Human Relationships – Key Studies

Sweaty T-Shirt Study, Wedekind (1995)

Aim

To investigate mate preference based on genetic makeup in relation to immune system functioning

Procedure

-94 students were asked to participate in this experiment

  • 42 male and females

-Male participants were asked to sleep in a T-shirt for 2 nights

  • Then put the shirt in a plastic bag

-Female participants were then asked to rate the smell of the T-shirts

-The participants had 7 different T-shirts to smell

  • 1 was the control
  • 3 were from men with a similar immune system
  • 3 were from men with a dissimilar immune system

Findings

-Female participants preferred odours from men of a dissimilar immune system

Conclusion

They concluded that this was due to the evolutionary explanation of mate selection in humans. This experiment also demonstrated that attraction was influenced by biological factors. This would explain why women preferred men with a genetic-makeup that could increase the health of potential offspring. This doesn’t support the fact that attraction is a conscious decision. Instead our brain is automatically made to do this.

Evaluation

-Does not explain same sex relationships

  • Since relationships are not formed to produce offsprings

-Cannot assume that this (biological) factor is the only affecting factor

  • Must assume the influence of cultural factors as well

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Addicted to Love, Fischer et al. (2003)

Aim

To investigate the neurobiological mechanisms associated with the attraction system (romantic love)

Procedure

-Participants were 10 females and 7 males who reported to be in love for an average of 7.5 months

  • Aged 18 to 26

-Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire

  • The passionate love scale

-They were then placed in a fMRI scanner

-Experimental: participants were shown a photograph of their loved ones

-They were then given a distraction task

  • Counting backwards

-Control: participants were then shown a photograph of a neutral friend

-This was repeated 6 times

Findings

-Control: no changes in brain activity was shown

-Experimental: increase in dopamine rich areas of the brain

  • Associated with reward, motivation and goal orientation

Conclusion

The researcher concluded that there is a possibility of brain circuits dedicated to attraction (romantic love). The same brain circuits are associatedwith ‘addiction’, whichcould support the hypothesis that ‘romantic love is an addiction’. Fischer argues that “romantic love” is universal and based on neurobiological factors.

Evaluation

-Objective results

  • Use of technology provides objective results
  • Interpretation of data collected may be subjective to the researcher

-The brain is still very complex

  • Brain imaging technology can describe but not explain human attraction

-High reliability

  • Method was repeated 6 times

-Unable to generalise

  • Small sample size

-Does this support same sex relationships?

-Difficult to establish a cause and effect relationship

Computer Dance Study, Walster et al. (1966)

Aim

To test the matching hypothesis

Procedure

-Researchers advertised a computer dance for students in the first week of college

-The first 376 male and female volunteers were let in for $1.00

-4 independent judges rated the students in terms of attractiveness

  • Use to measure social desirability

-Participants were then asked to fill in a questionnaire

  • Provide data about similarity between the participants

-Pairing of dates were done randomly

  • No man was paired to a taller women
  • Students were given the names of their dates before the dance

-The dance was held 2 days later

-During the dance, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their date

-They were asked again 6 months later whether they had dated their partners since the dance

Findings

-Physical attractiveness is the most important factor in liking

  • Over other qualities such as intelligence and personality

-Partners that were more similar were more likely to have dated each other

  • Compared to if they were dissimilar

Conclusion

The results from this study does not support the matching hypothesis as physical attractive was the most favoured quality. Whereas the matching hypothesis suggests that we seek individuals most like ourselves. When the participants were asked 6 months later, the results were a more realistic assessment, supporting the matching hypothesis.

Evaluation

-Participants were chosen through opportunity sampling

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Participants were all university students
  • They may not be making long-term relationship choices

-Low credibility

  • Not a realistic test of the matching hypothesis
  • Dates were assigned
  • Assessments were made before any rejection could have taken place

-Brief interactions leading to interpersonal assessments being based on superficial characteristics

  • Such as physical attractiveness

-Low ecological validity

  • Does not replicate a natural event in real-life

-Questionable measure of physical attractiveness

  • Physical attractiveness is in perspective of the individual
  • Using 4 independent judges increased the reliability of this measure
  • Inter-rater reliability

Proximity Study, Festinger et al. (1950)

Aim

To investigate the formation of friendship patterns at Westgate Housing for student couples

Procedure

-This was a field study

-Participants were residents of Westgate Housing in a university

-Researchers observed and interviewed the participants

Findings

-Proximity or opportunities to bump into each other on a daily basis increased chances for friendships

-After a few months 10x more friendships have developed with people living in the same building

  • Even more with people living next door

Conclusion

The researchers suggest that physical proximity increases opportunities for interaction, which in turn increases familiarity. Geographical proximity may still be a factor in finding friends and lovers but the Internet allows us to easily contact others. The Internet creates a psychological proximity that can replace geographical proximity.

