Social Psychology
Instructor:  Susan Boland

Case Study 5.2 

Adapted from a case study written by Erik Coats and Robert S. Feldman in Feldman, R.S. & Regan, P.C. (1995). Social Psychology: Student Workbook with Case Studies. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:  Prentice Hall.  

§      This case study assignment requires that you apply the ideas presented in Chapter 9 of the textbook and lecture. Read the case study carefully and answer the five questions in detail.  Follow the instructions for case study assignments in the “Course Handouts”.  A copy of the instructions is also on my web-page http://www.lhup.edu/sboland/ 

·         Do NOT plagiarize!  Avoid quoting directing from the textbook -- write in your own words.  Information taken from the text, even if rewritten in your own words, must be credited to or cited to the textbook authors or to lecture.  See the full case study instructions for more details about citing the text and lecture as a source.  

·         If you have any questions regarding this assignment please ask. 

Case Study 5.2:  Three’s Company, Four’s a Crowd 

     As the best man, Justin was giving a toast to the newlyweds, Steve and Christine.  After the toast Justin continued to reminisce about how his relationship with his friends.  After all, if it hadn’t been for Justin, Steve and Christine would have never have met.

     Three years ago, Justin placed an ad in the newspaper to find roommates to share his house.  Justin had recently moved to the city because of a new job, and hadn’t met many people yet.  He purchased a large house, and there was plenty of space to have roommates, yet preserve Justin’s privacy at the same time.

      One week after placing the ad Justin rented the large room downstairs to Steve.  Two weeks later Christine rented the small room upstairs.  A third room was rented to another man named Frank.

      Although Justin liked his new roommates, he didn’t have much in common with them.  Steve and Christine were both college students at the local university, and were several years younger than Justin.  They both liked rock music, going to movies, and were athletic.  Justin, on the other hand, preferred a quieter lifestyle of reading, listening to classical music, and going for evening strolls. Despite these differences, Steve and Christine were considerate roommates, and Justin enjoyed their company. 

       On the other hand, Frank didn’t seem to fit in well in the household.  He worked the night shift at a local factory, so the others seldom saw him.  They mostly encountered the messes he left in the shared kitchen.  His sardine and onion sandwiches left an unpleasant, lingering smell in the kitchen.  He also smoked cigars which the three nonsmoking roommates disliked.  Like the other housemates, Frank also enjoyed music, but on his nights off he turned up his favorite country and western radio station so loud that the others had a hard time sleeping.  When after two months, Frank announced that he was moving in with a buddy from work, the others felt relief.

      The three roommates continued to get along, but after about six months, it became clear that Steve and Christine were becoming more than “just friends”.  At first, it was really mostly Christine pursing Steve.  It was a good thing too, Justin thought to himself.  Steve was rather shy, but Christine was more outgoing.  But those differences were only superficial.  Deep down, Steve and Christine both valued the same things.  They were both serious about their college education, believed in hard work, while still taking time out to enjoy life, and they both strongly valued loyal friendship.  And now today they were married!

Each answer is worth up to 5 points.  

1)  Justin decides to advertise for some roommates to share his house.  How might his

     feelings of loneliness and his need for affiliation relate to his decision to rent out

     rooms? (Make sure to explain what the terms mean.)

2)  What is the mere exposure effect?  How might it have affected Steve and Christine’s

       relationship?  What about the housemates’ relationship with Frank?

3)  Is it true that “birds of a feather flock together?”  What is the role of similarity and

     dissimilarity in Byrne’s model of interpersonal attraction?  Use this model to explain

     the relationships that developed among the four roommates: Justin, Steve, Christine

     and Frank.  (One way to approach this question is to apply Byrne’s model from one

     roommate’s (e.g., Christine) perspective.)

4)  a.  If you had to guess what Steve and Christine looked like, would you guess that one

          was better looking than the other, or that they were about the same in terms of

          looks?  What would the matching hypothesis predict?  (Be sure to explain what the

          matching hypothesis is.)

     b.  Do “opposites attract”?  Explain the complementarity hypothesis.  Give an example

          of  complementarity from Christine and Steve’s relationship.  Is there much

          experimental support for the complementarity  hypothesis?  If opposites attract,

          why didn’t Christine fall for Frank?

5)  Christine initiated the relationship with Steve.  What might have happened if Steve

     played hard-to-get?  Discuss how a person trying to initiate a relationship might to

     respond to individuals based on how selective those individuals are.  (Base your answer

     on relevant research.)