Fast Friends Discussion Between Romantic Partners, 2017

We recruited 107 romantic couples (214 people total), including 16 same-sex couples (12 lesbian couples; 4 gay couples), who responded to advertisements on the University of Michigan campus, in the community, and online (e.g., Facebook). Participants self-reported their race/ethnicity as 65% Caucasian, 14% Asian, 7% Arican, 5% multi/bi-racial, 3% Hispanic/Latino, 3% Indian/Pakistani, 1% American-Indian, and 2% other. To be eligible, participants had to be between 18 to 40 years old (because of age-related changes in hormones), speak and read English fluently, and be in a romantic relationship for at least three months. Smokers, people taking any hormonal medication (e.g., hormonal birth control), and pregnant women were not eligible. People who were interested in the study followed a link to an online survey, which they were to complete independently from their partner. After providing informed consent and confirming eligibility, participants completed a battery of personality questionnaires (e.g., Big Five), which are not included in the present report. Once both partners completed the initial survey, they were invited to schedule a lab session together. Upon arrival to the laboratory, participants provided their first saliva sample while simultaneously completing a pre-task survey (to collect mood and relationship measures) at computers placed at opposite ends of the room to ensure independence and allow privacy. After the pre-task measures were completed, couples were seated in armchairs located in a section of our laboratory designed to resemble a living room. They were randomly assigned one of two discussion conditions, modelled closely after the “fast friends” (experimental condition) and “small talk” (control condition) tasks developed by Aron et al. (1997). We have videotape recordings of behaviors (face and body), coded behavioral synchrony between partners, transcribed their conversation, coded laughter, coded sexual desire and nurturance, and assayed testosterone and cortisol before and after this task. Once couples completed the discussion task, they returned to the computers to complete a post-task survey, which included a post-task questionnaire (similar to the pre-task questionnaire) and the same measures of relationship closeness, relationship quality, and positive and negative affect described earlier. We followed up with couples 1 month and approximately 1 year post-lab session to measure relationship status, attachment, and relationship quality. All procedures were reviewed and approved by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board, approval #: HUM00130413