SEMINAR ON CLOSE

RELATIONSHIPS
Course MAIS 5300 501
Professor Karen Prager
Term Fall, 2007 August 21 - November 20
Meetings Tuesdays 7:00 - 9:45 p.m., CB1.106

Professor’s Contact Information

Office Phone 972-883-2353
Other Phone 972-618-3886; 214-724-3616 for emergencies
Office Location GR. 2.214
Email Address kprager@utdallas.edu 2nd best way to contact me
Tuesdays, 5:00-6:00; Tuesdays, 12-1 p.m. Best way to
Office Hours
contact me
Other Information You can email me also via WEB-CT

General Course Information

Pre-requisites,
Co-requisites, & Graduate student status
other restrictions
This course will examine psychological, sociological,
communication, and philosophical approaches to the study
of close relationships. The class will be introduced to some
Course general behavioral science research methods that are
Description involved in the study of close relationships. Specific issues
in relationships that will be discussed include childhood
influences, shyness, attachment and intimacy, divorce, and
remarriage.
Goal #1 - Students will identify factors that contribute to,
and detract from, satisfying relationships.
Goal #2 - Class participants will read and discuss research
Learning
articles dealing with close relationships.
Outcomes
Goal #3 - Course participants will look at close relationships
through the lenses of several perspectives.
Goal #4 - Students will examine key relationship processes -
 those that best explain why relationships succeed or fail:
Goal #5 - Apply theory and research on close relationships
to real-life close relationship dilemmas.
Goal #6 - Class participants will advance their skills with
writing library research papers; participants will learn how to
use feedback to revise papers.
Goal #7 – Course participants will Learn how to use close
relationships research in your writing about close
relationships.
1. Sternberg, R.J. (1995). The Psychologists' Companion:
Edition IV. New York: Cambridge.
2. Mashek, D.J. & Aron, A. (2004). Handbook of
Closeness and Intimacy. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Required Texts &
3. Schnarch, D. (1997). Passionate Couples. New York:
Materials
Norton. (Also listed as "Passionate Marriage").
4. Antony, M.M. & Swinson, R.P. (2000). Shyness &
Social Anxiety Workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
5. Course packet - journal articles
--Available on Library Reserve --
Suggested Texts, 6. Epstein, N.B. & Baucom, D.H. (2003). Enhanced
Readings, & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Couples: A Contextual
Materials Approach. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Due dates for papers and tests are definite. Dates for discussing topics and
readings are approximate.

Date Topic Reading Assignment

Aug. 21 Introduction to the 1. 2 poems - “I find no peace, and all my war is done.”
Course Sir Thomas Wyatt; “Love,” by Elizabeth Barret Browning
2. Handout questionnaires:
“Relationship Attributions Measure;”
“Relationship Beliefs Inventory.”
“Areas of Change Questionnaire”
Aug. 28 Class Topics - 3. Reading for today: In Enhanced Cognitive-
National data on Behavioral Therapy, Chapters 1-3.
marriage 4. Discuss questionnaires
The cognitive-behavioral 5. Reading for today: Christensen et al., (2004).
perspective Traditional vs. Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy
for Significantly and Chronically Distressed Married
Couples, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
72, 176-191.

Sept. 4 How We Learn to Love: 6. Reading for today: In Handbook, “An Attachment
The attachment Perspective on Close Relationships”, Collins & Feeny
perspective 7. Reading for today: Collins, et al. (2006). Working
Models of Attachment and Attribution Processes in
Intimate Relationships. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 32, 201-219.
8. Exercise: How to read & summarize an empirical
study in the field of close relationships

Sept. 11 LIBRARY TOUR- 9. Class meets at 7 at the Information Desk in the

Stephanie Isham Library

Final Day to Turn in Your

10. In Handbook, “Closeness as including the other
Paper Topic
in the self,” Aron, Mashek, & Aron (pp. 27-42).
Class Topic: Perspective
on closeness as
including other in the
self
11. Reading for today: In Passionate Couples,
Sept. 18 Class Topic: Bowenian
Chapters 1 & 2.
perspective (interpreted
12. Differentiation of Self Inventory - on WEBCT.
by D. Schnarch)
13. Knee, et al. (2005), Self-determination and
conflict in romantic relationships.

Sept. Class Topic: 14. Reading for today: On reserve, Shyness & Social
25 What do we bring to the Anxiety Workbook, Chapters 1-3, & 6
table? Getting 15. Reading for today: Amico, et al. (2004). Trait
Acquainted shyness, actual-ought self-discrepancy, and
discomfort in social interaction. Personality
and Individual Differences, 36, 1597–1610.
16. Exercise; Integrating research & generalizations
about close relationships
Oct. 2 Class Topic: Intimacy 17. In Handbook, ‘The Relational Self-Construal and
and relational self- Closeness,” Cross & Gore.
construal 18. Gore, et al. (2006). Let’s be friends: Relational
self-construal and the development of
intimacy. Personal Relationships, 13, 1350-
4126.

