Week 1 (January 24th and 26th)
Introduction and orientation: The study of love and intimate relationships from an
attachment point of view.
Brief overview of the class and the related Blackboard website by Gillath and Zach.
(handouts about PsycINFO, Blackboard, and class reports, and the scavenger hunt – PsycINFO
task).
Readings for next week:
Feeney & Noller (1996), Ch. 1: Attachments in infancy and beyond
Reports for next (2 volunteers needed):
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Ch. 15: An interpretation of
individual differences. In Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange
situation (pp. 310-322). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Fraley, R. C. (2002). Attachment stability from infancy to adulthood: Meta-analysis and dynamic
modeling of developmental mechanisms. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6,
123-151.
Week 2 (Jan. 31st and Feb. 2nd) – PsycINFO scavenger task due the 31st
Attachment in infancy and early childhood.
Discussion of methods and findings regarding infants’ and children’s emotional attachments to
their parents and other caregivers.
Readings for next week:
Feeney & Noller (1996), Ch. 2: Early empirical studies of adult attachment.
& Ch. 3: Conceptualizing and Measuring Adult Attachment.
Readings for next week (volunteers needed):
Shaver, P. R., Hazan, C., & Bradshaw, D. (1988). Love as attachment: The integration of three
behavioral systems. In R. J. Sternberg & M. Barnes (Eds.), The psychology of love. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., & Tolmacz, R. (1990). Attachment styles and fear of death: A case
of affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 273-280.
George, C., & West, M. (2001). The development and preliminary validation of a new measure
of adult attachment: The Adult Attachment Projective. Attachment and Human
Development, 3, 30-61.
Mikulincer & Shaver Ch. 4?????
Week 3 (February 7th and 9th) Abstract Summary task due date is the 9th
Early empirical studies of adult attachment and measurement.
Discussion of early studies generated from Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) study, and additional
examples of attachment measures (provided by the instructors). First discussion of what we
might do, as a class, for a small research project.
Readings for next week:
Feeney & Noller (1996), Ch. 4: Refining the theory: Functions and elicitors of adult
attachment.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Mikulincer, M., Gillath, O., & Shaver, P. R. (2002). Activation of the attachment system in
adulthood: Threat-related primes increase the accessibility of mental representations of
attachment figures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 881-895.
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical perspective.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59, 270-280.
Kirkpatrick, L. A. (1992). An attachment-theory approach to the psychology of religion.
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2, 3-28.
Week 4 (February 14th and 16th) - Abstracts Integration task due date is the 14th
Extending the application of attachment theory.
Discussion of the influence attachment style has on love, work, and religious behaviors.
Readings for next week:
Feeney & Noller (1996), Ch. 5: Attachment style, working models, and communication.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Rholes, W. S., Simpson, J. A. & Orina, M. M. (1999). Attachment and anger in an anxiety
provoking situation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 940-957.
Gillath, O. Mikulincer, M., Fitzsimons, G. M., Shaver, P. R., Schachner, D. A. & Bargh, J. A.
(2006). Automatic Activation of Attachment-Related Goals. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1375-1388.
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R., (2004). Security-based self-representations in
adulthood: Contents and processes. In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.),
Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical implications (pp. 159-195).
New York: Guilford Press.
Week 5 (February 21st and 23rd)
Working models, self representation, and attachment styles.
Discussion of the internalization of attachment figures and the notion of “working models” in
adulthood.
Readings for next week:
Feeney & Noller (1996), Ch. 6: Adult attachment: Broadening the picture.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Feeney, B. C., & Collins, N. L. (2001). Predictors of caregiving in adult intimate relationships:
An attachment theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80,
972-994.
Gillath, O., & Schachner, D. A. (2006). Sex and love: Goals, motives, and strategies: How do
sexuality and attachment interact? In M. Mikulincer & G. S. Goodman (Eds.), Dynamics
of romantic love: Attachment, caregiving, and sex. (pp. 337-355). New York: Guilford
Press.
Week 6 (February 28th and March 2nd)
The attachment, caregiving, and sexual behavioral systems in the current version of adult
attachment theory.
Discussion of the influence of attachment security on compassionate caregiving and sexuality.
Readings for next week:
Feeney & Noller (1996), Ch. 7: Applications and future directions.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Gillath, O., Bunge, S. A., Shaver, P. R., Wendelken, C., & Mikulincer, M. (2005). Attachment
style differences and ability to suppress negative thoughts: Exploring the neural
correlates. NeuroImage, 28, 835-847.
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2004). No association of the dopamine
D4 receptor (DRD4) and-521 C/T promoter polymorphisms with infant attachment
disorganization. Attachment and Human Development, 6, 211-218.
Johnson, S. M. (2004). Attachment theory: A guide for healing couple relationships. In W. S.
Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical
implications (pp. 367-387). New York: Guilford Press.
Week 7 (March 7th and 9th)
Attachment – applications and future directions.
Discussion on what the future encompasses for attachment theory and research.
Week 8 (March 14th and 16th)
Presentation of research project and Midterm
During the break: Think about interesting research questions, interview friends and
relatives about what they find interesting in close relationships and send three questions to
Zach by March 18th
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 2: Research methods.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Zablotsky, D. (2001). Why do I have to learn this if I'm not going to graduate school? Teaching
research methods in a social psychology of aging course. Educational Gerontology, 27,
609-622.
Sani & Todman (2006). Experimental design and statistics for psychology: A first course, Ch. 2:
The Nature of Psychology Experiments (I): Variables and Conditions.
Sani & Todman (2006). Experimental design and statistics for psychology: A first course, Ch. 3:
The Nature of Psychology Experiments (II): Validity.
Lubart, T. I., & Getz, I. (1998). The influence of heuristics on psychological science: A case
study of research on creativity. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 28, 435-457.
