Psychology report

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGNFoundation of Natural Build Environment (FNBE)Semester 2

Social Psychology [PSYC0103]

Research Report

Topic: Study on Perspective about Relationships

Jake Sia Chyi Sern 0314396 Muhd Syafiq Bin Hj Abd Zariful 0314702Tan Kai Sin 0315213Woo Wen Jian 0315123

Group / Session : Group 1 (Tuesday 3:30pm)Submission Date : 22 January 2013

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Acknowledgement

First, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Miss Pang Chia Yee, our social psychology lecturer for guiding us and giving us some useful tips for this study and also for teaching us about social psychology which has helped us to do complete this project more efficiently.

We would like to thank all the participants involved in this study for providing us with the required information for this project, excusing us of our intrusion and also for taking the time to fill up the questionnaires.

Lastly, we would like to thank our group members who have given their cooperation and participation and have set apart time to contribute to this report in the midst of their busy schedule.

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Table of Contents

Title PageAcknowledged 2Table of Contents 3ABSTRACT 4INTRODUCTION 5METHOD 6Participants 6

Materials /Apparatus 6Procedure 6RESULTS 7DISCUSSION 19REFERENCES 21APPENDICES Appendix A: Questionnaire Appendix B :Data analysis Appendix C :

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Abstract

Elliott(2012) states that, it’s difficult to be friends with ex, at least initially. From 2004 NBC.com poll, 48% of people surveyed said they remained friends with their ex. Thus, to investigate which statement is correct, a survey is conducted on 100 participants which consists of students from Taylor's University Lakeside Campus and our families members. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire of about 10 questions. The result shows most of the participants who are not sure that they will say 'hi' to their ex, continues chatting with them like friends., voluntary help them, continues hang out with them, will mention them in front of friends and hopes to get back into the relationship ; agree that still think of them as friends and wishes them on special events ; disagree about still thinking about their ex ; strongly disagree to not date another person after breakup. In conclusion, the hypothesis is not accepted, couples do not remain as friends after breakup.

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Introduction

According to a 2004 NBC.com poll, 48% of people surveyed said they remained friends with their ex. And 18% of those surveyed said that they have tried, but it did not work. (The Lifescript Editorial Staff, 2007) However, on the other hand, Elliott(2012) an author, relationship coach, counselor and speaker/presenter, states that even after an amicable breakup, it’s extremely difficult to be friends, at least initially.

“Most people cannot remain friends after a breakup, but if it will ever be, it will be later ... much later. The atmosphere immediately following a breakup is too emotionally charged for it to happen right away, if at all.” (Elliott, 2012, para. 2 )

Therefore, in order to investigate which statement is correct, a survey is carried out. The aim of this survey is to identify whether couples that break up can still remain as friends or not. The hypothesis is ‘couples that break up will still remain as friends’.

The assignment is broken down into two parts. Groups of between 4 to 5 members are required to conduct a social psychology experiment, write a report and present the results in class. The first part would be carrying out a group research by using various materials and theories from various topics taught in class. The second part would be conducting a group presentation on the data collected.

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Method

1. Participants: We randomly selected 100 persons that comprises of random strangers, friends and family members both around campus and our respective homes and hang-out spots.

2. Apparatus & Materials:Some of the apparatus and materials that were used include laptops and printer to create the questionnaire. We also used some reference links that was able to help us through this assignment.

3. Procedure:We constructed a survey questionnaire of around 10 questions excluding personal details such as age, gender and whether the participant had an ex before. Participants were approached and asked if they can help us to complete our survey questionnaire for social psychology assignment. Upon completion of the questionnaire, we retrieved it and replied with a simple thanks. We repeated this steps until we obtained our desired amount of information which is 100 surveys. Then we analyzed the data and wrote a report containing our findings.

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Result

The total participants are aged as below (separated by genders)

Gender Age

Male Female

<18 12 10

18-25 32 41

26-35 0 0

>36 2 3

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Total number of participants that had a relationship before

Gender

Had a relationship before?

Male Female

Yes 17 27

No 29 27

In those 44 participants who had a relationship before, it lasted for:

Gender

Relationship lasted for

Male Female

<1 year 11 18

1-2 years 5 3

2-3 years 0 3

3-4 years 0 3

>4years 1 0

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The section onwards will be separated into male and female (male on top, female at bottom)All scenarios are based on AFTER BREAKUP what will they do.

A. Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them.

Figure 1 Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them (MALE)

Figure 2 Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them (FEMALE)

3

6

122

1

122

5

11

18

1

7

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B. Still think of he/she/them as friend

Figure 3 Still think of he/she/them as friend. (Male)

Figure 4 still think of he/she/them as friend. (Female)

C. Continues chatting like friends.

5

4

122

1

122

5

14

9

2

5

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Figure 5 Continues chatting like friends (Male)

Figure 6 Continues chatting like friends. (Female)

D. Wishes them on special events (eg. birthday, Christmas).

5

9

12

1

5

12

9

18

11

4

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Figure 7Wishes them on special events. (Male)

Figure 8 Wishes them on special events. (Female)

E. Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble.

7

4

12

15

11

7

15

1

7

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Figure 9 Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble. (Male)

Figure 10 Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble. (Female)

F. Continues to hang out with them.

5

10

1

12

3

7

24

1

3

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Figure 11 Continues to hang out with them (Male)

Figure 12 Continues to hang out with them (Female)

G.. Will mention them in front of your friends.