Oct. 9 Writing Workshop: 20. In The Psychologists' Companion, Edition III,

Writing about Close Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, & 8
Relationships
Exercises

Oct. 16 Annotated bibliography 21. Questionnaire, Intimacy Diary

due, in proper APA form 22. In Handbook, “Intimacy as an Interpersonal
(See Sternberg). Process: Current Status and Future Directions,”
Class Topic: Laurenceau, Rivera, Schaffer, & Pietromonaco.
Interpersonal process 23. Laurenceau et al. The Interpersonal Process
perspective Model of Intimacy in Marriage.
Exercise: using
information from
empirical studies in a
literature review on close
relationships

Oct. 23 Class Topic: Deep 24. In Handbook, “Deep Intimate Connection,”

intimate connection Prager & Roberts.
perspective
25. Assessing relational intimacy: Questionnaires
on WEBCT
25. In Passionate Couples, Chapters 4 & 12.

Oct. 30 Papers Due!! - On 26. Research Article, Thorberg & Lyvers (2006).
WEBCT Attachment, fear of intimacy and
Class Topic: differentiation of self among clients in
Dissatisfaction, divorce, substance disorder treatment facilities.
and remarriage Addictive Behaviors, 31, 732-737.
27. Questionnaire “Marital Status Inventory”
28. On WEBCT - Daily marital interactions, by Janice
Driver & John Gottman
 Nov. 6 Papers returned on 29. Reading for today: In Enhanced Cognitive-
WEBCT. Behavioral Therapy for Couples, pp. 456-473.
Topic: Impact of trauma 30. Handout: “Relationship traumas” by Susan M.
on relationships Johnson.
31. Sherman, et al. (2005) Key Elements in Couples
therapy with veterans . . . Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice, 36, 626-
633.

Nov. 13 Revised papers due!! 32. REVIEW FOR QUIZ

Turn in original with
33. Exercise on Comparing Perspectives
comments plus revised
version to get credit.
Class Topic: Review

Nov. 20 Take Home Final - short

essay test to turn in on
WEBCT

Course Policies
Grade will be based on the following:
1) In-class presentation: 10%
Grading
2) Take home final over lecture & readings: 15%
(credit)
3) Research paper: 30%
Criteria
4) Research paper, revised based on comments: 35%
5) Class attendance: 10%
The Research Paper - Fall, 2007
PURPOSE
The research paper requires you to explore a question in the
field of close relationships through a selective review of
scholarly material from the library. You will consult theoretical
works, research reviews, and a few individual empirical works to
The Research
review existing information about your topic.
Paper
I advise you to avoid using popular media.
LENGTH AND NUMBER OF REFERENCES REQUIRED
The paper should be 12-15 pages (more concise may be
preferable). References should number around 15.

THE FORM OF THE PAPER

You will be required to write in the format recommended by the
American Psychological Association (A.P.A. format).
Instructions on how to follow this format are in the Sternberg
book and we will discuss them in class. Correct format in
referencing is required!

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER

You are urged to follow this general outline:
1. Introductory Section.
Within the first couple of paragraphs, state the specific issue
the paper addresses.
Say why your issue is important.
Define any important terms in your title or issue statement.
Tell what you will do (i.e., give readers an advance look at your
outline).
2. Body of the Paper
Organize your paper into subsections, with the title of each
subsection being a line in your outline.
Organize each subsection like a mini-paper (i.e., like the larger
paper, each subsection will have a mini-introduction, a body,
and a conclusion).
Each subsection should address the issue in the title of the
subsection, and review some relevant research on that topic.
By the end of the paper, you should have reviewed research
pertaining to your topic.
3. Paper summary.
Summarize the main points from the subsections in your paper,
guiding your summary with the outline you introduced at the
beginning and followed in the body of the paper.
4. Conclusion section.
Draw conclusions–does the research in this area point in any
particular direction, or support any particular model, or suggest
any cause-effect relationships (whatever is relevant to your
topic)?
What is the next step in the field? Are there any unanswered
questions (there always are). Are any courses of action implied
(e.g., for social policy or treating troubled relationships) based
on the conclusions you have drawn?
 Remind the reader why your topic is important, and why further
work could provide beneficial information (or, argue why you
think further efforts to understand your topic should be
abandoned, if you think they should!).

