Psychology 3724G 001 FW24

 The Science of Romantic Relationships

WESTERN UNIVERSITY 

LONDON 

CANADA 

Department of Psychology 

2024-2025 

Psychology 3724G 

Section 001 

The Science of Romantic Relationships 

 

1.0 

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION 

This course provides an overview of the field of intimate relationships. Current empirical research  

is emphasized. Topics include theoretical perspectives on intimate relationships (e.g., social  

psychological theory, evolutionary and life histories theory, interpersonal attraction, love, sexuality, 

communication within relationships, and various relationship challenges (conflict, violence, power, 

loss, etc.). 

Antirequisites: Psychology 3726F/G, 3790G if taken in 2012/13 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be 

taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course  

previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the  

grade achieved in the most recent course. 

Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810 

2 lecture hours, 1 tutorial hour, 0.5 course 

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special  

permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course  

and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You  

will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a  

course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites. 

 

2.0 

COURSE INFORMATION 

Instructor: 

Lorne Campbell 

Office: SSC 6328 

Group Office Hours: Mondays, 11am – 12pm 

Email:  

lcampb23@uwo.ca 

Teaching Assistants:  

 

Somer Schaffer (sschaff4@uwo.ca) 

 

Sara Moazami (smoazam4@uwo.ca) 

Time and Location of Classes and Labs:  

See Brightspace for details 

 

3.0 

TEXTBOOK 

There is not textbook for this class. I have assigned readings for each week/topic that 

are available online.  

Optional textbook: 

Fletcher, G.J.O., Simpson, J.A., Campbell, L., & Overall, N.  

(2019).  

The science of intimate relationships (2nd ed.) 

. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.  

ISBN: 978-1-119-43004-9 

 

4.0 

COURSE OBJECTIVES & LEARNING OUTCOMES 

The purpose of this course is to develop a thorough understanding of the psychology of  

romantic, intimate relationships. The topics include interpersonal attraction, relationship  

maintenance, and relationship dissolution. The objectives are to be aware of current  

theory and research regarding different facets of intimate relationships, and critically  

evaluate this literature. 

Lectures are intended to complement and elaborate upon the readings. Given  

that weekly readings are focused more narrowly on a particular research topic  

material that is not in the readings will be presented each week during lecture.  

Weekly slides presented at lectures will be posted in advance on the course  

website. If you wish, you can print copies of the slides, bring them to class, and  

use them as a framework for taking notes.  

Discussion during lecture time is encouraged, so please feel free to ask  

questions at any point and to offer your thoughts about issues raised in the  

lectures.  

Tutorial/laboratory meetings will focus on specific aspects of the week’s topic.  

Sometimes the lab will involve watching a video and discussing it afterwards,  

sometimes the lab will expose students to concrete elements of a research topic 

(e.g., different perspectives on gender differences in interpersonal attraction),  

and sometimes the lab will involve discussion of a pertinent topic. Tutorial/lab  

sections are limited to 25 students per section. 

 

Learning Outcome 

Learning Activity 

Assessment 

Depth and Breadth of  

Knowledge 

Describe , identify and explain  

the evolutionary, personal,  

interpersonal, and developmental 

factors that influence thoughts,  

feelings and behaviors of  

partners in romantic relationship 

 

Lecture; Class discussions;  

Textbook/Readings 

 

Exams, Tutorial participation 

Application of Knowledge 

Articulate the above concepts  

when critically evaluating  

research and building persuasive 

arguments in this area 

 

Lecture; Class discussions;  

Textbook/Readings 

 

Exams, Tutorial participation 

Application of Methodologies 

Explain how personal, situational, 

and relationship factors apply to  

the thoughts, feelings and  

behaviors of partners in romantic  

relationships 

 

Lecture; Class discussions;  

Textbook/Readings 

 

Exams, Tutorial participation 

Communication Skills 

Communicate ideas clearly and  

concisely, in language accessible 

to intelligent non-experts (oral  

and written formats 

 

Lecture; Class discussions;  

Textbook/Readings, paper 

 

Exams, Tutorial participation,  

paper 

 

Awareness of Limits of  

Knowledge 

Describe and explain the limits of 

research conclusions in the  

context of methodological  

practices within the field 

 

Lecture; Class discussions;  

Textbook/Readings 

 

Exams, Tutorial participation 

Autonomy and Professional  

Capacity 

Develop the ability to critique  

others’ writing politely and  

professionally 

 

Lecture; Class discussion 

Exams, Tutorial participatio 

5.0 

EVALUATION 

The evaluation and testing formats for this course were created to assess the learning objectives as listed 

in section 4.0 and are considered necessary for meeting these learning objectives. 

Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to  

pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%. 

This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work  

accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least three full days before the date of the deadline for  

withdrawal from a course without academic penalty. 

The expectation for course grades within the Psychology Department is that 

they will be distributed  

around the following averages: 

70% 1000-level to 2099-level courses 

72% 2100-2999-level courses 

75% 3000-level courses 

80% 4000-level courses 

 

In the event that course grades are significantly higher or lower than these averages, instructors may be  

required to make adjustments to course grades. Such adjustment might include the normalization of one  

or more course components and/or the re-weighting of various course components. 

Policy on Grade Rounding 

Please note that although course grades within the Psychology Department are rounded to the  

nearest whole number, no further grade rounding will be done. No additional assignments will be  

offered to enhance a final grade; nor will requests to change a grade because it is needed for a  

future program be considered. 

 

6.0 

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE 

The two exams (Midterm Exam and Final Exam) will contain both multiple choice and essay  

questions. Material for the exams will be taken from weekly lectures AS WELL as weekly tutorials. 

The final exam is NOT cumulative. You will have a maximum of 2 hours to complete each exam.  

Each exam is worth 35% of the final grade. 

 

MIDTERM TEST: February 25 (in class during class time) 

FINAL EXAM: 

TBA (during exam schedule) 

 

Make-Up Exams 

: Tests must be written during the scheduled timeframe unless you have a  

legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration. Valid reasons include medical or  

compassionate reasons, and must be substantiated by proper documentation (e.g., a medical  

certificate, which will be verified by the Office of the Dean). A student who misses a regularly  

scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify a claim, will be assigned a 0 for the  

exam. 

Paper: 

The paper (worth 30%) will be a 10-page double-spaced paper of text (minimum  

2500 words of text, maximum 3725 of text), plus title page, references, and tables (if any). Please use Times New Roman font, size 12, with margins of 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides (left, right, top,  

bottom). 

The paper is due on the date of the last lecture via the assignment tab on OWL. Essays that are  

late will be penalized 1 mark (out of 30) every 2 days. Further instructions regarding electronic  

submission will be provided.  

 

For the paper you will (a) identify at least 3 research articles in reputable academic journals on a  

topic of interests, (b) develop a thorough understanding of the ideas, methods, and results of this  

body of research, (c) and write a “popular press” article that conveys the information in a way that 

accurately represents the research but can be understood by someone without a science  

background. Essentially, I am asking you to become a science writer. For context, here is a link to 

my favorite science writer:  

https://ed-yong.squarespace.com/writing/ 

. More information will be  

provided in class and tutorials.  

7.0 

CLASS SCHEDULE 

**No Lab/Tutorial the week of January 6 

th 

**  

Week of January 6 

Lecture 1  

Organizational lecture; Introduction to the study of intimate relationships 

Readings:  

The Greening of Relationship Science by Ellen Berscheid (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.4.260 

) 

Lab/Tutorial topic: 

Introductory session 

 

Week of January 13 

Lecture 2 

Relationship Science—Key theories and concepts 

Readings:  

Steps Toward the Ripening of Relationship Science by Harry Reis  

(DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00139.x 

) 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

The study of relationships from a scientific perspective  

assignments; Levels of explanation for human behaviour 

 

Week of January 20 

Lecture 3 

The relationship mind 

Readings:  

Social Cognition in Relationships: Building Essential Bridges Between Two  

Literatures by Harry Reis et al. (DOI:  

10.1521/soco.1999.17.2.97)  

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Implicit and explicit processes in relationships  

 

Week of January 27 

Lecture 4 

The relationship body  

Readings:  

Men in Committed, Romantic Relationships have Lower Testosterone by T.C.  

Burnham et al. (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0018-506X(03)00125-9 

) 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Distress and eustress in relationships 

 

Week of February 3 

Lecture 5 

Beyond thinking of romantic relationships only as two people 

Readings:  

Beyond the Dyad: A Review of the Novel Insights Gained from Studying  

Consensual Non-Monogamy, by Rhonda Balzarini & Amy Muise (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-020-00297-x 

 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

“Mixed” Relationships 

 

Week of February 10 

Lecture 6 

Interpersonal attraction 

Readings:  

No reading this week—too many to choose from!  

