“Dear Abby” is an advice column that began in 1956 and continues today. “Abby” was actually an individual named Pauline Phillips who was trained as a journalist – not a relationship expert. Nevertheless, thousands of people sought her advice on topics relating to children, love, infidelity, and marriage. Due to your interest in social science, no doubt many of your friends and family see you as their go to relationship expert. So, try your hand at offering advice on the following topics. The difference between you and Abby is that you will be expected to back up your advice with research-based information you are learning in this course.

STUDENTS MUST RESPOND TO BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENARIOS:

(1) I have been seeing this guy for a couple of months. In the beginning he said he didn’t want a serious relationship, and at the time I agreed. But the more time we spend together, the stronger my feelings are for him, and the more I would like to take our relationship to the next level. In the beginning, our freedom was fun, but now our relationship just feels like one long “hook up.” If we’re going to continue to be together I would like it if we could make our relationship official and have a more solid commitment. Every time I try to bring up the subject, he says he likes things the way they are and changes the topic. I’m afraid if I push it, he won’t want to see me anymore, which is opposite of what I want! But I’m no longer happy with our arrangement, and I would like it to change. What should I do?

(2) Last year I met a girl and fell head over heels in love with her. I had never had such an easy time being with someone. We never argued about anything and always had a great time when we were together. We immediately became inseparable. Since she and I spent almost every moment together anyway, when our leases were up in the summer, we decided to move in together. Even though we hadn’t known each other that long, it felt like I had known her my whole life. I thought – what could go wrong? Well, it’s been a few months and our relationship has really changed. I feel like all we do is argue. I actually find myself picking up more shifts at work to avoid the tension at home. I can’t move out until our lease is up in a few months, because I can’t afford two rents. I’m also scared because moving out would probably mean the total end of our relationship, which was the best relationship I’d ever had until a few months ago. I just wish we could get back to how we were in the beginning. I don’t know what happened to our relationship or how to make it better. What should I do?

Identify 3 – 5 concepts from the text. Your response should be three pages

It is absolutely essential that students cite information from their textbook (or other resources) to support their answers. So, cite information from the text that supports various aspects your response. Content that appears to be the opinion of students (and not cited material) will receive a poor grade.