Week 9 [SPRING BREAK (21-27)]
Week 10 (March 28th and 30th)
Research methods.
How do we choose a research question and how do we test it?
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 1: Building blocks of relationships.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Aron, A., & Aron, E. N. (2006). Romantic relationships from the perspective of the selfexpansion model and attachment theory. In M. Mikulincer & G. S. Goodman (Eds.),
Dynamics of romantic love: Attachment, caregiving, and sex. (pp. 359-382). New York:
Guilford Press.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal
attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychology Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.
Reis, H. T. (2006). Implications of Attachment Theory for Research on Intimacy. In M.
Mikulincer & G. S. Goodman (Eds.), Dynamics of romantic love: Attachment,
caregiving, and sex. (pp. 383-403). New York: Guilford Press.
Week 11 (April 4th and 6th).
Building blocks of relationships: What constitutes an intimate relationship?
Moving into the broader context: Discussing the concept of close/intimate relationships? And
what does attachment theory have to say about them.
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 8: Love.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Berscheid, E. (1999). The greening of relationship science. American Psychologist, 54, 260-266.
Sternberg, Robert J. (2004). A Triangular Theory of Love. In H. T. Reis, & C. E. Rusbult (Eds).
Close relationships: Key readings. (pp. 213-227). Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.
Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (2000). Romantic love. In C. Hendrick & S. S. Hendrick (Eds.),
Close relationships: A sourcebook. (pp. 203-215). Washington: American Psychological
Association.
Hegi, K., & Bergner, R. (2010). What is love? An empirically-based essentialist
account. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 620-636.
Week 12 (April 11th and 13th) - Research project proposals due April 11th
Theories of love.
Discussing a few representatives of the many theories about love.
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 3: Attraction.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Clark, M. S., & Mills, J. (1979). Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal
relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 12-24. [Interdependence
theory, communal and exchange orientations].
Buss, D. M. (1995). Evolutionary psychology: A new paradigm for psychological science.
Psychological Inquiry, 6, 1-30.
Van-Horn, K. R., Arnone, A., Nesbitt, K., Desilets, L., Sears, T., Giffin, M., & Brudi, R. (1997).
Physical distance and interpersonal characteristics in college students' romantic
relationships. Personal relationships, 4, 25-34.
Week 13 (April 18th and 20th)
The fundamental basis of attraction.
A discussion on the reasons for being attracted – why are we attracted to certain people?
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 5: Communication.
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 11: Power.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Neff, K. D., & Suizzo, M. A. (2006). Culture, power, authenticity, and psychological well-being
within romantic relationships: A comparison of European American and Mexican
Americans. Cognitive Development, 21, 441-457.
Felmlee, D. H. (1994). Who's on top? Power in romantic relationships. Sex Roles, 31, 275-295.
Parks, M. R., & Adelman, M. B. (1983). Communication networks and the development
of romantic relationships: An expansion of uncertainty reduction theory. Human
Communication Research, 10, 55-79.
Jang, S. A., Smith, S. W., & Levine, T. R. (2002). To stay or to leave? The role of attachment
styles in communication patterns and potential termination of romantic relationships
following discovery of deception. Communication Monographs, 69, 236-252.
Week 14 (April 25th and 27th)
Power and communication in close relationships.
Discussion on the role of power and communication in intimate relationships.
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 7: Friendship.
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 14: Shyness and loneliness.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Fehr, B. (2004). Intimacy Expectations in Same-Sex Friendships: A Prototype InteractionPattern Model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 265-284.
Ueno, K. & Adams, R. (2006). Adult Friendship: A Decade Review. In P. Noller, & J. A. Feeney
(Eds), Close relationships: Functions, forms and processes. (pp. 151-169). Hove,
England: Taylor & Francis.
DePaulo, B. M., Morris, W. L. (2006). The unrecognized stereotyping and discrimination against
singles. Current directions in psychological science, 15, 251-254.
Week 15 (May 2nd and May 4th) Originally this was the week of Thanksgiving so we have
an additional day here which means that it may be possible to start the next topic on the 4th
if you don’t think the reading load will be too much. It helps that there are only two
presentations for the bad things and conflict topic.
Together and alone.
Discussion on friendship and single-hood.
Readings for next week:
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 10: Stresses and strains.
Miller, Perlman and Brehm (2007), Ch. 12: Conflict and violence.
Reports for next week (volunteers needed):
Pietromonaco, P. R., Greenwood, D., & Barrett, L .F. (2004). Conflict in Adult Close
Relationships: An Attachment Perspective. In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.),
Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical implications (pp. 267-299). New York:
Guilford Press.
Gurung, R.A.R., Sarason, B.R., & Sarason, I.G. (2001). Predicting Relationship Quality and
Emotional Reactions to Stress from Significant-Other-Concept Clarity. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1267-1276.
Week 16 (May 9th and May 11th) – Research project due date May 11th in class.
Bad things happen – conflict, violence, and divorce.
Discussion on the dark side of intimate relationships, what might happen in a relationship? and
why some people don’t have a relationship?
&
Final discussion of research findings, wrap-up, and good-byes.
Reminder: Please make sure to refer to the specific instructions on blackboard for all class
assignments and projects. Here is the tentative timetable for each of these tasks. These
assignments will be turned in as a hard-copy in class.
1) PsycINFO scavenger task will be assigned on January 24th and will be due January 31st
2) Abstract Summary task will be assigned on January 31st and will be due February 9th.
3) Abstracts Integration task will be assigned on February 9th and will be due February 14th.
4) Email possible research questions for your research questions to Zach by March 18
5) Research project proposals are due April 11th.
6) Research projects are due May 9th in class.
The instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus.