Week 2 Interpersonal Theory general ideas usually abstract falsifiable allows us to view the world through someone else s eyes Functions of a Theory Should generate a hypotheses Experiments should be designed to test the hypotheses o Hallmark of science and the scientific method Should be able to be proven wrong Theories can be revised and tested by anyone Systems Theory Basic Assumptions o All parts are interconnected o Influences from environment and other aspects The Simple Family System Wife Husband Child Environment Social Exchange Theory SET Individuals makes decisions based on costs and rewards Applies to decisions in relationships Individuals are motivated by self interest Individuals are rational We all look to maximize profit Ecological Theory Humans are dependent on the environment We are social and depend on one another Humans organize themselves spatially plane example Individual Immediate Family Extended Family Environment Novel Thought Key West Example o 1980s drug importation Government road block drug check Traffic tourist hold up Island going broke o Key West threaten to succeed from the Union declared War on the USA Applied for foreign aid Road block was removed United States was embarrassed Understanding and explaining both sides of an argument then using available evidence to come to logical conclusions o Does not mean a narrow or one sided view Critical Thought Science is a process not an end Multiple Interpretations Best hospital o Are there multiple ways to interpret the same data o What if one hospital is devoted to cancer patient high mortality rate unfair interpretation How do we research families Personal experience vs research must separate multi disciplinary field o 2 dimensions of relationship research Time frame of data Type of data Time Frames Cross sectional research o Snapshot in time survey Longitudinal research Types of data collected Quantitative Approach more likely used o Statistics o Tend to look at one truth Qualitative Approach o Collect more detailed information about a specific topic or issue No statistics More likely to focus on multiple truths Some studies take advantages of both approaches o Following the same people over time survey questions asked over a span of time