Deck 2: Influential Theories

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental premise of the evolutionary perspective on intimate relationships?

A) Humans must reproduce to pass their genes on to the next generation.
B) Survival during infancy requires an ability to maintain proximity to a primary caregiver.
C) Through natural selection,humans evolved characteristic ways of attracting and selecting mates.
D) Features that contribute to successful reproduction are passed down from generation to generation.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Twelve-month-old Joshua enters an unfamiliar laboratory playroom with his mother.When she leaves,he gets distressed.Joshua's distress is an example of a:

A) hyperactivating strategy.
B) deactivating strategy.
C) denial strategy.
D) protest strategy.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to the theory of parental investment,men and women differ in the amount of energy and resources they invest to raise surviving offspring,with parental investment being higher for women than for men.Consequently,men and women have evolved different mate preferences.Which of the following is NOT consistent with the theory of parental investment?

A) Li-ying always dates men who are taller than she is.
B) Yasir has dated (and had sexual relations with)only one woman,the one to whom he is married.
C) Brett goes on dates with many women but stops seeing them if he finds out they are not virgins.
D) Tatiana does not date male students at her college;rather,she only dates men who have established careers.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A type of adaptation called "sexual selection" occurs when a characteristic has evolved because it:

A) increases an organism's chances of successfully reproducing.
B) increases an organism's chances for survival.
C) increases an organism's chances of finding food.
D) decreases an organism's exposure to predators.

Question 5

Peacocks have brilliantly colored tail feathers.This is an example of:

A) an adaptive problem.
B) sexual selection.
C) cross-species research.
D) referencing.

Question 6

What is a characteristic of an influential theory?

A) tends to be described formally
B) articulates a set of explicit premises
C) makes predictions that withstand multiple tests
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 7

Which of the following statements does NOT express a position consistent with evolutionary perspectives on intimate relationships?

A) Males have developed conscious and explicit preferences for fertility in potential sexual partners.
B) Evolved psychological mechanisms are responsive to cues in the environment.
C) Mate preferences evolved to adapt not to the current environment but,rather,to the environment that humans faced thousands of years ago.
D) Preferences that increase reproductive success should be passed down across generations,even if those preferences impede survival.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an example of cross-cultural research?

A) Women in the United States and in China are more likely than men to prefer taller mates.
B) Latino men care more about their partners' virginity than do Latina women.
C) Men in Canada and Brazil prefer younger partners than do Canadian and Brazilian women.
D) All of the answer options are examples of cross-cultural research.

Question 9

According to evolutionary psychologists,the preferences,capacities,responses,and strategies that characterize our species are called:

A) adaptive problems.
B) sexual selection.
C) psychological mechanisms.
D) adaptations.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a problem facing researchers taking an evolutionary perspective on intimate relationships?

A) narrowing the definition of psychological mechanism
B) determining whether a behavior is the product of an evolved psychological mechanism
C) knowing where to look for evidence of evolved psychological mechanisms
D) conducting longitudinal studies to look for evidence of evolved psychological mechanisms

Question 11

The evolutionary perspectives on intimate relationships and attachment theory are similar in that they both:

A) suggest that the roots of our current intimate relationships lie in the past.
B) suggest we must look to our ancestry to understand intimate relationships.
C) focus on how childhood experiences affect adult intimate relationships.
D) focus on the way humans' primate relatives raise their young.

Question 12

According to the theory of parental investment,men and women differ in the amount of energy and resources they invest to raise surviving offspring,with parental investment being higher for women than for men.Consequently,men and women have evolved different mate preferences.Which of the following is most consistent with the theory of parental investment?

A) Rachel mostly dates men who are shorter than she is.
B) Randip has had sexual relations with only one woman,the one to whom he is married.
C) Blair is dating a woman who has a 2-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
D) Tatiana does not date male students at her college;rather,she only dates men who have established careers.

Question 13

In evaluating the evolutionary perspective,the textbook authors conclude that:

A) a weakness of the perspective is that it examines adaptive functions of mating behaviors.
B) the focus on gender differences that characterize most of the species has allowed evolutionary psychologists to acknowledge the rich,complex variability among individuals and within each gender.
C) in the search for ancestral causes of human behavior,evolutionary psychologists have also discovered more immediate causes of the same behaviors.
D) by focusing on how men and women attract and select mates,evolutionary psychologists have neglected to study the development of relationships.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a feature of theories?

