Two Key Studies of Communication in Personal Relationships (DP IB Psychology)

Key study one: Collins & Miller (1994)

Aim: To investigate the link between self-disclosure and liking in the maintenance of relationships

Procedure:  

• A meta-analysis of research in the field of self-disclosure 

• Studies were selected from range of journal articles published between 1955 and 1992, isolating the key terms linked to self-disclosure and liking

• Studies from a variety of academic textbooks were also included in the sample

• A statistical programme was used to calculate the effect size in studies of self-disclosure in relationships.

• Studies in the meta-analysis included lab experiments through to self-reports

Results: 

• Liking appeared to be associated with self-disclosure (seen via positive correlations and large effect sizes)

• The effect was particularly strong in self-report studies (questionnaires) 

• Intimacy was also linked to liking:

  • people will disclose more to those to whom they already feel close and the very act of disclosing increases liking

Conclusion: Self-disclosure plays an important role in the maintenance of relationships

Evaluation of Collins & Miller (1994)

Strengths

• A meta-analysis uses triangulation:

  • Triangulation involves the use of more than one method, researcher and/or data set

  • Triangulation means that the findings from one study can be viewed in the light of the findings from other studies

  • Using triangulation in this way increases the internal validity of the findings. 

• Meta-analyses are less prone to researcher bias:

  • Using secondary data offers fewer opportunities to confound the results as they are reviewing the findings of existing studies

Limitations

• Secondary data is less secure than data gathered at first-hand:

  • The researchers are at the mercy of the original researchers’ procedures over which they have no control

  • This lack of control could affect the reliability of the findings

• There is a lack of ecological validity with a meta-analysis:

  • A ‘cold’ and detached statistical measure cannot reveal why and how self-disclosure takes place, only that it does

Key study two: Levenson & Gottman (1983)

Aim: To investigate the extent to which marital satisfaction is determined by communication style

Participants: 30 married couples from the USA

Procedure:

• Naturalistic observations of each couple

• The couples had been divided into the following two types:

  • ‘Distressed’: couples who showed higher levels of negative emotions and were more prone to destructive arguments

  • ‘Non-distressed’: couples who were more harmonious and less likely to engage in destructive arguments

• The researchers predicted that the ‘distressed’ couples would show higher levels of their usual negative argument patterns in situations of high conflict

• Biological measures were used to track the physiological effects of conflict per couple, including:

  • Heart rate

  • Galvanic skin response

  • Somatic activity

• Each couple was also asked to complete a questionnaire about they and their partner’s emotional state

Results: The ‘distressed’ couples showed higher levels of physiological arousal during high-conflict exchanges

Conclusion: 

• Married couples who engage in mutually negative exchanges during high-conflict situations are more vulnerable to dissatisfaction

• Distressed couples are likely to follow Gottman’s ‘Four Horsemen’ pattern of negative communication style

Evaluation of Levenson & Gottman (1983)

Strengths

• The use of biological and psychological measures means that the study uses triangulation of method and data, increasing the internal validity

• The use of naturalistic observations is high in ecological validity:

  • The couples were not set any artificial tasks 

  • The researchers did not implement an independent variable

  • The participants were real-life married couples

Limitations

• The couples knew they were being observed which could give rise to the observer effect:

  • When people know they are being observed their behaviour changes due to feelings of self-consciousness

  • The couples may have behaved differently during the observation periods i.e. by under- or over-playing  their usual communication style

• A sample of 30 married couples from the USA does not represent a wide demographic thus the results have limited generalizability