Question 1

An important part of using the ____ approach is to accept responsibility for our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Accepted Answer

The low-drama approach emphasizes taking ownership of our own thoughts, feelings, and actions, and avoiding blaming others or getting caught up in unnecessary conflict. Accepting responsibility for oneself is a key component of this approach. Positive reciprocity and negative reciprocity refer to patterns of social exchange, not personal responsibility, and the high-drama approach is the opposite of low-drama and involves a lot of conflict and emotionality.

Question 2

Satisfied couples tend to attribute each others' negative behaviors to ____ factors such as "he's had a bad day" or "she is under a lot of stress."

Accepted Answer

Satisfied couples usually attribute their partner's negative behaviors to external and unstable factors, such as temporary stress or fatigue, instead of internal and stable factors like personality traits or fundamental flaws in character. This is because they are more likely to give their partners the benefit of the doubt and seek to understand the situation or context in which the behavior occurred rather than making harsh, critical judgments.

Question 3

We can use ____ when we engage in what has been referred to variously as clean communication, straight talk, or assertiveness.

Accepted Answer

Constructive influence is used in clean communication, straight talk, or assertiveness, as it focuses on positive, clear, and direct communication strategies.

Question 4

____ approaches are designed to reduce tension and conflict, lead to shared problem solving, and result in greater closeness. These approaches value and nurture interpersonal relationships and facilitate personal and relational growth.

Accepted Answer

The description given best fits the concept of "low drama" approaches, which prioritize reducing conflict and improving relationships through shared problem-solving and personal growth. Attributes A and B do not accurately reflect these priorities, and choice D implies a preference for conflict and drama rather than a desire for resolution and closeness.

Question 5

The fourth step of the demand-withdraw pattern is called ____, in which the withdrawing person withholds attention and puts up a wall that blocks communication and cooperation as a way to punish the demanding person.

Accepted Answer

Stonewalling is the specific term used to describe the fourth step of the demand-withdraw pattern. This involves the withdrawing person completely shutting down and refusing to engage in communication or cooperation with the demanding person as a means of punishment or avoidance.

Question 6

When we make ____ attributions, we attribute the cause of the target person's behavior to personality or traits.

Accepted Answer

Internal stable attributions are when we attribute behavior to an individual's personality or traits, which are seen as enduring and unchanging over time. This is in contrast to external attributions, which attribute behavior to situational factors, and unstable attributions, which view behavior as changeable over time.

Question 7

____ is a hormone found in high concentrations in nursing women that is believed to facilitate maternal-infant bonding.

Accepted Answer

Oxytocin is known as the "love hormone" and facilitates social bonding between individuals, including maternal-infant bonding. It is released in high concentrations during childbirth and breastfeeding, promoting attachment and affection between a mother and her infant.

Question 8

Gottman and Gottman (1999)identified a particularly destructive pattern they called the ____, in which one party makes a type of demand on the relationship that leads the other party to withdraw from the interaction rather than attempt to resolve the demand.

Accepted Answer

The demand-withdraw pattern is a destructive communication pattern identified by Gottman and Gottman (1999) in which one party makes a demand on the relationship that leads the other to withdraw rather than engage in resolving the demand. This can lead to further escalation and breakdown of communication in the relationship. The other options (positive and negative reciprocity, stonewalling) are not specifically related to this pattern.

Question 9

According to the ____ model of social support, social support moderates the effects of stress-that is, it lessens the negative effects of exposure to stressors (i.e., it serves as a shock absorber). This model predicts that social support is beneficial only under stressful conditions (when shock absorbers are most needed).

Accepted Answer

The stress buffer model of social support proposes that social support serves as a protective factor against the negative impact of stress, by lessening the effects of exposure to stressors. This model suggests that social support is most beneficial when individuals are experiencing high levels of stress, as it serves as a "shock absorber" to mitigate the impact of stressors. The other options (direct effect, direct buffer, stress effect) do not accurately describe this model of social support.

Question 10

The general rule of assertiveness is to give the ____ effective response in contexts in which assertion could be met with punishment (e.g., potential blowback from making the assertive statement).

Accepted Answer

The general rule of assertiveness in contexts where assertion could be met with punishment is to give the minimally effective response. This means stating your point clearly and respectfully without causing unnecessary conflict or risking potential blowback. Giving a maximally effective response could escalate the situation, while a neutral or flat response may not effectively communicate your point.

Question 11

When we engage in ____, we are defining what we will agree to or accept from others and what we will not. It relates to the concept of boundaries.

Accepted Answer

Limit setting involves defining what we will agree to or accept from others and what we will not, which relates directly to the concept of boundaries. The other options are not related to this concept.

Question 12

Sometimes a culture is embedded within a surrounding culture. When this happens the embedded culture is referred to as a ____.

Accepted Answer

A subculture refers to a smaller culture that exists within a larger culture. This smaller culture may have different beliefs, values, and behaviors than the surrounding culture, but it is still influenced by and connected to the larger culture. A superculture does not exist as a commonly used term, and biculture and supraculture are not accurate in describing an embedded culture within a larger culture.

Question 13

____ attributions refer to temporary situational factors.

Accepted Answer

External unstable attributions refer to temporary situational factors, such as unexpected events or luck. The other options refer to different types of attributions: external stable attributions refer to consistent outside factors, internal stable attributions refer to stable personality traits, and internal unstable attributions refer to transient emotional states.

Question 14

Dissatisfied couples tend to attribute each others' negative behaviors to ____ causes such as "he is a jerk" or "she is a witch." Thus, the target person is regarded as permanently defective or bad in some regard.

Accepted Answer

Dissatisfied couples tend to attribute each others' negative behaviors to internal stable causes such as flaws in character or personality traits. This leads to a more permanent and negative perception of the partner.

Question 15

The ____ model of social support suggests that social support has beneficial health and well-being effects independent of the level of stress. In other words, social support is a good tonic that has a positive effect regardless of stress levels (i.e., in high and low stress situations).

Accepted Answer

The direct effect model suggests that social support has positive health and well-being effects regardless of stress levels, independent of any buffering effect. The stress buffer model, on the other hand, proposes that social support protects against negative health outcomes specifically in high stress situations. Therefore, the direct buffer and stress effect options are not applicable to this description.

Question 16

At its simplest level active listening involves ____ what the other person just said. It is often prefaced by statements like "You are telling me that ...I'm hearing you say that ...Let me get this straight ...It sounds like ...You seem to be saying ...If I understand you correctly ...In other words..."

Accepted Answer

Active listening involves restating what the other person said in your own words or paraphrasing their statement to ensure you understand correctly. It is not about responding, analyzing or clarifying at this level.

Question 17

In ____, one person directs a hostile, angry, or accusatory remark toward the other which in turn prompts a negative response in kind from the targeted person. Each round of verbal exchanges leads to attack and counterattack that escalate tensions and conflict rather than lead to resolution and reduced tension.

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes negative reciprocity, where hostile and negative remarks are exchanged between two people, escalating conflict rather than resolving it.

Question 18

____ is defined as "beliefs, attitudes, institutional arrangements, and acts that tend to denigrate individuals or groups because of phenotypic characteristics or ethnic group affiliation."

Accepted Answer

Racism encompasses more than just personal beliefs and attitudes (prejudice) or actions (discrimination), but also includes institutional and systemic arrangements that perpetuate discrimination and oppression based on race or ethnicity.

Question 19

____ suggests readiness for flight, so the person may lean away, avoid eye contact, shuffle the feet, fidget, or in some other way indicate a readiness to flee.

Accepted Answer

The given description of avoiding eye contact, shuffling feet and fidgeting all suggest a sense of nervousness and readiness to flee, which is typically associated with the "flight" response in humans. Anger, sadness, and gladness are not necessarily associated with this kind of physical behavior.

Question 20

In active listening, the process of ____ allows the listener to have a non-defensive and non-reactive response and to ask for more information. The process involves a statement like, "please tell me more then so I can better understand where you are coming from."

Accepted Answer

Clarifying involves asking for more information in a non-defensive and non-reactive way, which allows the speaker to feel heard and understood. Paraphrasing involves restating what the speaker said in your own words. Giving feedback involves providing your own opinions or reactions to what the speaker said. Responding is a general term that could refer to any kind of reply or reaction to the speaker.

Quiz 8: Interpersonal Stress