Carnegie Mellon University

Couples’ Everyday Activities Study

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand thoughts and feelings that couples commonly experience in their day-to-day dating relationships.

Participant Criteria

The Couples’ Everyday Activities Study works with dating couples (non-married couples), who have been together for at least 1 year. Both couple-members must be 18 years of age or older in order to participate in the study, and write and speak English fluently. Both couple-members must be able to attend the study session at the same time.

Session Outline

Participation involves visiting Carnegie Mellon University for one study session, which will last approximately 2 – 2 ½ hours. During the study session, couple-members will be asked to complete questionnaires about their personality, feelings, and relationship. Afterward couples will be asked to participate in several activities either together or separately. Two of these interactions will be discussions with the partner. After each activity, participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires about their current feelings about themselves, their partner, and their relationship.

Compensation

To thank couples for their participation, they will receive payment after each session for contributing to their time ($20 per couple-member, amounting to a total of $40 per couple).

Contact

To participate in this study, for eligibility criteria, and for more information, please contact Meredith Van Vleet (project coordinator) at 412.268.8109 or mvanvlee@andrew.cmu.edu.