Utah State University Relationship Improvement Psychology Discussion

Part One:

Introduction: What did you decide to change and why? What variables facilitated and impeded this change? Give specific examples. Outline your hypothesis about change and what specifically happened to you. Use research to support your answers.

Methods: Describe the procedure(s) you used to change yourself. What strategies did you use? What is the psychology behind these techniques? How did you measure change? Who did you use as your support system and how did this support system facilitate change?

1. Results: What happened? Even though your self-report data may suggest the intervention was effective, you must also provide corroborating evidence from other sources. Reports from your support system of friends/family/coworkers (i.e. you have seemed so much happier these days), behavioral measures (i.e. since using forgiveness in my relationship, I have found my husband to be much more likely to send me flowers, are all appropriate.

Discussion: Was your hypothesis confirmed or disconfirmed? Are your results consistent with prior research? What have you learned about self-change, and relationships? How did setting goals help you in this process of change? You might talk about strengths, weaknesses, and difficulties in implementing your intervention, or you might explain why some techniques seem to be more effective than others. What would you do differently if you had the chance to do it again? Why?

1. Part Two:

Your Ideal Future Relationship: You should now know more about your past experiences, attachment styles, and expectations for relationships, communication styles, concept of self and what kind of future you would like to have in terms of relationships. Outline a vision of your ideal future relationships. Describe what growth/change means to you, the process by which you hope to grow, the facilitating and inhibiting factors to this process, and the strategies learned that helped you to change. Research has shown that the number one source of an individual’s happiness is good relationships. Explain, what you have learned about how relationships impact your happiness