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Culture and attraction 

 

Week of February 17 

No Class—Fall reading week 

Week of February 24  

 

Week of February 24  

Lecture 7 

Midterm Test (in class, during class time) 

Lab/Tutorial topic: 

No lab 

Week of March 3 

Lecture 8 

Love and commitment 

Readings:  

Love and the Commitment Problem in Romantic Relations and Friendship by  

Gian Gonzaga et al. (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.2.247 

 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Same-sex relationships 

 

Week of March 10 

Lecture 9 

Understanding each other’s minds 

Readings:  

Working Models of Attachment and Attribution Processes in Intimate  

Relationships by Nancy Collins et al. (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167205280907 

 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Assessing empathic accuracy 

 

Week of March 17 

Lecture 10 

Communication and interaction 

Readings:  

What Type of Communication During Conflict is Beneficial for Intimate  

Relationships?, by Nickola Overall & James McNulty (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.03.002 

 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Body language 

 

Week of March 24 

Lecture 11 

Sex and passion 

Readings:  

Sexual Frequency Predicts Greater Well-Being, But More is Not Always Better, 

by Amy Muise et al. (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615616462 

 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Sexual and relationship satisfaction 

 

Week of March 31 

Lecture 12 

The Dark side of relationships: Relationship Violence; Relationship  

Dissolution 

Readings:  

Using I3 Theory to Clarify when Dispositional Aggressiveness Predicts  

Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration, by Eli Finkel et al. (DOI:  

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025651 

 

Lab/Tutorial topic:  

Staying in bad relationships 

 

TBA 

Final Exam (During final exam period) 

 

 

8 

Academic Integrity  

Scholastic offences are taken seriously, and students are directed to read the appropriate policy,  

specifically, the definition of what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following Web site:  

https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf 

. 

Possible penalties for a scholastic offence include failure of the assignment/exam, failure of the course,  

suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University. 

Plagiarism Detection Software 

All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism 

detection software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. 

All papers submitted for 

such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of  

detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the  

licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com. 

Use of AI 

The use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to produce written work is not permitted unless  

permission is granted by the instructor for specific circumstances. Any work submitted must be the work  

of the student in its entirety unless otherwise disclosed. When used, AI tools should be used ethically and  

responsibly, and students must cite or credit the tools used in line with the expectation to use AI as a tool  

to learn, not to produce content. 

Multiple Choice Exams  

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams will be subject to submission for similarity review by 

software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating. 

Exam Proctoring Software 

Tests and examinations for online courses may be conducted using a remote proctoring service. More  

information about this remote proctoring service, including technical requirements, is available on  

Western’s Remote  

Proctoring website at:  

https://remoteproctoring.uwo.ca 

. 

Personal Response Systems (“Clickers”) 

In classes that involve the use of a personal response system, data collected will only be used in a  

manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort  

to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of  

electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. 

9 

Academic Accommodations and Accessible Education 

View Western’s policy on academic accommodations for student with disabilities at this  

link 

. 

Accessible Education provides supports and services to students with disabilities at Western. 

If you think you may qualify for ongoing accommodation that will be recognized in all your courses, visit  

Accessible Education 

for more information. 

Email:  

aew@uwo.ca 

Phone: 519 661-2147 

10 

Absence & Academic Consideration 

View Western’s policy on academic consideration for medical illnesses this  

link 

Find your academic counsellor here:  

https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/faculty_academic_counselling.html 

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be  

approved for certain academic considerations. Students  

must communicate with their instructors no  

later than 24 hours 

after the end of the period covered SMC, or immediately upon their return following a 

documented absence. 

Medical Absences 

Submit a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner to  

Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for Academic Consideration. 

Nonmedical Absences 

Submit appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to  

Academic Counselling in your Faculty of registration to be eligible for academic consideration. Students  

are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate. 

Religious Consideration 

Students seeking accommodation for religious purposes are advised to contact Academic Counselling at  

least three weeks prior to the religious event and as soon as possible after the start of the term. 

11 

Other Information  

 

Office of the Registrar:  

https://registrar.uwo.ca 

 

Student Development Services:  

www.sdc.uwo.ca 

 

Psychology Undergraduate Program:  

https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/index.html 

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to  

Health and Wellness@Western  

https://www.uwo.ca/health/ 

for a complete list of options about how to obtain help. 

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any  

other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you.  

If you wish to appeal a grade, please read the policy documentation at:  

https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/appealsundergrad.pdf 

. Please first contact the 

course instructor. If your issue is not resolved, you may make your appeal in writing to the Undergraduate  

Chair in Psychology ( 

psyugrd@uwo.ca 

). 

Copyright Statement  

Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, videos and similar materials, 

are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own  

educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute  

any course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without the instructor’s written consent. 

12 

Land Acknowledgement 

We acknowledge that Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek,  

Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton. Nations, on lands connected with the London  

Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. This land  

continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we  

recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors of our socie