Self-Determination and Social Support Study, 2015

Intimate couples were recruited from the psychology participant pool of Kent State University in exchange for course credit. The final sample included 160 people (80 couples), although the data from some participants is not usable for some variables for various reasons (e.g., they did not speak English during the interaction task; they did not complete all the measures of interest).
<br>
<br>
To be eligible for the study, all participants were required to be in a committed, monogamous relationship for at least 3-months prior to the start of the study, and speak fluent english.
<br>
<br>
Average age = 20.12 (SD = 3.85). Race: 81.6% White, 10.8% African-American, 3.2% Asian, 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 2.5% other race. 2 of the couples were same-sex couples (both female-female couples), 78 of the couples were male-female couples.
<br>
<br>
Procedure: Participants arrived to the laboratory where they were first separated from their partner to complete a pre-interaction questionnaire, which included assessments of relationship motivation, basic need satisfaction, attachment, self-esteem, and others. Next, they were reunited for a social support interaction paradigm, where one member of the couple shared a personal goal with their partner, and the couple then discussed this personal foal for the next 7 minutes. These interactions were video-taped, and subsequently coded for social support seeking and provision based on a coding scheme developed by Overall et al. (2010). After the video-taped interaction, participants were separated for a post-interaction survey, which assed their mood, perceptions of partner responsiveness, and others. Participants were then debriefed, and the study was complete.
<br>
<br>
Approved by the IRB of Kent State University, Protocol #14-470 "Couples' Discussion Study"