Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 13: Hurting the Ones We Love: Relational Transgressions
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Researchers who have studied hurt and pain in relationships have discovered
a paradoxical nature about hurt. Which of the following statements represents
that nature?
A. The people with whom we share the strongest emotional connection have the
power to hurt us in ways no one else can.
B. Humans don’t want anyone to hurt them; however, they feel more powerful
when they hurt someone else.
C. Partners who have been hurt by someone will hurt others in future
relationships first so they won’t be victims again.
D. We never hurt the same person the same way twice.
2. The most intense hurt feelings arise when a partner’s words or actions
communicate ______.
A. devaluation
B. judgment
C. negative attributions
D. metafrustration
3. Transgressions occur when ______.
A. people become unhappy in their relationship(s)
B. couples engage in conflict
C. people violate rules in their relationship(s)
D. there is a major decision to be made in a relationship
4. The three actions that people most commonly identify as relational
transgressions are ______.
A. betraying confidences, deception, and forgetting a special occasion
B. deception, infidelity, and dating or flirting with others
C. infidelity, betraying confidences, and making false accusations
D. making false accusations, dating or flirting with others, and personal insults
5. According to the evolutionary hypothesis discussed in your textbook, men and
women react differently to emotional and sexual infidelity because ______.
A. men can’t talk about their feelings as well as women can
B. men and women have different priorities related to mating and parenting
C. women don’t care if their partners are sexually unfaithful as long as they are
emotionally faithful
D. men believe women are emotionally connected to people they have sex with,
whereas women believe men can have sex without being emotionally connected
6. According to the double-shot hypothesis, men and women react differently to
emotional and sexual infidelity because ______.
A. men can’t talk about their feelings as well as women can
B. men and women have different priorities related to mating and parenting
C. women don’t care if their partners are sexually unfaithful as long as they are
emotionally faithful
D. men believe women are emotionally connected to people they have sex with,
whereas women believe men can have sex without being emotionally connected
7. Research suggests that people are most likely to forgive their partner for
engaging in sexual infidelity when ______.
A. they witness the infidelity firsthand
B. they hear about the infidelity from a third party
C. the partner confesses after being questioned
D. the partner discloses the information on her or his own
8. When someone wants something of value that someone else has, he or she is
experiencing ______.
A. jealousy
B. rivalry
C. envy
D. empathy
9. Adam likes Paul. Adam makes negative comments about Don because he
thinks Paul might like Don. Adam highlights Don’s bad traits whenever he’s
around Paul. Adam is engaging in which of rival-focused response?
A. jealousy
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. surveillance
C. derogating competitors
D. rival contact
10. The emotions most central to jealousy are ______.
A. love and sexual arousal
B. fear and anger
C. sadness and guilt
D. appreciation and aggression
11. Women experience more ______ in jealous situations than men.
A. anger
B. denial
C. anxiety
D. self-confidence
12. Which of the following is the best example of a compensatory restoration
response to jealousy?
A. Jason checks the call log on his girlfriend’s cell to see who she called.
B. Bob accuses Steve of being disloyal to him.
C. Rachel flirts with Brent to try and get Nick jealous.
D. Kristen makes herself especially attractive when around Terry.
13. Which of the following is the best example of using surveillance as a
response to jealousy?
A. Jason checks the call log on his girlfriend’s cell to see who she called.
B. Bob accuses Steve of being disloyal to him.
C. Rachel flirts with Brent to try and get Nick jealous.
D. Kristen makes herself especially attractive when around Terry.
14. Research suggests that the most lying occurs in relationships between
______.
A. strangers
B. acquaintances
C. friends
D. romantic partners
15. Which of the following is the biggest disadvantage when it comes to detecting
deception in close relationships?
A. behavioral familiarity
B. informational familiarity
C. the truth bias
D. behavioral detection
16. One night, while getting ready to go out dancing, a friend asks you if he looks
like he is trying too hard to “meet someone.” Not directly answering the question,
you tell him that he’s a single guy and that he might find that a lot of guys will be
dressed similarly. Your response is best described as a/an ______.
