Chapter 42 Quiz: Open Questions and Future Directions

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question. For short-answer questions, aim for 2–4 sentences.

1. The fraternal birth order effect — the observation that gay men are more likely to have older brothers — is BEST understood as:

a) Strong evidence that all sexual orientation is biologically determined b) Evidence that same-sex attraction is a choice made in response to sibling dynamics c) One replicated biological correlate of sexual orientation, with a plausible proposed mechanism, that contributes to but does not fully explain the origins of sexual orientation d) A statistical artifact that has not been independently replicated

2. The 2019 Ganna et al. genome-wide association study on sexual orientation found that:

a) A single "gay gene" on chromosome X accounts for most of the variance in same-sex attraction b) Thousands of genetic variants each contribute a tiny amount, explaining 8–25% of variance in same-sex sexual behavior c) There is no genetic component to sexual orientation d) Genetic factors explain the majority of variance in sexual orientation across cultures

3. The "dyadic, emergent" problem in compatibility prediction refers to:

a) The difficulty of measuring personality traits accurately across different raters b) The fact that compatibility is partly a property of the specific encounter between two people, not reducible to their individual characteristics c) The challenge of computing compatibility scores across large databases d) The ethical problem of collecting data from both members of a dyad

4. David Chalmers's "hard problem of consciousness" is relevant to attraction science because:

a) It shows that neuroscientific methods are not valid for studying subjective experience b) It raises the fundamental question of why neural processes are accompanied by felt experience at all — a question that more data alone may not answer c) It implies that subjective attraction experience is not scientifically measurable d) It is a solved problem in contemporary neurophilosophy

5. Finkel et al.'s (2012) review of computational compatibility matching concluded:

a) That current algorithms successfully predict long-term relationship quality b) That with more data and better machine learning, compatibility prediction will soon be accurate c) That matching companies had not demonstrated their algorithms outperform random pairing for long-term relationship outcomes d) That compatibility prediction is most successful when based on physical attractiveness matching

6. The chapter's discussion of AI companionship identifies which of the following as a genuinely unresolved empirical question?

a) Whether AI companionship is ethical b) Whether sustained AI companion use satisfies attachment needs in ways that reduce motivation for human relationships, or builds relational skills c) Whether users are aware that they are interacting with an AI d) Whether AI companion apps should be regulated by the FDA

7. The problem of construct equivalence in cross-cultural research means:

a) Sample sizes are too small in non-Western research b) Different cultures use different measurement instruments c) The same word in two languages may refer to related but meaningfully distinct phenomena, making comparisons difficult d) Researchers in different cultures have different levels of training

8. The chapter argues that the research ethics question for attraction science is not primarily about participant safety (which IRBs handle) but about:

a) Whether researchers are trained to conduct research in different cultural contexts b) The social consequences of producing and circulating specific kinds of knowledge c) Whether study participants are adequately compensated d) The political affiliations of funding agencies

9. The neural synchrony research in speed-dating contexts (the mobile EEG paradigm) is described as:

a) Strong, replicated evidence that interpersonal chemistry has a measurable neural basis b) Definitive proof that chemistry is not a meaningful construct c) Exciting preliminary evidence from a single paradigm with small samples that requires replication d) A methodological dead end because EEG cannot measure the relevant neural circuits

10. The chapter's conclusion — "the science of attraction is unfinished; that is its best quality" — most directly reflects which intellectual virtue?

a) Epistemic closure — confirming that the major questions are answered b) Methodological rigor — ensuring that all findings are well-replicated before being accepted c) Intellectual humility combined with genuine curiosity — treating open questions as invitations rather than failures d) Scientific skepticism — doubting all current findings until better evidence is available

11. The chapter discusses the "dual-use" problem for attraction neuroscience. Short answer: What is the dual-use problem in this context, and what is the researchers' ethical responsibility in relation to it?

12. The chapter ends with: "The hardest questions are the best ones." Short answer: What does this mean in the context of attraction science, and why might a student finishing this course find it inspiring rather than frustrating?