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships
affect subjective well-being: Associations with happiness | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important:
Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being: Subjective happiness
MSC: Factual
4. According to your textbook, relationship quality
a. is influenced by a wide range of factors.
b. is a central focus in research on intimate relationships.
c. determines why some relationships last and some do not.
d. All of the answer options are correct.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
, REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Relationship quality MSC: Factual
5. Hari, Adam, and Neela went snowboarding and neglected to apply sunscreen. Now they all have blisters
on their faces. Hari lives with his romantic partner and they have a good relationship, Adam is in a
difficult relationship, and Neela has just broken up with her romantic partner. Given what you know
about health and relationships, what can we say about their recovery?
a. Neela will recover the quickest because she does not have to worry about taking care of
another person.
b. Both Hari and Adam will recover more quickly than Neela because they are in relationships.
c. Hari will recover the quickest because Adam’s relationship is difficult and Neela just broke
off a relationship.
d. All of them are likely to recover equally as fast.
ANS: C DIF: Medium
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Relationship quality | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect
subjective well-being: Associations with happiness MSC: Applied
6. In close relationships, who is having the most sex?
a. single men and women c. single men
b. married men and women d. dating couples
ANS: B DIF: Easy
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Associations with happiness MSC: Factual
7. Regarding the research on links between relationship status and mental and physical health, what can we
conclude?
a. There is no link between being married and feeling greater general well-being.
b. People who are single and people who live with a relationship partner have similar levels of
personal well-being.
c. Even if the relationship is of poor quality, married people have greater well-being than
single people.
d. People who live with a relationship partner are slightly happier than people who live alone.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Associations with happiness MSC: Factual
8. Tremayne and Jose have both been married to their partners for 30 years. Tremayne has continued to feel
satisfied in his relationship with his wife; Jose, on the other hand, has found he has become less satisfied
in his relationship over time. Both men suffer from congestive heart failure and are participating in a
study of relationships and health. Based on material presented in the textbook, who would you expect to
live longer?
a. Jose, because congestive heart failure patients are more likely to die when in less satisfying
intimate relationships.
b. Tremayne, because congestive heart failure patients are less likely to die when in more
satisfying intimate relationships.
c. Tremayne, because relationship quality is associated with less activation of threat-related
brain regions.
1. Why Intimate Relationships Are Important
a. Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being
i. Relationship status
ii. Relationship quality
iii. Associations with happiness
1. Physical health
2. Sexual intimacy
3. Financial well-being
a. Relationship transitions
iv. Subjective happiness
1. Selection effects
2. Protection effects
b. Intimate relationships influence the well-being of children
i. Role of relationship status, relationship quality, and relationship transitions
ii. Longitudinal effects and genetic influence
c. Intimate relationships contribute to larger communities
i. Social control theory
d. Intimate relationships are universal
i. Pairbonds
ii. Cross-cultural research on Western and Eastern cultures (individualistic vs. collectivistic
societies)
1. Role of globalization
a. Arranged marriages
b. Westernized values in intimate relationships
e. Intimate relationships determine the survival of our species
i. Natural selection and fitness
ii. Oxytocin
2. What Makes a Relationship Intimate?
a. Interdependence
i. Mutual influence
1. Between two individuals
2. Bidirectional
ii. Extends over time
iii. Necessary for intimacy (you cannot have intimacy without) but not sufficient
b. Social Relationships that are Personal Relationships
i. Impersonal versus personal relationships
c. Personal Relationships that are Close Relationships
i. Closeness
d. Close Relationships that are Intimate Relationships
i. Sexual passion between partners that could be expressed and shared
3. Love and the Essential Mystery of Intimate Relationships
a. Seven attributes of love
b. Components of love
c. Types of love
,MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. You are taking part in a study on relationships and pain. You are asked to place your hand in
freezing-cold water for as long as you can. It becomes quite painful after a few minutes. Given what you
know about the neurochemistry of close relationships, under what condition do you think you would
subjectively experience the least pain?