A. concealment
B. exaggeration
C. lie
D. equivocation
17. The three most common forms of hurtful messages reported by college
students are ______.
A. evaluations, accusations, and informative statements
B. threats, jokes, and accusations
C. deception, directives, and jokes
D. evaluations, threats, and questions
18. ______ responses to hurtful messages involve giving in and acknowledging
the partner’s ability to hurt you by engaging in behaviors such as crying or
apologizing.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. Acquiescent
B. Invulnerable
C. Positive verbal
D. Negative verbal
19. When a would-be lover wants to intensify a romantic relationship but the
other person is not interested, it is known as ______.
A. unrequited love
B. unresponsive love
C. fear of rejection
D. obtrusive love
20. Which of the following statements is true according to relational goal pursuit
theory?
A. People expend energy to develop or reinitiate relationships to the extent that
they perceive a relationship is desirable and attainable.
B. Close relationships help people fulfill their instrumental goals as well as their
need for affection.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. People experience positive emotion when their relational goals are met or
exceeded, and negative emotion when those goals are blocked.
D. Personal and relational goals are arranged in a hierarchical structure that
guides people’s choices about what relationships they should purse, maintain,
and end.
21. ______ type of violence tends to be reciprocal and occurs in the midst of
conflict.
A. Intimate terrorism
B. Negativity spirals
C. Common couple violence
D. Friendly fire
22. According to your readings and class lecture, the most important criterion for
defining intimate terrorism is that it ______.
A. is reciprocal
B. is enacted by a man toward a woman
C. tends to be short term because it is tied to a particular situation
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
D. is part of a general pattern of control
23. Diba has been receiving unwanted electronic greeting cards, pornographic
messages, and needy messages from someone. Diba is a victim of ______.
A. online stalking
B. hyperintimacy
C. network intrusion
D. mediated murking
24. Obsessive relational intrusion includes ______.
A. cutting in on a dance partner
B. thinking about someone you love
C. repeated, unwanted calls or texts
D. rejecting people before they reject you
True/False
1. Someone who is sending repeated, unwanted calls or texts to someone is
engaged in stalking.
2. Communicative infidelity occurs when people engage in sexual activity with a
third party to communicate a message to their partner.
3. Lurking on someone’s Facebook site to see new postings and pictures is
actually appreciated by most Facebook users and is not considered intrusive.
4. Compensatory restoration is a form of self-improvement to try prevent one’s
partner from straying as solution for one’s jealousy.
5. “I’m sorry I made you cry” is an example of an acquiescent response.
6. Constantly asking for another chance with one’s ex is a form of ORI.
7. Hurtful messages rarely cause psychological pain.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
8. Jealousy can be a sign of love and attachment but it can also be both a
symptom and a cause of relational distress.
9. Women tend to have fewer jealous feelings than men.
10. Jealous women report using integrative communication, expressing emotion,
and using counter-jealousy inductions more often than jealous men.
11. Stalking behaviors constitute repeated and unwanted contact that is
threatening and/or fear-provoking.
12. People from collectivist cultures view deception as more acceptable.
Essay
1. Michael breaks up with Michele. Michele believes that she will never love
anyone as much as Michael. She cannot imagine life without him. According to
relational goal pursuit theory, she is trying to reinitiate a relationship only she
sees as desirable. Michele is using ORI behaviors instead of seeking a new
relationship. There are four general reasons people do this. Discuss three of the
reasons and suggest why Michele might be using them.
2. Identify five common responses to jealousy. Next, indicate which, if any, of
these responses is most likely to reduce jealous feelings and thought.
3. What is obsessive relational intrusion and why is it a concern of relational
communication researchers? List and define three forms of ORI and discuss
possible ways people cope with others’ ORI.
4. What is unrequited love and what are some choices for people in that
situation?
5. There are several types of deception and three primary motives for practicing
deception. Discuss the three types of deception and what might motivate a
person to use them.