1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN
Foundation of Natural Build Environment (FNBE)
Semester 2
Social Psychology [PSYC0103]
Research Report
Topic: Study on Perspective about Relationships
Jake Sia Chyi Sern
0314396
Muhd Syafiq Bin Hj Abd Zariful
0314702
Tan Kai Sin
0315213
Woo Wen Jian
0315123
Group / Session : Group 1 (Tuesday 3:30pm)
Submission Date : 22 January 2013
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2. Acknowledgement
First, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Miss Pang Chia Yee, our social
psychology lecturer for guiding us and giving us some useful tips for this study and also
for teaching us about social psychology which has helped us to do complete this project
more efficiently.
We would like to thank all the participants involved in this study for providing us
with the required information for this project, excusing us of our intrusion and also for
taking the time to fill up the questionnaires.
Lastly, we would like to thank our group members who have given their cooperation
and participation and have set apart time to contribute to this report in the midst of their
busy schedule.
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3. Table of Contents
Title
Acknowledged
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHOD
Participants
Materials /Apparatus
Procedure
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Questionnaire
Appendix B :Data analysis
Appendix C :
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2
3
4
5
6
6
6
6
7
19
21
22
22
23
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4. Abstract
Elliott(2012) states that, it’s difficult to be friends with ex, at least initially. From 2004
NBC.com poll, 48% of people surveyed said they remained friends with their ex. Thus, to
investigate which statement is correct, a survey is conducted on 100 participants which
consists of students from Taylor's University Lakeside Campus and our families
members. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire of about 10 questions. The
result shows most of the participants who are not sure that they will say 'hi' to their ex,
continues chatting with them like friends., voluntary help them, continues hang out with
them, will mention them in front of friends and hopes to get back into the relationship ;
agree that still think of them as friends and wishes them on special events ; disagree about
still thinking about their ex ; strongly disagree to not date another person after breakup. In
conclusion, the hypothesis is not accepted, couples do not remain as friends after
breakup.
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5. Introduction
According to a 2004 NBC.com poll, 48% of people surveyed said they remained
friends with their ex. And 18% of those surveyed said that they have tried, but it did not
work. (The Lifescript Editorial Staff, 2007) However, on the other hand, Elliott(2012) an
author, relationship coach, counselor and speaker/presenter, states that even after an
amicable breakup, it’s extremely difficult to be friends, at least initially.
“Most people cannot remain friends after a breakup, but if it will ever be, it will be later
... much later. The atmosphere immediately following a breakup is too emotionally
charged for it to happen right away, if at all.” (Elliott, 2012, para. 2 )
Therefore, in order to investigate which statement is correct, a survey is carried out. The
aim of this survey is to identify whether couples that break up can still remain as friends
or not. The hypothesis is ‘couples that break up will still remain as friends’.
The assignment is broken down into two parts. Groups of between 4 to 5 members
are required to conduct a social psychology experiment, write a report and present the
results in class. The first part would be carrying out a group research by using various
materials and theories from various topics taught in class. The second part would be
conducting a group presentation on the data collected.
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6. Method
1. Participants:
We randomly selected 100 persons that comprises of random strangers, friends and
family members both around campus and our respective homes and hang-out spots.
2. Apparatus & Materials:
Some of the apparatus and materials that were used include laptops and printer to
create the questionnaire. We also used some reference links that was able to help us
through this assignment.
3. Procedure:
We constructed a survey questionnaire of around 10 questions excluding personal
details such as age, gender and whether the participant had an ex before. Participants
were approached and asked if they can help us to complete our survey questionnaire
for social psychology assignment. Upon completion of the questionnaire, we
retrieved it and replied with a simple thanks. We repeated this steps until we obtained
our desired amount of information which is 100 surveys. Then we analyzed the data
and wrote a report containing our findings.
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7. Result
The total participants are aged as below (separated by genders)
45
40
35
30
25
Male
20
Female
15
10
5
0
<18
Gender
18-25
26-35
>36
Male
Female
<18
12
10
18-25
32
41
26-35
>36
0
2
0
3
Age
Total number of participants that had a relationship before
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8. 30
25
20
Male
Female
15
10
5
0
Yes
No
Gender
Male
Female
Had a
relationship before?
Yes
17
27
No
29
27
In those 44 participants who had a relationship before, it lasted for:
Gender
Male
Female
lasted for
<1 year
11
18
1-2 years
5
3
2-3 years
0
3
3-4 years
0
3
>4years
1
0
Relationship
The section onwards will be separated into male and female (male on top, female at
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9. bottom)
All scenarios are based on AFTER BREAKUP what will they do.
A. Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them.
1
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
12
2
6
12
2
3
Figure 1 Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them (MALE)
18
1
11
5
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
7
Figure 2 Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them (FEMALE)
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10. B. Still think of he/she/them as friend
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
1
12
2
4
12
2
5
Figure 3 Still think of he/she/them as friend. (Male)
9
2
14
5
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
5
Figure 4 still think of he/she/them as friend. (Female)
C. Continues chatting like friends.
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11. 12
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
1
9
5
5
Figure 5 Continues chatting like friends (Male)
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
18
9
11
12
4
Figure 6 Continues chatting like friends. (Female)
D. Wishes them on special events (eg. birthday, Christmas).
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12. strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
1
5
4
12
7
Figure 7Wishes them on special events. (Male)
15
7
1
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
11
7
Figure 8 Wishes them on special events. (Female)
E. Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble.
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13. 10
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
12
1
5
Figure 9 Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble. (Male)
24
1
strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
7
3
3
Figure 10 Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble. (Female)
F. Continues to hang out with them.
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14. strongly disagree
disagree
1
not sure
agree
12
strongly agree
8
7
4
Figure 11 Continues to hang out with them (Male)
strongly disagree
11
disagree
not sure
1
agree
strongly agree
17
3
7
Figure 12 Continues to hang out with them (Female)
G.. Will mention them in front of your friends.
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15. strongly disagree
8
1
disagree
not sure
agree
strongly agree
14
1
4
Figure 13 Will mention them in front of your friends. (Male)
strongly disagree
disagree
2
not sure
9
agree
strongly agree
10
8
2
Figure 14 Will mention them in front of your friends. (Female)
H. Keeps thinking about them.
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16. strongly disagree
disagree
15
not sure
10
agree
strongly agree
8
8
5
Figure 15 Keeps thinking about them. (Male)
strongly disagree
19
disagree
not sure
agree
11
strongly agree
16
7
1
Figure 16 Keeps thinking about them. (Female)
I. Hope to get back into a relationship with him/her
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17. strongly disagree
disagree
not sure
2
agree
strongly agree
6
4
9
5
Figure 17 Hope to get back into a relationship with him/her. (Male)
strongly disagree
disagree
13
not sure
agree
strongly agree
21
1
3
Figure 18 Hope to get back into a relationship with him/her. (Female)
J. Not to date another person.
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17

18. strongly disagree
disagree
9
not sure
agree
strongly agree
21
11
2
3
Figure 19 Not to date another person. (Male)
strongly disagree
disagree
1
26
not sure
agree
strongly agree
9
1
3
Figure 20 Not to date another person. (Female)
Discussion
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19. Based on the survey we carried out, the female participants are slightly more than the
amount of male participants which majority of them are aged from18-25 years old. Out of
100 participants, 44 of them broke up before and 65% of those who broke up, their
relationship lasted less than a year.
A. From this question we found that more males (25 out of 46) would say ‘hi’ to their ex
than compared to females (20 out of 54). On average, males agree to this statement while
females are not sure.
B. From this question we found that more males (25 out of 46) would still think of their
ex as friends than compared to females (26 out of 54). On average, males agree to this
statement whereas females are not sure.
C. From this question we found that more males (20 out of 46) would continue chatting
with their ex than compared to females (15 out of 54). On average, both males and
females are not sure about this statement.
D. From this question we found that more males (30 out of 46) would wish their ex on
special events than compared to females (21 out of 54). On average, males agree to this
statement while females are not sure.
E. From this question we found that more males (29 out of 46) would voluntarily offer
help to their ex than compared to females (20 out of 54). On average, males agree to this
statement whereas females are not sure.
F. From this question we found that more males (12 out of 46) would continue to hang
out with their ex than compared to females (10 out of 54). On average, males are not sure
about this statement while females disagree with it.
G. From this question we found that more females (10 out of 54) would mention their ex
in front of their friends than compared to males (5 out of 46). On average, both males and
females are not sure about this statement.
H. From this question we found that more males (13 out of 46) would keep thinking
about their ex than compared to females (8 out of 54). On average, males are not sure
about this statement while females disagree with it.
I. From this question we found that more males (9 out of 46) would hope to get back into
a relationship with their ex than compared to females (3 out of 54). On average, males are
not sure about this statement while females disagree with it.
J. From this question we found that more males (5 out of 46) would not date another
person than compared to females (4 out of 54). On average, both males and females
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20. disagree with this statement.
All in all, we can see that males tend to agree more to this survey whereas females tend to
disagree more. In total average, males have 4 ‘agree’s, 5 ‘not sure’s and 1 ‘disagree’
whereas females have 6 ‘not sure’s and 4 ‘disagree’s. Since we have obtained slightly
more disagrees than we have agree, we have to conclude that couples that break up
cannot remain as friends. The hypothesis is not accepted.
References
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21. McLeod, S. A. (2011), Psychology Research Report, Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/research-report.html
The Lifescript Editorial Staff ( 2007, November 09 ) , Should You Be Friends with Your
Ex? Retrieved from
http://www.lifescript.com/life/relationships/wreckage/should_you_be_friends_with_your
_ex.aspx
Elliott, S. ( 2012, May 15 ), Friends With Ex: Should You Be Friends With Your Ex PostSplit? Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/friends-with-exshould-yo_n_1516245.html
Appendix
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22. Study on Perspective about Relationships
This survey is to fulfil the purpose of our Social Psychology course’s social experiment assignment.
Participation in voluntary and the information gathered will be kept confidential.
______________________________________________________________________________
________
First we’d like to ask a few questions about you:
How old are you? _____
What is your gender? ___________
Do you have an ex? __________
If yes, how long have you been in that relationship? _______________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For the next few questions, please choose a number from 1-5 and write it next to each statement to
indicate how much you agree on that statement.
1
Strongly disagree
2
Disagree
3
Not sure
4
Agree
If you have an ex (if you don’t, imagine you have one), you would:
1. Says ‘hi’ when you meet he/she/them.
1
2. Still think of he/she/them as friend
2
1
3
4
5
2
1
3. Continues chatting like friends.
5
Strongly agree
3
4
5
2
4. Wishes them on special events (eg. birthday, Christmas).1
3
2
5. Voluntary offers help when he/she/they are in trouble.) 1
4
5
3
2
4
3
5
4
5
6. Continues to hang out with them.
1
2
3
4
5
7. Will mention them in front of your friends.
1
2
3
4
5
8. Keeps thinking about them.
1
9. Hopes to get back into a relationship with him/her
10. Not date another person.
2
1
1
3
2
2
4
3
3
4
4
THANK YOU ON YOUR PARTICIPATION
Gender
46
Age
Below 18
Male
Female
54
12
10
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22
5
5
5

23. 18-25
26-35
36 & above
32
0
2
41
0
3
Have an ex
Yes
No
17
29
27
27
How long
Less than 1 year
1 year +
2 years +
3 years +
4 years +
11
5
0
0
1
18
3
3
3
0
Q1
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
3
6
12
13
12
5
11
18
13
7
Q2
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
5
4
12
13
12
5
14
9
21
5
Q3
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
5
9
12
15
5
12
9
18
11
4
Q4
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
7
4
5
11
7
15
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23

24. Agree
Strongly agree
18
12
14
7
Q5
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
0
5
12
10
19
3
7
24
17
3
Q6
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
7
12
15
8
4
17
11
16
7
3
Q7
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
14
8
19
1
4
10
9
25
8
2
Q8
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
8
10
15
8
5
16
19
11
7
1
Q9
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
Agree
Strongly agree
9
6
22
4
5
21
13
17
0
3
Q10
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Not sure
21
9
11
26
15
9
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24

25. Agree
Strongly agree
2
3
3
1
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25