PSYCH 354 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
Essential elements of an intimate relationship - ANSWER 1. Interdependence
- Bidirectional
- Extended over time and across situations
2. Personal
- Partners treat each other as unique individuals
- engage at deeper emotional level
3. Close
- Strong, frequent and diverse interdependence that lasts over a considerable period of time
4. Intimate
- sexual interaction
Impact of relationships on subjective well-being - ANSWER Subjective well-being =
self-ratings of happiness/satisfaction
- Married people report greatest happiness
Quality of close relationships is the single consistent predictor of well-being in 42 countries
- Good relationships are necessary but not sufficient for happiness
,Why are people in good relationships happier? - ANSWER 1. Protection effects
- Being IN a close relationship makes a person happy
2. Selection effects
- People who are happier in their lives are more likely to marry
Selection Effects - ANSWER A group of people differs because of differences in the people
that chose to enter that group
- in relationships:
-- Single people who are happier to begin with more likely to marry
-- Easier to be in a relationship with, more positive and resilience
- People who are less happy before marriage are more likely to divorce
Protection Effects - ANSWER Marriage makes people happy: something about the experience
confers advantages
a. Financial well-being
- Accumulate more wealthy, reducing stress
- Divorce = massive financial hit
,b. Sexual frequency
- Happiness with sex life is linked to happiness with life in general in a committed relationship
c. Physical health: the presence of a spouse can help regulate emotions in a
stressful/threatening situation
- Small, experimentally created blisters heal slower on individuals in hostile intimate
relationships
-- Because cytokines present at the wound site are decreased by conflict
STUDIES: Effects of relationships on physical health - ANSWER 1. Threat of Shock Study
- Showed participants either a red X or blue O
Red X = 20% chance of shock
Blue O = 0% chance of shock
Conditions:
1. Holding partner's hand
2. Holding a stranger's hand
3. No hand (control)
Procedure:
- Measured brain response in areas governing emotional & behavioural threat
, - Less active when holding hands with partner (and degree of happiness important too)
2. Heart Failure Study
- coded videos of couples discussing a sore point in the relationship after one had
experienced a heart attack for positive and negative comments to analyze relationship quality
- Ps also completed questionnaires
- In the 4 years following a spouse's heart attack
-- 30% of patients in happy relationships had died
-- 55% of patients in unhappy relationships died
3. Catching a cold
- People with more stress = increased chance of catching a cold, especially if the stressor was
interpersonal
Intimate Relationship Quality & Children - ANSWER 1. Relationship Status
- Unmarried / single parents more likely that child will experience poverty, behavioural, health
and emotional problems
-- Partly because cohabiting or single parents have lower subjective well-being, fewer
financial resources etc
2. Relationship Quality
ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
Essential elements of an intimate relationship - ANSWER 1. Interdependence
- Bidirectional
- Extended over time and across situations
2. Personal
- Partners treat each other as unique individuals
- engage at deeper emotional level
3. Close
- Strong, frequent and diverse interdependence that lasts over a considerable period of time
4. Intimate
- sexual interaction
Impact of relationships on subjective well-being - ANSWER Subjective well-being =
self-ratings of happiness/satisfaction
- Married people report greatest happiness
Quality of close relationships is the single consistent predictor of well-being in 42 countries
- Good relationships are necessary but not sufficient for happiness
,Why are people in good relationships happier? - ANSWER 1. Protection effects
- Being IN a close relationship makes a person happy
2. Selection effects
- People who are happier in their lives are more likely to marry
Selection Effects - ANSWER A group of people differs because of differences in the people
that chose to enter that group
- in relationships:
-- Single people who are happier to begin with more likely to marry
-- Easier to be in a relationship with, more positive and resilience
- People who are less happy before marriage are more likely to divorce
Protection Effects - ANSWER Marriage makes people happy: something about the experience
confers advantages
a. Financial well-being
- Accumulate more wealthy, reducing stress
- Divorce = massive financial hit
,b. Sexual frequency
- Happiness with sex life is linked to happiness with life in general in a committed relationship
c. Physical health: the presence of a spouse can help regulate emotions in a
stressful/threatening situation
- Small, experimentally created blisters heal slower on individuals in hostile intimate
relationships
-- Because cytokines present at the wound site are decreased by conflict
STUDIES: Effects of relationships on physical health - ANSWER 1. Threat of Shock Study
- Showed participants either a red X or blue O
Red X = 20% chance of shock
Blue O = 0% chance of shock
Conditions:
1. Holding partner's hand
2. Holding a stranger's hand
3. No hand (control)
Procedure:
- Measured brain response in areas governing emotional & behavioural threat
, - Less active when holding hands with partner (and degree of happiness important too)
2. Heart Failure Study
- coded videos of couples discussing a sore point in the relationship after one had
experienced a heart attack for positive and negative comments to analyze relationship quality
- Ps also completed questionnaires
- In the 4 years following a spouse's heart attack
-- 30% of patients in happy relationships had died
-- 55% of patients in unhappy relationships died
3. Catching a cold
- People with more stress = increased chance of catching a cold, especially if the stressor was
interpersonal
Intimate Relationship Quality & Children - ANSWER 1. Relationship Status
- Unmarried / single parents more likely that child will experience poverty, behavioural, health
and emotional problems
-- Partly because cohabiting or single parents have lower subjective well-being, fewer
financial resources etc
2. Relationship Quality