A) Theories shape how we think.
B) Theories guide research.
C) Theories are equally accurate at explaining behavior.
D) Theories can be explicit or implicit.

Question 15

Who is most likely to agree with this statement? "Relationships deteriorate because partners have not acquired the skills needed to manage their conflicts and differences of opinion.Mismanaged conflict breeds further conflict or disengagement,to the point where partners conclude that the relationship is no longer satisfying and viable."

A) an attachment theorist
B) an evolutionary theorist
C) a social learning theorist
D) a social ecological theorist

Question 16

A child's attachment figure is best defined as:

A) the child's favorite stuffed animal.
B) the person with whom the child most likes to spend time.
C) a person who provides care and comfort to the child.
D) the child's best friend.

Question 17

Which of the following statements describes working models of attachment?

A) Working models can be thought of as internal psychological structures.
B) Working models represent people's conscious and unconscious beliefs,expectations,and feelings about themselves,about others,and about relationships.
C) Working models are presumed to influence how new experiences in people's relationships are selected,interpreted,and integrated into their sense of who they are.
D) All of the statements accurately describe working models.

Question 18

Twelve-month-old Joshua enters an unfamiliar laboratory playroom with his mother.When she leaves,he gets distressed.When his mother has not returned after a few minutes,Joshua stops crying and starts playing listlessly in the far corner of the room.Joshua's behavior is an example of a:

A) hyperactivating strategy.
B) deactivating strategy.
C) denial strategy.
D) protest strategy.

Question 19

In contrast to the evolutionary perspective and to attachment theory,which focus on ________ to understand adult intimate relationships,social exchange theory focuses on ________.

A) the present;the past
B) the past;the present
C) relationship outcomes;relationship experiences
D) relationship experiences;relationship outcomes

Question 20

In the "stinky T-shirt" studies,evolutionary psychologists asked men and women to rate the smell of groups of T-shirts that had been worn by either a man or a woman for three nights in a row.What did this unusual research design reveal?

A) Women who were ovulating could smell the difference between more or less genetically fit men.
B) Women could smell genetic fitness in men,and men could smell genetic fitness in women,but neither gender could smell genetic fitness in other members of their own gender.
C) Genetically fit individuals smell better than genetically unfit individuals.
D) Women are more sensitive to smell than men.

Question 21

The actor Leonardo DiCaprio,considered by some to be one of the most desirable men on the planet,is not married.He has no trouble forming relationships,but he seems quite willing to leave them as soon as they stop working out for him.Social exchange theories of relationships would say that Leonardo has:

A) a high CL_alt.
B) a low CL.
C) a high ratio of rewards to costs.
D) a high ratio of satisfaction to dependence.

Question 22

Paul is a 25-year-old single male.His friends are encouraging him to try online dating,but he does not see what the fuss is about because he is happy being alone and is content with his life.Based on Paul's working model,he is likely to have what type of attachment style?

A) fearful
B) secure
C) dismissive
D) preoccupied

Question 23

Adults who possess a negative view of themselves but a positive view of others are classified by attachment theorists as:

A) secure.
B) dismissing.
C) fearful.
D) preoccupied.

Question 24

Bowlby,in his original conception of attachment theory,predicted that attachment models would be highly stable over time.How can the research that investigates the continuity of attachment models best be summarized?

A) Attachment models change easily over the course of a person's life.
B) There are very few similarities between attachment models in caregiver-child relationships and adult intimate relationships.
C) Although there are some similarities between attachment models in caregiver-child relationships and adult intimate relationships,only caregiver-child relationships activate the attachment behavior system.
D) Many of the features that characterize caregiver-child relationships also characterize relationships between adults in love.

Question 25

Adults who possess positive models of themselves but negative models of others are classified by attachment theorists as:

A) secure.
B) dismissing.
C) fearful.
D) preoccupied.

Question 26

Social exchange theory and social learning theory are similar in that they both draw from behaviorist principles of reinforcement and punishment.A key difference between the two is that social exchange theory takes a more ________ approach to intimate relationships,whereas social learning theory takes a more ________ approach.

A) developmental;motivational
B) motivational;developmental
C) intrapersonal;interpersonal
D) interpersonal;intrapersonal

Question 27

Conner and Ben have an open relationship that many would categorize as "uncommitted." Based on social exchange theory,they are likely to have _____ levels of satisfaction and _____ levels of dependence

A) high;low
B) low;high
C) high;high
D) low;low

Question 28

When your friend Tom first started dating Ashley,he told you how much he liked her and described her as being the "perfect" girl for him.However,Tom was worried that Ashley did not seem to want a committed relationship and that she might not like him as much as he liked her.When Ashley broke up with Tom,he became very depressed and spent hours talking with you about what went wrong.What is the most accurate statement?

A) Tom was showing high attachment-related anxiety and low attachment-related avoidance.
B) Tom was showing low attachment-related anxiety and high attachment-related avoidance.
C) Tom would be considered fearful.
D) Tom experienced a normal reaction to a breakup.

Question 29

According to social exchange theory,what is the most likely reason many women choose to remain in physically abusive intimate relationships?

A) They believe they deserve the negative treatment.
B) Many women have an unconscious wish to be punished.
C) The rewards outweigh the costs.
D) They believe they have no alternative.

Question 30

According to interdependence theory,________ determines relationship stability,and ________ determines relationship satisfaction.

A) Outcome - CL;Outcome - CL_alt
B) Outcome - CL_alt;Outcome - CL
C) CL - CL_alt;Outcome - CL
D) Outcome - CL_alt;CL - CL_alt

Question 31

One of the major contributions social exchange theory makes to the study of intimate relationships is that it:

A) recognizes that satisfaction is only one component that influences whether a relationship lasts.
B) explains how some initially satisfied couples become distressed over time.
C) explains how perceptions of rewards and costs may change over time.
D) accounts for relationship patterns across the lifespan.

Question 32

Social exchange theory and interdependence theory differ in which of the following ways?

A) focus on rewards and costs
B) unit of analysis
C) explanation of human behavior
D) associations with satisfaction

Question 33

Which of the following is correct according to social exchange theory?

A) Satisfaction = Outcome - CL_alt
B) Satisfaction = Rewards - CL
C) Commitment = Satisfaction + Dependency
D) Dependency = Outcome - CL

Question 34

Ajia used to live in New York City,where she had a long history of successful close relationships,and attractive men often asked her out.She now lives in Laramie,Wyoming,where she is in,what she considers,a rather poor relationship with Tom,a man she finds insensitive,although he is better than the other options available in her smaller community.From the perspective of social exchange theory,Ajia is in a situation where her:

A) CL and CL_alt both exceed her outcome.
B) outcome exceeds both her CL and CL_alt.
C) CL exceeds her outcome,and her outcome exceeds her CL_alt.
D) CL_alt exceeds her outcome,and her outcome exceeds her CL.

Question 35

When your friend Ashley first started dating Tom,she told you he seemed like a really nice guy,but she did not spend much time talking about him.After some time,however,Ashley started complaining that Tom wanted to spend time with her constantly and seemed to expect more of a commitment from her than she was interested in giving.She felt frustrated that he did not respect her need for independence,and she eventually broke up with him.What is the most accurate statement?

A) Ashley was showing high attachment-related anxiety and low attachment-related avoidance.
B) Ashley was showing low attachment-related anxiety and high attachment-related avoidance.
C) Ashley would be considered fearful.
D) Ashley would be considered secure.

Question 36

Jenny's partner enjoys cooking,and he often prepares gourmet meals for her.In the language of social exchange theory,what would we call this behavior?

A) a reward
B) a cost
C) a social reward
D) an opportunity cost

Question 37

In attachment theory,adults differ along the two main dimensions of:

A) anxiety and avoidance.
B) warmth and rejection.
C) anxiety and responsiveness.
D) avoidance and closeness.

Question 38

Angela and Charlie have been dating for a few months.Despite spending most of their time together,Angela's low self-worth makes her concerned that Charlie is just not that into her.Based on Angela's working model,she is likely to have what type of attachment style?

A) preoccupied
B) dismissing
C) secure
D) fearful

Question 39

Which of the following is most true of social exchange theory?

A) The primary emphasis of social exchange theory is on relational aspects that negatively and positively reinforce each partner's behaviors.
B) Social exchange theory emphasizes the patterns of communication that we witness in our families of origin.
C) The principles of social exchange theory resemble the principles of economics,such as outcomes and rewards.
D) Social exchange theory emphasizes the role of interaction on relationship satisfaction.

Question 40

In evaluating attachment theory,the textbook authors conclude that:

A) a strength of the theory is its use of a developmental perspective to study the continuity of experiences across the life span.
B) research on attachment has yet to explore sources of variability in relationship outcomes for individuals who share a common attachment style.
C) attachment theory helps explain the variability in the values and expectations people bring to their relationships.
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 41

Describe the strengths and limitations that the evolutionary perspective brings to the study of intimate relationships.

Question 42

In Hill's ABC-X model of how relationships react to stressful conditions,the C stands for:

A) resources.
B) stressor.
C) interpretation.
D) crisis.

Question 43

In Hill's ABC-X model of how relationships react to stressful conditions,the X stands for:

A) resources.
B) stressor.
C) interpretation.
D) crisis.

Question 44

According to the chapter about theoretical perspectives on intimate relationships,three broad themes-dyadic interaction,individual differences,and external circumstances-capture the types of variables described by theories of intimate relationships.Yet not all theories focus on all three themes.Which of the following statements about the focus of theories of intimate relationships is most accurate?

A) Social learning theory focuses on dyadic interaction and individual differences.
B) Evolutionary theory addresses both external circumstances and dyadic interaction.
C) Attachment theory focuses only on individual differences.
D) Social ecological theory addresses all three themes: dyadic interaction,individual differences,and external circumstances.

Question 45

One of the major contributions that social ecological models make to the study of intimate relationships is that they:

A) focus on how partners interact and behave within their relationship.
B) explain how unsatisfying relationships can improve if the environment becomes more supportive.
C) explain why some couples develop skills to meet their challenges when others do not.
D) specify how resources and coping styles may change over time.

Question 46

According to Bronfenbrenner,the fact that you are a student at a particular college living in a specific city would be part of the ________ context for your romantic relationship,while the fact that your friends are all single and discourage you from being in a committed relationship would be part of the ________ context.

A) microsystem;mesosystem
B) mesosystem;microsystem
C) macrosystem;mesosystem
D) mesosystem;macrosystem

Question 47

According to the chapter about theoretical perspectives on close relationships,which of the following is true? (Hint: Think about the table at the end of the chapter. )

A) Attachment theory can be faulted because it does not explain the variability among couples with the same attachment style.
B) Social exchange theory offers a compelling explanation for how perceptions of rewards and costs may change over time in a relationship.
C) Social learning theory overlooks the proximal causes of behavior in relationships.
D) Evolutionary theory focuses too much on fossils and other obscure types of evidence that really do not have much to do with human intimacy.

Question 48

Outline the fundamental premises of attachment theory.

Question 49

Lucy and Ricky,who have been married a long time,are having an argument about whether Lucy can perform with Ricky in his nightclub.Ricky does not want to let her perform,but Lucy keeps asking,more and more loudly.Finally,she starts crying,and Ricky gives in.A social learning theorist would call their interaction an example of:

A) anxious attachment.
B) negative reciprocity.
C) escape conditioning.
D) coercion theory.

Question 50

Which statement about the comparison between social exchange theory and social learning theory is FALSE?

A) Both theories describe explicit mechanisms to explain how relationships change over time.
B) Social exchange theory describes rewards and costs broadly,but social learning theory focuses more narrowly on interpersonal behaviors.
C) Both theories consider the balance of rewards and costs in intimate relationships.
D) Social exchange theory was adapted from economics,but social learning theory was adapted from clinical psychology.

Question 51

How are the dimensions of attachment-related anxiety and attachment-related avoidance related to the four attachment styles (secure,fearful,preoccupied,and dismissing)? Why do researchers and theorists now assess the attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance rather than use categories to assess the quality of attachment?

Question 52

Applying Bronfenbrenner's ecological model to couples,the microsystem consists of ________,the mesosystem consists of ________,and the macrosystem consists of ________.

A) neighborhood and culture;national and historical forces;a couple's family and friends
B) national and historical forces;neighborhood and culture;a couple's family and friends
C) a couple's family and friends;neighborhood and culture;national and historical forces
D) a couple's family and friends;national and historical forces;neighborhood and culture

Question 53

The theory of parental investment states that sexual selection pressures vary based on the amount of energy and resources that each sex must invest to raise surviving offspring,with parental investment high for females.What are the implications of this differential investment for women's and men's mate preferences?

Question 54

Jorge and Tito have been married for several years.When he goes to bed,Tito leaves his socks lying on the bedroom floor,something that really bothers Jorge.Jorge asks Tito nicely to please put the socks in the laundry hamper,but it is not until he has yelled at Tito about the socks that Tito actually does so.A social learning theorist would say that because Jorge has to resort to yelling before Tito responds,Jorge's nagging behavior has been reinforced in an example of:

A) escape conditioning.
B) negative reinforcement.
C) negative reciprocity.
D) coercion theory.