78

12

1

4

3

11

17

1

7

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Figure 13 Will mention them in front of your friends. (Male)

Figure 14 Will mention them in front of your friends. (Female)

H. Keeps thinking about them.

4

8

14

1

1

2

9

10

2

8

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Figure 15 Keeps thinking about them. (Male)

Figure 16 Keeps thinking about them. (Female)

I. Hope to get back into a relationship with him/her

8

10

15

8

5

1

16

19

11

7

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Figure 17 Hope to get back into a relationship with him/her. (Male)

Figure 18 Hope to get back into a relationship with him/her. (Female)

J. Not to date another person.

9

6

4

2

5

3

21

13

1

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Figure 19 Not to date another person. (Male)

Figure 20 Not to date another person. (Female)

Discussion

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Based on the survey we carried out, the female participants are slightly more than the amount of male participants which majority of them are aged from18-25 years old. Out of 100 participants, 44 of them broke up before and 65% of those who broke up, their relationship lasted less than a year.

A. From this question we found that more males (25 out of 46) would say ‘hi’ to their ex than compared to females (20 out of 54). On average, males agree to this statement while females are not sure.

B. From this question we found that more males (25 out of 46) would still think of their ex as friends than compared to females (26 out of 54). On average, males agree to this statement whereas females are not sure.

C. From this question we found that more males (20 out of 46) would continue chatting with their ex than compared to females (15 out of 54). On average, both males and females are not sure about this statement.

D. From this question we found that more males (30 out of 46) would wish their ex on special events than compared to females (21 out of 54). On average, males agree to this statement while females are not sure.

E. From this question we found that more males (29 out of 46) would voluntarily offer help to their ex than compared to females (20 out of 54). On average, males agree to this statement whereas females are not sure.

F. From this question we found that more males (12 out of 46) would continue to hang out with their ex than compared to females (10 out of 54). On average, males are not sure about this statement while females disagree with it.

G. From this question we found that more females (10 out of 54) would mention their ex in front of their friends than compared to males (5 out of 46). On average, both males and females are not sure about this statement.

H. From this question we found that more males (13 out of 46) would keep thinking about their ex than compared to females (8 out of 54). On average, males are not sure about this statement while females disagree with it.

I. From this question we found that more males (9 out of 46) would hope to get back into a relationship with their ex than compared to females (3 out of 54). On average, males are not sure about this statement while females disagree with it.

J. From this question we found that more males (5 out of 46) would not date another person than compared to females (4 out of 54). On average, both males and females

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disagree with this statement.

All in all, we can see that males tend to agree more to this survey whereas females tend to disagree more. In total average, males have 4 ‘agree’s, 5 ‘not sure’s and 1 ‘disagree’ whereas females have 6 ‘not sure’s and 4 ‘disagree’s. Since we have obtained slightly more disagrees than we have agree, we have to conclude that couples that break up cannot remain as friends. The hypothesis is not accepted.

References

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McLeod, S. A. (2011), Psychology Research Report, Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/research-report.html

The Lifescript Editorial Staff ( 2007, November 09 ) , Should You Be Friends with Your Ex? Retrieved from http://www.lifescript.com/life/relationships/wreckage/should_you_be_friends_with_your_ex.aspx Elliott, S. ( 2012, May 15 ), Friends With Ex: Should You Be Friends With Your Ex Post-Split? Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/friends-with-ex-should-yo_n_1516245.html

Appendix

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Study on Perspective about RelationshipsThis survey is to fulfil the purpose of our Social Psychology course’s social experiment assignment. Participation in voluntary and the information gathered will be kept confidential.______________________________________________________________________________________First we’d like to ask a few questions about you:How old are you? _____What is your gender? ___________Do you have an ex? __________If yes, how long have you been in that relationship? _______________-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For the next few questions, please choose a number from 1-5 and write it next to each statement to indicate how much you agree on that statement.

1 2 3 4 5Strongly disagree Disagree Not sure Agree Strongly agree

If you have an ex (if you don’t, imagine you have one), you would: 1. Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them. 1 2 3 4 5

2. Still think of he/she/them as friend 1 2 3 4 5

3. Continues chatting like friends. 1 2 3 4 5

4. Wishes them on special events (eg. birthday, Christmas).1 2 3 4 5

5. Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble.) 1 2 3 4 5

6. Continues to hang out with them. 1 2 3 4 5

7. Will mention them in front of your friends. 1 2 3 4 5

8. Keeps thinking about them. 1 2 3 4 5

9. Hopes to get back into a relationship with him/her 1 2 3 4 5

10. Not date another person. 1 2 3 4 5

THANK YOU ON YOUR PARTICIPATION

Gender Male Female46 54

Age

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Below 18 12 1018-25 32 4126-35 0 036 & above 2 3

Have an exYes 17 27No 29 27

How longLess than 1 year 11 181 year + 5 32 years + 0 33 years + 0 34 years + 1 0

Q1Strongly disagree 3 5Disagree 6 11Not sure 12 18Agree 13 13Strongly agree 12 7



Q4Strongly disagree 7 11Disagree 4 7

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Not sure 5 15Agree 18 14Strongly agree 12 7






Q10Strongly disagree 21 26Disagree 9 15

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Not sure 11 9Agree 2 3Strongly agree 3 1

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Psychology report

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