PSYC 126 01 (S16)

Psychology126

Attraction&Relationships

Spring2016

Days and Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. until 10:15 a.m.

Location: WLH 117

Professor: Margaret Clark

Teaching Fellow: April Bailey, Ph.D.

Note: This is a lecture course. There are no pre-requisties. However, the class will be capped at 50 people allowing the instructor and
teaching fellow to get to know you and to foster opportunities to for questions and answers in class.

If more than 50 people wish to take the course, the instructor will select people from all four classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors and
seniors in proportion with interest in the class.)

Course
Content:Lecturesandreadingsfocusonthenatureandfunctioningofclosehumanrelationshipssuchasthosethatexist
betweenromanticpartners,friendsandfamilymembers.Itfocusesuponempiricalresearchdocumentingthenormalfunctioning
ofclosepersonalrelationships,whatleadstosuccessful,happy,enduringrelationshipsandtherebycontributestogoodmental
andphysicalhealth,andwhatcan(andoftendoes)gowrong.

Someofthequestionstobeaddressedinclude:a)Whatattractspeopletooneanothermotivatingthemtoformclose
relationshipsinthefirstplace?b)Howdopeoplenegotiatethepathfrominitialattractiontotheformationofacommitted
relationship?c)Whatleadspeopletomakeacommitmenttocontinuingacloserelationshipandwhatistheimpactofmaking
thatcommitment?c)Whatinterpersonalprocessescontributeto(andwhatonesinterferewith)highquality,smoothly
functioningrelationshipsoncetheyareformed?d)Whatistheroleoffeelingandexpressingemotionsinrelationships?

Answersaredrawnfromworkdonebybothpersonalityandsocialpsychologists.Theoryandempiricalresearch,especiallytruly
experimentalresearch,isemphasized.

Whattheclassisnot.Thisisnotaclinicalpsychologycourse.Althoughthecoursewillprovideinsightsintotroubled
relationshipworkoninterventionstoimproverelationshipsarenotcovered.Itisnotaselfhelpcourse.Itdoesnotcoverpopular
booksoradviceonrelationshipsexcept,onoccasiontoquestionpopularnotionsgivenwhatempiricalstudiesshow.For
instance,KurtGrayhasapopularbookentitledMenarefromMarsWomenarefromVenuswhich,youllseesoon,theauthorof
thetextdebunks.

Insteadfocusisonthebasicsciencethathasbeendonebyresearchersstrivingtounderstandhowhumansrelatetoone
another.

Who should take the course?Thisisanentrylevelpsychologycoursemeaningthattherearenoprerequisitesanditisopento

anystudentinYaleCollege.Yetisnotabroadsurveycourseofpsychologyingeneral(introductorypsychologyismore
appropriateforthat).Insteaditcoversoneareaofsocialpsychologicalstudyindepthsoitsappropriateforanyoneparticularly
interestedinthistopicandparticularlyappropriateformajorswhothinktheymaywishtostudypersonality,socialorclinical
psychologyindepthorwhothinktheymaywishtopursueupperlevelcoursesorindividualresearchinthisarea.

Whats involved? What will the course be like?ThisisalecturecoursethatmeetsonTuesdaysandThursdays.Therewillbe

threeexams.Therearetwofivepapers.Thereisnofinalexam.

Thepaperswillbefivepagesinlength,excludingacoverpageandabstractandexcludingreferences.Youhaveseveral
optionsforeachpaper.(Seeseparatedocumentonpaperinstructionsonthissite.)

Asalways,besuretoreadtheundergraduateregulationsonplagiarismbeforepreparingandturninginyourpapers.Papers
shouldbepreparedindividually.Allideasthatderivefromothersworkshouldbeproperlycitedandreferenced.
Somethingaboutwhichpeopleoftendonotthinkwhencitingpapersifyouciteandreferenceapaperyoushouldhaveactually
readthatoriginalpaper.Muchoftheworkwithwhichyoumaybeandwillbecomefamiliarisworkthatwillbedescribedinyour
text,inlecturesorinreviewarticles.Ifyoucitethatworkbasedonwhatyouvereadinasecondarysourcebuthavenotread
theoriginalarticle,theproperwaytociteitisasfollows:(Smith,1999asdescribedbyMiller,2015)andthenincludejustthe
Millerbookinyourreferences.ThisisimportantinpartbecauseMillermayhavedescribedSmithincorrectlyandalsobecause
youtrulyhaventreadSmithspaper.OfcourseyoucanactuallyreadthatoriginalSmithpaperandciteitbutIrealizethatsnot
alwaysdone.

