Relationships Lab
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About Us
The
CMU Relationships Lab conducts scientific research on relationships. The studies conducted in this lab are
designed to help us learn about relationship dynamics, their predictors, and
their consequences. An overarching goal
of the studies conducted in the lab is to investigate the ways in which
relationships help people address challenges in their lives and function to
their full potential. Below we answer
some common questions that people ask about relationships research.
What
do relationships researchers do?
Relationships researchers seek to understand relationship
dynamics and the causes and consequences of these dynamics. They do this scientifically using a variety
of research methods (including experimental methods, longitudinal methods that
follow relationships over time, questionnaire/survey methods, observational
methods, daily diary methods, and archival methods). Relationship scientists strongly believe in converging operations, which involves
testing a hypothesis using 2 or more methods, measurement techniques, and/or
participant populations to converge on accurate portrayal of relationship
dynamics.
Why
are relationships important?
Relationships are important to study because (a) most human behavior
takes place in context of relationships with others, (b) relationships affect
all domains of human activity, (c) relationships exert a powerful impact on our
psychological and physical health, and (d) who we are tends to be shaped by our
relationships with others. Thus, a
science of human behavior and development that neglects the influence of an
individual’s relationships with others is bound to be inaccurate or
incomplete. Relationships past and
present influence an individual’s current behavior in other relationships and
in many non-relationship contexts as well.
Why
study relationships scientifically?
Don’t we all already know everything about relationships given that we
all have them? Isn’t it common sense?
It’s important to study relationships scientifically because
many of the things we think we know based on our personal experiences are
misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete.
That’s because there is a big difference between lay knowledge and scientific
knowledge.
Lay knowledge is based on people’s personal experiences and
hunches about how things work, but it is
often distorted by the facts that (a) we each have a restricted set of
experiences, (b) those experiences are limited by a small number of partners
with whom we’ve interacted, (c) people’s understanding of relationships is
often colored by what they want to believe or need to believe and by other
biases in information processing and memory, and (d) personal experience
provides a biased sample of information because it’s based on limited
observations.
In order to fully & accurately understand how relationships
influence the human condition, we must study them scientifically. Scientific
knowledge refers to knowledge based on findings from empirical research. This means that regularities in relationship
dynamics are identified through systematic observation using scientific methods
that provide a reasonable degree of objectivity, reliability, &
validity. This approach adheres to the
rules of scientific inquiry (allowing replication, use of alternative
procedures, examination of various age groups and cultures, etc.).
What
kinds of studies are conducted in the lab?
The studies conducted in this lab examine how relationships help
people address challenges in their lives and function to their full
potential. Participants in these studies
typically visit the lab with relationship partners to complete questionnaires
and participate in a variety of activities together. These activities are similar to those in
which relationship partners engage in their everyday lives. We sometimes have relationship partners
complete diaries (on palm pilots) at home for a series of days, we sometimes
mail surveys to participants, and we sometimes follow relationships over long
periods of time to see how they develop.
For information on current studies being conducted in the lab, click here.
How
can I participate in a study?
To participate in a study, contact Nataliya Rozinskiy at nrozinsk@andrew.cmu.edu or
412.268.8109.
If I
participate in a study, do you analyze my relationship and tell me what is
right or wrong?
No, we identify general trends in the ways that people think,
feel, and behave in their relationships – and we examine the impact of
particular thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on outcomes such as personal
well-being and relationship functioning/stability. We do not single anyone out. We report general summaries that are combined
across all the people who participate in a given study. All information we obtain from participants
is completely confidential and anonymous.
Only a random code number – not your name – is associated with any of
the information we obtain.