Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 14: Healing the Hurt: Relationship Repair and Reconciliation
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following individuals has a high quality of alternatives?
A. Gabriel, whose parents have a great relationship
B. Dominic, who would enjoy being on his own much more than being “stuck” in
his current relationship
C. Jessica, who has one attractive man pursuing her
D. Allen, who has been engaged to Alex for a year
2. What does the term “comparison level” refer to?
A. how well your relational partner meets your expectations
B. resources that become attached to a relationship and would be lost if the
relationship ended
C. the quality of potential relationships you could have with other people
D. how your relationship compares to the fictional relationships you see on TV
3. What does the term “investment” refer to?
A. how well your relational partner meets your expectations
B. resources that become attached to a relationship and would be lost if the
relationship ended
C. the quality of potential relationships you could have with other people
D. how your relationship compares to the fictional relationships you see on TV
4. According to the model of accommodation, when people in committed
relationships have problems, they are ______.
A. more likely to divest their investment and leave
B. seek more attractive accommodations
C. more likely to accommodate each other and repair the relationship
D. more likely to retreat and recall the good times
5. ______ behaviors involve standing by and letting conditions in a relationship
get worse.
A. Exit
B. Voice
C. Neglect
D. Loyalty
6. In Rusbult’s accommodation model, which strategy for coping with
dissatisfying events is constructive and passive?
A. exit
B. voice
C. neglect
D. loyalty
7. The metaphor “kiss of the porcupines” refers to which of the following
statements?
A. People are like porcupines in that they like to “burrow” into their relationships.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. Humans have the need to be social with one another, but they often harm
each other in their closeness.
C. Research has discovered that partners who have been hurt by sexual infidelity
often feel like kisses from the other person are “prickly.”
D. Sometimes people get “stuck” in their relationships and can’t get loose.
8. In the investment model of relationship-maintaining behavior, the idea of
“derogating alternatives” means that people in committed relationships ______.
A. see their relationship as superior to the relationships of others
B. seek positive alternatives for solving difficult problems
C. find reasons to downgrade the attractiveness of potential partners
D. only resort to the use of neglect or exit strategies when they have exhausted
all the other alternatives
9. Which of the following is a part of the definition of forgiveness?
A. refusing to acknowledge harmful conduct
B. undergoing an unemotional transformation
C. repairing the relationship
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
D. extending undeserved mercy
10. Forgiveness is most likely when ______.
A. people have low self-esteem
B. revenge has taken place
C. the relationship was previously rewarding
D. the offender experiences guilt for what occurred
11. In Kelley and Waldron’s research, the most common strategy for
communicating forgiveness was ______.
A. explicit forgiveness
B. conditional forgiveness
C. minimization
D. discussion
12. According to Waldron and Kelley’s research, ______ is most likely when a
transgression is serious.
A. explicit forgiveness
B. conditional forgiveness
C. minimization
D. discussion
13. One day at your job, you discover that one of your coworkers has told
another coworker about your romantic relationship with a colleague. When you
find out what happened and approach him about it, he says, “Everyone would
have found out eventually anyway. It’s not that bad.” Which of the following
remedial strategies has your coworker used?
A. refusal
B. apology/concession
C. appeasement
D. justification
14. Annabelle believes that Gordon has committed a relational transgression, but
Gordon insists that he has “done nothing wrong” and that Annabelle is “making
something out of nothing.” Gordon is using the strategy called ______.
A. metacommunication
B. appeasement
C. denial
D. relationship talk
15. Couples in ______ on-again, off-again relationships have the worst outcomes
and least successful relationships.
A. habitual
B. controlling
C. mismatched
D. gradual separator
16. What percentage of college students are involved in an on-again, off-again
relationship?
A. over two third
B. about half
C. about a third
D. less than 10%
17. Which of the following is a pro-relationship behavior couples use to deal with
conflict?
A. showing an unwillingness to make a sacrifice for their partner
B. deciding to leave the relationship
C. punishing your partner
D. perceiving relationship superiority
18. Independence theory and the investment model use the term outcome to
refer to ______.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. the ratio of rewards to costs in the relationship
B. whether the relationship is terminated or not
C. if people are generally happy or not in the relationship
D. whether or not both partners achieve sexual satisfaction
19. When people have good relational alternatives, they ______.
A. tend to be more committed to their relationships
B. they tend to flirt more with many people
C. they are less likely to tolerate abusive relationships
D. are often highly dependent on their partner
20. Which of the following is a characteristic of dismissive individuals?
A. They tend to dismiss negative feelings so they tend to be relationally
successful.
B. They value their independence over their relationships.
C. They tend to be ignored or dismissed by others as potential partners.
D. They prioritize their partners’ activities over their own.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
21. Postdivorce friendships that are close and satisfying are ______.
A. a myth
B. managed exes
C. dyadic divorcees
D. perfect pals
22. People who are still together at the end of a 7-month period ______.
A. report an increase in satisfaction and investment
B. have an increase in the quality of alternatives
C. report low levels of commitment
D. have a decrease in investments
23. Secure individuals are more likely than insecure individuals to ______.
A. use affection and assurances
B. use gloominess since they do not worry about relationship loss
C. use forms of communication that do not involve touch, like hugging and
kissing
D. often use neglect and negativity as strategies
24. People communicate forgiveness in a variety of ways including ______.
A. implicit renegotiation
B. maximization
C. transformation
D. explicit forgiveness
25. Reconciliation is the process of ______.
A. forgiving your partner
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
B. fixing the problems in a relationship
C. getting back together and rebuilding
D. saving a relationship
True/False
1. “Voice” means complaining excessively about relational problems.
2. Conditional forgiveness is the most common kind of forgiveness in dating
relationships.
3. Relationship stability is, to some extent, promoted when a relationship partner
derogates alternative partners.
4. According to the investment model, rewards, costs, the quality of alternatives,
satisfaction, investments, and commitment all influence whether or not a person
will work to save a troubled relationship.
5. People usually make a clean break after breaking up, especially if they were in
a long-term relationship and had a shared social network.
6. One pathway to relationship rejuvenation is explicit relational talk.
7. The off-again part of romantic relationships tends to last around 1–2 months.
8. Vulnerable appeals communicate regret.
9. People are more likely to engage in destructive responses when there is a
high level of commitment.
10. The investment model is an extension of Thibaut and Kelley’s
interdependence theory.
11. In both interdependence theory and the investment model, satisfaction is
based on two things, sex and love.
12. Extrinsic investments are resources or benefits that are developed over time
as a result of being in the relationship, such as material possessions.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Essay
1. If people are highly committed to their relationship, they are likely to use pro-
relationship behaviors to deal with problems when they occur. Define three of the
pro-relationship behaviors and explain how they can help people resolve their
conflicts.
2. Remedial strategies help people correct problems, restore a positive face,
and/or repair their relationships. Select three different remedial strategies and
discuss how they function to help people deal with conflicts in their relationships.
3. Define forgiveness as a relational process and include the four characteristics
of the forgiveness process.
4. There are a variety of reconciliatory strategies. Select four of them and discuss
how they help people reestablish a romantic relationship.
5. Guerrero et al. discussed five different types of on-again, off-again
relationships. Define three of them and suggest what a couple would need to
change to stop repeating their cycle.