Experiments for Newlyweds by Shaun Gallagher

Author:Shaun Gallagher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

The hypothesis

You will each have placed check marks next to more than 50 percent of the good features you listed in response to Question 1 and fewer than 50 percent of the bad features you listed in response to Question 2. But the spouse who read Instructions B is likely to have a higher number of check marks for Question 1 and a lower number of check marks for Question 2 than the spouse who read Instructions A.

The research

In a 2000 study involving young adults in established romantic relationships, researchers examined whether the participants regarded their own relationship as having more good qualities and fewer bad qualities than other people’s relationships. The researchers were also curious whether the participants’ responses might be influenced by instructions that were intended to heighten or dampen this “perceived superiority” effect.

They posed questions similar to Question 1 and Question 2 to several groups of people, with each group receiving a different set of instructions beforehand. One group, dubbed the “threat” group, received instructions that emphasized that young adults’ relationships are less likely than other types of relationships to endure. The researchers suspected that by introducing doubt about the durability of participants’ relationships, it would cause the participants to lean heavily on perceived superiority as a way of reassuring themselves that their own relationships weren’t in trouble. Another group, dubbed the “accuracy” group, received instructions that encouraged them to be as accurate and honest as possible in their responses. The researchers suspected that if the instructions emphasized the need for honest evaluation, the participants would be less likely to view their own relationships through rose-colored glasses.

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