Analysis of an Interpersonal Closeness Study and Media Coverage
Brianna M. Radl
University of Georgia
Analysis of an Interpersonal Closeness Study and Media Coverage
The integrity of research is put at risk when journalists instead of scientists have the task of representing the findings in the media. Aron, Melinat, Aron, Vallone, Bator’s (1997) study, “The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A Procedure and Some Preliminary Findings,” is no exception as the Mozart effect (Morling, 2015) is clearly present in the summary and claims made by journalist Ankush Bahuguna (2015) in his web article flashily entitled, “36 Magical Questions That Can Make Any Two People Fall in Love.” Bahuguna misrepresents the study’s claims by failing …show more content…
While defining closeness as romantic intimacy is a possibility, Bahuguna overlooked the definition of closeness given by Aron and his fellow researchers. The operationalization of this conceptual variable is not only crucial for construct validity (Morling, 2015), but also sets the standard for the entire study. Aron et al. (1997) focused on attempting to create a short-lived, subjective feeling of closeness defined as, “an interconnectedness between self and other.” This was done by having pairs of strangers ask each other 36 questions that gradually increased the amount of personal self-disclosure needed to answer each question over 45 minutes. A comparison group engaged in 36 small-talk type questions. Closeness was the variable measured with two different scales given in a post manipulation questionnaire. To improve construct validity (Morling, 2015) these scales were chosen for not only high levels of test-retest and internal reliability but also for good convergent and discriminant validity. This confirms the study’s definition of closeness and its ability to be measured as opposed to Bahuguna’s empty reports of “falling in
Brianna M. Radl
University of Georgia
Analysis of an Interpersonal Closeness Study and Media Coverage
The integrity of research is put at risk when journalists instead of scientists have the task of representing the findings in the media. Aron, Melinat, Aron, Vallone, Bator’s (1997) study, “The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A Procedure and Some Preliminary Findings,” is no exception as the Mozart effect (Morling, 2015) is clearly present in the summary and claims made by journalist Ankush Bahuguna (2015) in his web article flashily entitled, “36 Magical Questions That Can Make Any Two People Fall in Love.” Bahuguna misrepresents the study’s claims by failing …show more content…
While defining closeness as romantic intimacy is a possibility, Bahuguna overlooked the definition of closeness given by Aron and his fellow researchers. The operationalization of this conceptual variable is not only crucial for construct validity (Morling, 2015), but also sets the standard for the entire study. Aron et al. (1997) focused on attempting to create a short-lived, subjective feeling of closeness defined as, “an interconnectedness between self and other.” This was done by having pairs of strangers ask each other 36 questions that gradually increased the amount of personal self-disclosure needed to answer each question over 45 minutes. A comparison group engaged in 36 small-talk type questions. Closeness was the variable measured with two different scales given in a post manipulation questionnaire. To improve construct validity (Morling, 2015) these scales were chosen for not only high levels of test-retest and internal reliability but also for good convergent and discriminant validity. This confirms the study’s definition of closeness and its ability to be measured as opposed to Bahuguna’s empty reports of “falling in