Ethical considerations in research studies into the formation of personal relationships

1. Cultural factors in the formation of personal relationships taken from Pamoja Buss’s (1989) study remains one of the largest cross-cultural studies in evolutionary psychology and it was instrumental in establishing that forming a relationship does appear to have evolutionary influences. However, it is important to acknowledge that this study also revealed some cross-cultural differences in relationship formation. One example was in the importance of chastity. Buss found that the value placed on chastity varied substantially across cultures. Participants from China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan and Israel placed a high value on this trait when forming a relationship with a potential mate. Most Western European participants however viewed chastity as ‘irrelevant or unimportant’ in a potential partner, i.e., participants from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, West Germany and France. Therefore, the role of chastity in women appeared to be more highly valued by males in some societies, particularly in societies that are more traditional with more clearly defined gender roles. This finding appears to contradict the evolutionary proposition that males will seek females showing evidence of faithfulness in order that males do not mistakenly raise another man’s child. Buss (1989) does propose however that as chastity is not directly observable, it is more difficult to establish how far it plays a role in faithfulness detection when males are seeking a female partner. Furthermore, sexual behaviour in females varies in terms of their sexual freedom across cultures. Hence, in cultures where this freedom is accepted and has become the norm, this may now override evolutionary tendencies for males to prefer faithfulness in females. Another possibility is that this evolutionary tendency still exists in men but with contraception being widely available in some cultures, it is possible to argue that use of contraception by females displaces the need for males to think about faithfulness and the dangers of raising another man’s child as his own.

2. 1. Participants should not be harmed 2. Respect for dignity should be prioritised 3. Consent should be given by participants 4. The protection of privacy needs to be secured 5. Confidentiality should be ensured 6. Anonymity of participants in the research has to be ensured. 7. Little to no deception in a study 8. ''Affiliations in any forms, sources of funding, as well as any possible conflicts of interests have to be declared.'' 9. Communication should be conducted honestly 10 ''Any type of misleading information, as well as representation of primary data findings in a biased way must be avoided.'' Ethical Considerations - Research Methodology https://research-methodology.net/research-methodology/ethical-considerations/

2.1. Overall Ethical considerations

3. Buss’s (1989)

3.1. Considerations

3.1.1. Confidentiality is ensured in the study and privacy doesn't seem to be a problem

3.1.2. It needs to be considered that results are kept to the participant and the researcher in terms of high levels of details.

3.1.3. As culture plays a role in the study it needs to be respected that all communication and conduct should be the same and potential considerations in culture need to be looked at respectively.

3.2. Maintaining objectivity instead of subjectivity in the investigation of the study

3.2.1. It needs to be respected that participants are observed in a group and not as case studies. In terms of culture in connection with the results, this could cause results to be effected by bias.

4. Simons et al.

4.1. Considerations

4.1.1. Considerations seem to have been regarded respectfully.

4.1.1.1. As aggressive behaviour in the study is discussed in correlation to human relationships, it needs to be respected that participants need to be kept anonymous for personal safety.

4.1.2. Participants aren't being deceived as it is a longitudinal study and there seems to be a no lack in communication between the subjects and the experimenters

5. Social cognitive factors in the formation of personal relationships taken from Pamoja Simons et al. (2014) carried out further research into the correlation between experiences in childhood and the success of later adult romantic relationships. Using a longitudinal study, the researchers sought to assess how far parenting style in childhood was linked to hostile and aggressive interactions with romantic partners in adulthood. The researchers recruited participants who were also taking part in an ongoing longitudinal study called the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS). This study was taking place in Georgia and Iowa and aimed to establish the long-term effects of family and neighbourhood relationships on health and development in African American families. The participants in the FACHS study had already been tested at ages 10.5, 12.5, 15, 18, 20 and 23 years and of the 897 individuals who started the study, 699 were still taking part. The study by Simons et al. involved the assessment of the FACHS data from unmarried participants in a romantic relationship in this sample of 699 participants. This produced a sample of 345 participants of whom 202 were female and 143 were male. The sample’s data from the FACHS study was subjected to further analysis by Simons et al. The results showed that parental behaviour with regard to parenting style and modelling of behaviour had some influence on the style of their children’s behaviour in their adult romantic relationships. More specifically, a secure childhood attachment fostered by supportive parenting was correlated with warm and loving behaviour in adult relationships. Conversely, there was some evidence that poor attachment experiences in childhood were correlated with hostility and aggression towards adult partners. It is possible to argue therefore that a romantic relationship could be affected in the formation stage by such hostility and aggression and this could dissuade a potential partner from wanting to continue with the relationship. As well as assessing childhood experiences, some researchers have explored how cognition influences relationship formation. One example of a study of relationship cognition was carried out by Adeagbo (2015) on a sample of gay men in South Africa. Using a longitudinal approach, Adeagbo assessed 10 interracial gay male couples aged 23-58 years old over a period of eight months. During this period, the men underwent semi-structured interviews on an individual basis and questions were asked about a range of aspects related to their daily lives as part of a couple. Some questions were specifically aimed at assessing factors in relationship formation. The study revealed that resources (e.g., money) and personal characteristics (e.g., age, physique) were less important in relationship formation and showed instead that how a potential partner is perceived as most influential. For example, if a person thinks that a potential partner shows attributes such as kindness and generosity, they would be more likely to initiate a relationship.

6. Studies