Question 55

Outline the fundamental premises of the evolutionary perspective of intimate relationships.

Question 56

Daniella believes that behavior is shaped and molded within relationships and that rewarding and punishing interactions affect future behavior and judgments of relationship satisfaction.With which relationship theory is this belief most consistent?

A) social learning
B) attachment
C) social exchange
D) interdependence

Question 57

Describe the strengths and limitations that attachment theory brings to the study of intimate relationships.

Question 58

One of the classic ecological models of intimate relationships is Hill's ABC-X model,developed after World War II.More recently,McCubbin and Patterson developed the double ABC-X model,which differs from the original model in that it:

A) acknowledges that each element in the original model may change over time.
B) acknowledges that stress may harm a relationship,or it may bring couples closer together.
C) addresses the effects on the relationship and on children.
D) includes elements of the microsystem and the mesosystem.

Question 59

Which of the following best outlines the principles of social learning theory as it is applied to intimate relationships?

A) In their adult intimate relationships,individuals imitate behaviors they learned from observing their parents and other adults.
B) Behavior is shaped and molded within relationships.Rewarding and punishing interactions affect future behavior and judgments of relationship satisfaction.
C) Relationships are best viewed as a series of behaviors that are negatively reinforced.
D) Relationship behaviors are learned early in life and,once learned,are difficult to change.

Question 60

One of the major contributions that social learning theory makes to the study of intimate relationships is that it:

A) adopts the couple as the basic unit of analysis.
B) explains how a couple's interactions can improve and decline over time within the same relationship.
C) explains why some couples have better communication skills than other couples.
D) accounts for why vulnerable couples may experience a decline in relationship satisfaction.

Question 61

The chapter about theoretical perspectives on intimate relationships outlines three broad themes that capture the types of variables described by theories of intimate relationships.Identify these three themes and indicate which theories described in the chapter tend to focus on each of the themes.

Question 62

Outline the components of Hill's ABC-X model,and explain why the original model has been revised by McCubbin and Patterson in their proposed double ABC-X model.

Question 63

A fundamental assumption of social exchange theory is that people evaluate the rewards and costs of their relationships.Define "rewards" and "costs," and describe the two types of potential rewards of an intimate relationship.

Question 64

Describe the strengths and limitations that social ecological models bring to the study of intimate relationships.

Question 65

Tina and Jill have been married for 4 years.When experiencing conflict,they tend to respond to each other's negative effects and behaviors with further negativity.Although they feel somewhat less satisfied with each other and with the relationship after an argument,they generally maintain a high level of satisfaction.In the first few years of their marriage,they rarely argued;however,Jill's mother was recently diagnosed with cancer,and Jill has been spending more time with her mother and less time with Tina than Tina would like.This has created tension and has led to increased conflict between Tina and Jill.As a result,Tina and Jill find that their satisfaction with the relationship has been steadily decreasing.Your textbook describes five theoretical approaches to intimate relationships.Which of these approaches provide(s)the best explanation for Tina and Jill's declining relationship satisfaction? Why?

Question 66

Farida recently moved from a very small town to a large city to pursue a college education.In high school she did not have a boyfriend,even though she would have liked to have been in a relationship.She did not get asked to go on dates because she was not considered one of the "popular" students.In one of her college courses,Farida met Sayid,who asked her out for coffee a few times and seems interested in pursuing a relationship with her.Farida wonders,however,whether Sayid is truly interested in dating her or whether he only wants to spend time with her because she is doing well in their college class.Because no other men have expressed interest,Farida decides to pursue a relationship with Sayid.Interpret Farida's situation from a social exchange theory perspective.

Question 67

Describe the strengths and limitations that social exchange theory brings to the study of intimate relationships.

Question 68

Describe the strengths and limitations that social learning theory brings to the study of intimate relationships.

Question 69

Imagine that you are a social learning theorist studying communication patterns in intimate relationships.A couple has just arrived at the research lab,and you explain that they will be asked to discuss a problem they are trying to solve as well as share with each other a time when someone else (other than their partner)hurt their feelings.What types of data/information will you,as the researcher,collect based on these interactions? Assuming the couple is in a satisfied relationship,what would you observe about their interactions as compared to couples in unsatisfied relationships?