Evaluation

-High ecological validity

  • This was a field experiment

-Sampling bias

  • Setting of the experiment forces participants to interact with each other
  • Almost expected to interact with each other
  • Setting may attract a specific sample
  • Is not representative of a real-life situation

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Only student couples found from one university were used

-Reliability of the data collected

  • Interpretation of the data is dependent on the researcher
  • Researcher bias may be created
  • Inter-rater reliability was used
  • Many researchers observed the participants

-Confounding variables

  • Participants may already know each other

-No control to compare the results with

Kidney Donation Study, Simmons et al. (1977)

Aim

To investigate whether close relatives were more likely to be kidney donors

Procedure

-Researchers asked 133 relatives of a person if they would agree to donate their kidney

-They were also asked to rate their emotional closeness with the potential kidney recipients

Findings

-86% of parents agreed to donate their kidney to a relative

-47% of siblings agreed to donate their kidney to a relative

  • The recipient tend to be similar in age and be the same sex

-The recipients felt close to 63% of the donors

  • Compared to 42% of the non-donors

Conclusion

The researchers concluded that this study rejects the kin selection theory. As it suggests that both parents and siblings should both agree, so the difference in agreement to make this sacrifice cannot be explained by kin alone. This would also suggest that there are other factors that influence altruism.

Evaluation

-Does not consider the other affecting factors

-Unable to generalise to the general population

  • Only US participants were used

-Good ecological validity

  • Reflects a real-life response
  • Field experiment

-High test-retest reliability

  • Many participants were used

Empathy-altruistic Theory, Batson et al. (1981)

Aim

To investigate participants’ motives to help when they had the opportunity to escape

Procedure

-Participants were psychology students at a university

  • The participants were tested individually

-They were asked to fill out a questionnaire before the experiment began

-Participants were led to believe that they were an observer to a test

  • Where another student (Elaine) was being tested to recall numbers

-They read a short description of Elaine

  • Each description was manipulated so that the participants could either identify with Elaine (high empathy) or not (low empathy)

-Participants watched a video of Elaine, after 2 trails Elaine received electric shocks

-Participants were either asked to:

  • Take her place or fill out a questionnaire and then leave (easy escape situation)
  • Take her place or watch Elaine go through the remaining 8 trails (difficult escape situation)

Findings

-High empathy condition: most participants agreed to help Elaine

  • Did not matter if it was easy or difficult to escape

-Low empathy condition: most participants withdrew in the easy escape condition

  • In the difficult escape situation, some participants offered help

Conclusion

The results in this study would support the negative state relief model. Suggesting that participants were willing to help only if they could relief themselves from a negative state (e.g. stress). This can be showed when most participants in the low empathy condition (replicating a stranger) offered help in the difficult escape condition.

Evaluation

-Low ecological validity

  • Does not replicate a real-life situation

-Demand characteristics from participants

  • Self-preservation of their image

-Ethical considerations

  • Ethics was considered
  • Minimal psychological distress was given to the participant
  • Participants did not have to endure the easy/difficult situations

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Only used participants from America
  • Only used psychology students

-Empathy is difficult to quantify

Affects of Child-rearing, Whiting & Whiting (1975)

Aim

To investigate the effects of child-rearing practices and the consequence of that on prosocial behaviour

Procedure

-This was a naturalistic study

-Researchers observed children between the ages of 3 to 11 years old

  • Sample was from 6 different countries
  • Kenya, Philippines, Japan, India, Mexico and USA

Findings

-Children from Mexico and Philippines acted more prosocially

  • The most prosocial children were from Kenya
  • Most traditional society
  • People tend to live together in extended families
  • Female role was important
  • Women’s contribution to the family’s economy is greater

-Children from Japan, India and USA acted less prosocial

  • The most egoistic children came from USA
  • Most complex modern society
  • Women gave more responsibility to their children
  • Children are usually paid to do chores
  • Some children do not participate at all

Conclusion

The results indicate that the degree of modernisation influences prosocial behaviour. This was attributed to different child-rearing patterns and cultural dimensions such as individualism and collectivism. The study also shows how different aspects of socioeconomic organisation of a cultural can promote or inhibit children’s opportunities to acquire specific social behaviours. The findings also emphasises the importance of everyday practices in the promotion of concern for others.

Evaluation

-High ecological validity

  • Was a natural experiment
  • Did not interfere with the participants natural activities

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Sample was not representative of the general population
  • Participants were still very young

-Reductionist study

Social Responsibility, Miller et al. (1990)

Aim

To investigate how cultural norms and moral values influence the perception of social responsibility

Procedure

-Researchers interviewed 400 participants

  • Participants were adults and children
  • They were either North Americans or Hindu Indians

-The interview was about what to do in hypothetical situations where a person had failed to help someone in need

  • Parents’ obligations to help their child
  • Friends’ obligation to help a friend
  • People’s obligation to help a stranger

-Situations can be categorised into 3 levels:

  • Life threatening
  • Moderately serious
  • Minor threat

Findings

-Hindu Indians tend to see it as a moral duty to help in all situations

  • View of social responsibility was broader and more duty based

-North American participants tend view social responsibility as personal choice

  • Liking of the person in need played a factor in helping for adults in the USA

Conclusion

The researchers concluded that the different cultural norms (holding different moral values) affect people’s view on social responsibility.