REQUIRED REWRITE
You will turn in a completed and fully polished paper, on which
you will be given lots and lots of feedback in order to help you
rewrite it and improve it to turn in a second time. (Don't turn in
a poorly edited draft, or your grade may disappoint you!). In
order to earn the SAME grade on the rewrite that you earned on
the original paper, you must IMPROVE your paper in response to
my comments. To IMPROVE YOUR GRADE you must make
significant improvements on the paper. Both the original and
the rewritten paper, along with my comments, must be turned
in on in on November 13, 2007 order for your work to be
considered complete.
QUOTING and CITING
Quoting your sources is fine, as long as you use the
correct form. Enclose all literal quotations in quotation marks
(" "), then follow your quotation with the name of the author,
date of article or book (if not already mentioned), and page
number from which you got the quotation.
Example: Although social scientists have carefully
measured sexual attitudes and behaviors, the impact of sexual
behavior on the development of close, male-female
relationships is not well understood. As Margaret Mead noted,
"the language of tables and variables ... has replaced Latin as
the acceptable language for the discussion of sex" (1959, p.
16).
As a matter of course, it is NOT a good idea to overuse
quotations, particularly as a substitute for saying something
yourself. For the latter purpose, they do not work well.
Quoting without a citation is called plagiarism. This is a
form of scholastic dishonesty and results in an F grade on the
paper.
Class Please select one reading from the syllabus (i.e., one book
Presentation chapter, one article, one short story, or one poem). Write a
 short (1 page) "presentation guide" that lists the three most
interesting (or more important points) made by the author(s).
Tell the class what you think about each and why. Find out
what your classmates think by raising one discussion question
per point. Stick to your three main points - don't go over every
paragraph in the reading. Raise three, questions for the class to
ponder related to the reading.

Feel free to prepare handouts, power-point slides, or anything

else that might add to your presentation. Your grade for the
class presentation will be based on your oral presentation and
on the written presentation guide that you will hand in to me.
The syllabus, course goals and objectives, and all
handouts and study aids will be available through WEBCT. You
can access WEBCT with this URL: http://webct.utdallas.edu.
Use your NETID and password to get access; when you first log
on, you will see a list of your courses. Click on the hyperlink for
MAIS 5301 Seminar: Close Relationships and you are there.
Check your WEBCT email weekly as I periodically send messages
to the class or to individual students. You may also email me
with questions and feedback about the course or questions
about assignments.
Turning in your papers via WEBCT. You will be turning in
your papers through WEBCT this semester. It is therefore very
WEB-CT important that you understand exactly how this is done. There
Resources is an icon on your homepage for turning in each paper. Click
on it and you will be taken through a series of steps for turning
in your paper. You will receive a notification with a time stamp
on it once your paper is turned in. The deadline for turning in
your paper corresponds to the deadline on WEBCT.
Formatting your paper for WEBCT. The following are the
formatting requirements for your paper.
1. Doubled-spaced
2. One inch margins all around
3. 12 point or elite font.
4. In one of the following word processing formats:
a. Microsoft Word .doc
b. Word Perfect .wpd
 c. Rich Text .rtf
d. ASCII (plain) text .txt
Not acceptable:
Microsoft Works – .wps – or any other document type (I cannot
open them).
It is important to use the proper format because once you turn
it in, you can’t turn it in again. If you’re unsure of the format of
your document, check the file extension.
You may earn extra credit for attending lectures announced in
Extra Credit class if there are any pertinent to the class material. You must
turn in a 1-page summary of the lecture to earn credit.
The test cannot be handed in late. You lose 1/2 letter grade off
Late Work the paper each day it is not turned in up to 4 days late, after
which WEBCT will no longer accept it.
Class
Attendance is required.
Attendance

Student Conduct & Discipline
The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas
have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their
business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student
organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which
govern student conduct and activities. General information on student
conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide,
which is provided to all registered students each academic year.
Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary
proceedings.
Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other
classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with
under the university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details).
This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web
for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the
procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are
defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents,
The University of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title
V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of
Operating Procedures. Copies of these rules and regulations are available
to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are
available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU
1.602, 972/883-6391).
A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state,
and local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and
administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus,
or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.
Academic Integrity
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and
academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends
upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree,
it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual
honor in his or her scholastic work.
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or
omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree,
and/or the submission as one’s own work or material that is not one’s own.
As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts:
cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records.
Email Use
The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of
communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail.
At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the
identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university
encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a
student’s U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider
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This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the
identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted
information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is
to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department
of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to
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Withdrawal from Class
The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that
semester's course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It
is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any
class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do
the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F"
in a course if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.
Student Grievance Procedures
Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student
Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades,
evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the
obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter
with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the
grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty
members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and
evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance
must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written
response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written
appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School
Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of
Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and
convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic
Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process will
be distributed to all involved parties.
assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or
complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a
period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A
student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or
assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails to
complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive
a failing grade for that exam or assignment.
If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e.,
for the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar
disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time
to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or
the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the
institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee
must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the
student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive
officer or designee.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office
of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist
students in interpreting the rules and regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course
work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within
eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the
required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade
is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is
changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services
The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities
educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers.
Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office
hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and
Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those
reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis
of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom
prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides)
for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may
be substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation
for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with
mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities.
The college or university may need to provide special services such as
registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need

for such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with
letters to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a
disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special
accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office
hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other
required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day
for a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under
Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as

soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the