Readings:Thereisatextbook:RowlandMillersIntimateRelationships.Thisbookhasprovedpopularinthepast.Itcovers
morematerialthaniscoveredintheclassanddoesnotexactlyparalleltheclassreadings.Itaccuratelydescribesagreatdealof
researchonrelationshipsbutitisnotheavyreading.Inadditiontothisbook,someoriginalempiricalresearchpapersare
assigned.Theempiricalarticlesareimportanttoconveyanaccuratesenseofthenatureofresearchinthisfield.Manyofyou
willnothavehadstatisticspriortothisclass.Donotworryifyoudontfullyunderstandthestatisticalsectionsofthesepieces.
Wellhelpyououtwiththatandnotestquestionontheexamswillaskyouaboutthosestatistics.

Howgradeswillbedetermined.Therewillbethreemultiplechoiceandshortanswerexams.Eachcovers1/3oftheclass
materialdrawnfromthereadingsandlecturesfromtherelevant1/3oftheclass.However,afewquestionsonthesecondand
thirdexammayrequireyoutoalsorecallandusematerialfromearlierpartsofthecourseinconjunctionwithanswering
questionsaboutthecurrentthirdoftheclass.Eachexamisworth20%ofyourgrade.Therearetwoshortpapers.Eachisworth
anadditional20%ofyourgrade.

Ofcourse,intakingexamsyoushouldfollowtheundergraduateregulations.

Class Schedule:

Tuesday, January 19:

Introduction to the class

Thursday, January 21

Relationships are good for us (most of the time)

Tuesday, January 26

What attracts us to others I? Are we built to be attracted to others? -- Evolution, attachment, beauty, familiarity

Thursday, January 28

No class, Society of Personality and Social Psychology meets in

San Diego, California.

Because the instructor will be traveling to the SPSP convention on Wednesday and cannot be present on Thursday, Jan. 28th,
an extra (voluntary) session will be held on January 26th for people who want to get going on their first paper and get advice.

This will be held in the Trumbull College Seminar Room. Enter at 241 Elm Street, go in the first door to your right and up the
stairs just to your right (before you get to the dining hall.)

Tuesday, February 2

What attracts us to others II? Proximity, similarity (of most

sorts) and complementarity (of one sort)

Thursday, February 4

What attracts us to others II? Their actions matter.

Do they like us, understand us, validate us? Care for us? Are we confident they will continue to do so? (Might their views of
us be too positive?)

Tuesday, February 9

What most of us desire in close relationships, pursue and benefit

from. The nature and functioning of communal relationships.

Thursday, February 11

EXAM I

Tuesday, February 16

How behaving communally reinforces more communal behavior. Projection of feelings, liking those who support us, feeling
good when we support others.

Thursday, February 18

.but there are individual differences; some of us fear and

avoid such relationships (and how that interferes with optimal relational function and introduces harmful behaviors)

Tuesday, February 23

.and others of us feel ambivalent about relationships (and how that interferes)

Thursday, February 25

understanding more broadly how feeling wary of relationships interferes with them. The ironically self-harming impact of
self-focus, and self-protection; withdrawal from asking for and giving support; withdrawal from joint activities

Tuesday, March 1

.the harmful forms self-protection takes. Reflection and social comparison

Thursday, March 3

. And unmitigated communion, bragging, narcissism, materialism

Tuesday, March 8

Thursday, March 10 EXAM II

SPRING BREAK: Srping recess begins, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. ; Classes resume Monday, March 28, 8:20 a.m.

Tuesday, March 29

Situations matter-- a lot. Interdependence theory; Rewards, costs, comparison levels, comparison levels for alternatives,
satisfaction, commitment and more

Thursday, March 31

An individual difference that matters: Self-monitoring

Tuesday, April 5

Emotion in relationships

Thursday, April 7

Power in relationships; Types of power. How and why they matter

Tuesday, April 12

Self-expansion theory

Thursday, April 14

Relationships and studying mortality.

Tuesday, April 19

Ways in which relationships shape us, unconsciously

Thursday, April 21

Why taking relational context into account matters for most of psychology

Tuesday, April 26

Returning to the start. The good do relationships do for us; understanding why

Thursday, April 28 EXAM III

April 29, Classes end, 5:30 p.m.: Reading period begins

Friday, May 6 Final exams begin 9 a.m. There is no final exam for this course.

Wednesday, Mary 11, Examinations end, 5:30