Evaluation

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Only two cultures were examined in this study

-Low ecological validity

  • Does not replicate a real-life situation

Prosocial Behaviour, Levine et al. (2001)

Aim

To examine the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures in prosocial behaviour

Procedure

-Observed 23 major cities around the world.

-3 situations:

  • A pedestrian drops a pen without noticing
  • A pedestrian wearing a leg brace drops some magazines
  • A blind pedestrian with a cane waits at a traffic light for assistance crossing the road

Findings

-People from collectivist cultures are generally more likely to help

  • Compared to people in individualistic cultures

-Found several factors affecting prosocial behaviour

  • Population density
  • GDP per capital
  • Pace of life
  • Cultural beliefs
  • Cultures that emphasise on social harmony tend to help

Conclusion

The researchers concluded that culture does play a role in prosocial (helping) behaviour. It can be explained by bystanderism, where helping is less evident in larger groups or more populated cities. Social norms can also influence prosocial behaviour, if it is not normal to ask for help, people may be less inclined to help one another.

Evaluation

-Difficult to measure and define prosocial behaviour

  • Hard to apply prosocial behaviour theories

-Low validity

  • Problems in translation
  • Different cultures may have other motives for helping

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Only cities were used in the study
  • Ignores the country population

-Cannot assume a cause and effect relationship

-Collectivism and individualism must be considered on a spectrum

  • They are not dichotomous

Bystander Intervention, Latane & Darley (1970)

Aim

To investigate if the number of witnesses of an emergency influences people’s helping in an emergency situation

Procedure

-72 students were chosen as participants through extra credit courses

  • 59 females and 13 males

-They were asked to discuss what kind of personal problems new college students could have in an urban area

-Each participant sat in a booth alone with a pair of headphones and microphone

-They were told that the discussion took place through an intercom

-At one point of the experiment a confederate staged a seizure

-The researchers measured the time taken for the participant to react

  • From the start of the seizure to until they contacted the experimenter

-They changed the number of confederates around the participant at the time

Results

-81% of the participants that were in the alone condition went to report the seizure

-31% reported the seizure when there were 4 bystanders with them

  • Gender of the bystander did not make a difference

Conclusion

Ambiguity about the situation and thinking that other people might intervene (diffusion of responsibility) were factors that influenced bystanderism in the experiment.

Evaluation

-Unable to generalise to a general population

  • Only students were used in the expeirment

-Participant bias

  • Psychology students were used
  • They were participating for course credits
  • Demand characteristics
  • They may have figured out the nature of this experiment
  • Hawthorne effect may come into play

-Low ecological validity

  • Artificiality of the experimental situation
  • Participants could only hear the victim
  • Does not replicate a real-life situation

-Ethical considerations

  • Participants were deceived
  • They were also exposed to an anxiety provoking situation

-Gender bias in the sample

  • More female participants were used than male
  • Different genders may have different personality traits that influence helping

Subway Samaritan, Pilliavin et al. (1969)

Aim

To investigate the effect of various variables on helping behaviour

Procedure

-A group of students performed a scenario where the victim appeared either drunk or ill

-Participants were subway travellers who were observed when the victim collapsed

  • This occurred a short time after the train left the station

-A model helper was instructed to intervene after 70 seconds if no one else did

Findings

-If the victim appeared ill they were more likely to receive help

  • Compared to if the victim was drunk

-In 60% of the trails more than one person offered to help only after the model helper intervened

Conclusion

The researchers did not find support for diffusion of responsibility. They argued that this could be because the observers could clearly see the victim and decide whether or not there was an emergency situation. They found no strong relationship between the number of bystanders and the speed of helping – which is contrary to the theory of the unresponsive bystander. The researchers suggested that the cost-reward model of helping involves observation of an emergency situation that leads to an emotional arousal and interpretation of that arousal.

Evaluation

-High ecological validity

  • Was a natural experiment

-High reliability

  • Was conducted several times
  • Test-retest reliability

-Low cross-cultural validity

  • Only one cultural was used in this study

Cross-cultural Factors in Attraction, Buss et al. (1990)

Aim

To identify the characteristics that individuals valued in potential mates worldwide

Procedure

-9,474 participants were chosen from 37 cross cultural samples

  • 33 countries and 5 islands on 6 continents
  • Mean age of the participants was 23.15

-Data was collected from questionnaires made in the USA and translated

Results

-Nearly all cultures rated mutual attraction and love as the most important in a relationship

  • Desire for mutual love is not only a Western phenomenon

-Chastity showed the largest variance in culture

  • Valued in collectivist cultures: China, India, Taiwan
  • Not valued in individualistic cultures: Netherlands and Scandinavia

-Good earning capacity is generally valued by females