a. when there is a stranger in the room with his or her hand on your shoulder
b. when your romantic partner is in the room with you with his or her hand on your shoulder
c. when you are alone in the room
d. when you are alone in the room but know your partner is in the room next door
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important MSC: Applied
2. Married versus unmarried couples differ in terms of their well-being. Although it could be that being
married provides benefits that lead to increases in well-being, it is also possible that this is a “selection
effect.” A selection effect occurs when
a. groups of people differ not because of something special about their group but because they
have chosen the group.
b. researchers do not randomly select the groups of people they are comparing, which results
in group differences.
c. couples selected mates based on compatible personalities and “love” versus arranged
marriages.
d. couples in one group are more satisfied because they are part of a select group of
high-functioning couples.
ANS: A DIF: Medium
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being
MSC: Factual
3. Under what circumstances would something have a “protection effect”?
a. Something about a specific experience (e.g., being married) confers advantages or benefits.
b. Random changes in genes from one generation to the next result in increased fitness.
c. Love leads to a strong desire to protect the object of affection.
d. The family circumstances of children influence the way children will manage their own
intimate relationships as adults.
ANS: A DIF: Easy
REF: Intimate Relationships Are Universal | Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and
Well-Being | Intimate Relationships Influence the Well-Being of Children
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Relationship status | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective
well-being: Relationship quality | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships
affect subjective well-being: Associations with happiness | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important:
Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being: Subjective happiness
MSC: Factual
4. According to your textbook, relationship quality
a. is influenced by a wide range of factors.
b. is a central focus in research on intimate relationships.
c. determines why some relationships last and some do not.
d. All of the answer options are correct.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
, REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Relationship quality MSC: Factual
5. Hari, Adam, and Neela went snowboarding and neglected to apply sunscreen. Now they all have blisters
on their faces. Hari lives with his romantic partner and they have a good relationship, Adam is in a
difficult relationship, and Neela has just broken up with her romantic partner. Given what you know
about health and relationships, what can we say about their recovery?
a. Neela will recover the quickest because she does not have to worry about taking care of
another person.
b. Both Hari and Adam will recover more quickly than Neela because they are in relationships.
c. Hari will recover the quickest because Adam’s relationship is difficult and Neela just broke
off a relationship.
d. All of them are likely to recover equally as fast.
ANS: C DIF: Medium
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Relationship quality | Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect
subjective well-being: Associations with happiness MSC: Applied
6. In close relationships, who is having the most sex?
a. single men and women c. single men
b. married men and women d. dating couples
ANS: B DIF: Easy
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Associations with happiness MSC: Factual
7. Regarding the research on links between relationship status and mental and physical health, what can we
conclude?
a. There is no link between being married and feeling greater general well-being.
b. People who are single and people who live with a relationship partner have similar levels of
personal well-being.
c. Even if the relationship is of poor quality, married people have greater well-being than
single people.
d. People who live with a relationship partner are slightly happier than people who live alone.
ANS: D DIF: Easy
REF: Intimate Relationships Affect Our Happiness and Well-Being
TOP: Why Intimate Relationships Are Important: Intimate relationships affect subjective well-being:
Associations with happiness MSC: Factual
8. Tremayne and Jose have both been married to their partners for 30 years. Tremayne has continued to feel
satisfied in his relationship with his wife; Jose, on the other hand, has found he has become less satisfied
in his relationship over time. Both men suffer from congestive heart failure and are participating in a
study of relationships and health. Based on material presented in the textbook, who would you expect to
live longer?
a. Jose, because congestive heart failure patients are more likely to die when in less satisfying
intimate relationships.
b. Tremayne, because congestive heart failure patients are less likely to die when in more
satisfying intimate relationships.
c. Tremayne, because relationship quality is associated with less activation of threat-related
brain regions.
