Making Friends and Dating Study

Is it your first year as a student at UNC? Are you single? Do you expect to make friends this year? You are eligible for our research study!

Overview: For this study, we’re observing how relationships form during the first year of college. We are interested in how people like you meet and get to know potential friends and romantic interests. If you’re new to UNC, you’re probably eligible!

What to expect: Individuals interested in participating will sign up for one 30-minute in-lab session. The day before their scheduled session, participants will be sent a 30-minute online pre-survey to be completed before arrival to the lab. The in-lab session will include non-invasive measurement of resting physiology, completion of online questionnaires, and a few short behavioral tasks.

Then, participants will enter the experience sampling phase of the study. Over the next two months, participants will be asked to complete a brief (10 minute) online questionnaire (called Social Interaction Tracker or SIT) after each meeting of a new potential friend or romantic interest. Participants will complete a total of 9 of these reports, 6 new friends and 3 romantic interests. Completion of each SIT will prompt a brief (5 minute) follow-up questionnaire three days and one week later. After all 9 SIT reports are completed, or, at the end of the experience sampling period, participants will complete a short online exit survey (approximately 40 minutes).

Compensation: You have the opportunity to earn up to $96 if you complete all parts of the study.

Eligibility:

You are eligible if you:

Are at least 18 years of age
You are a student spending your first year on UNC’s campus
You are single, that is, not in an exclusive, committed or long-term relationship
You are willing and open to making new friends and interested in going on dates
You are willing to attend a 30-minute lab session at Davie Hall on UNC’s campus
You are willing to complete randomly spaced short online questionnaires over the course of the study

Title: Making Friends and Dating Study

IRB#: 19-1864

PI: Tatum Jolink

Email: newrelationshipsstudy@unc.edu

Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Version: 07/02/19

Faculty Advisor: Sara Algoe