Testing an Educational Intervention to Improve Recognition and Understanding of Emotional Manipulation in Romantic Relationships

<p>Romantic relationships significantly impact happiness and well-being, yet rarely is it taught how to build them or recognize unhealthy relationship dynamics. This gap has profound implications, as Emotional Manipulation (EM) can have severe and lasting consequences. This study examined whether an educational intervention could improve participants' ability to recognize and understand EM in interpersonal relationships. Participants (N = 327) completed a pretest assessing recognition and comprehension of EM and were then given an answer sheet with detailed explanations to enhance understanding. A subset (n = 46) completed a posttest to measure changes in recognition and knowledge. Results showed significant improvement in both recognition and knowledge after the intervention, indicating that their ability to recognize and understand EM improved. Knowledge scores were higher pretest, posttest, and in improvement than recognition scores. This may point to a disconnect between understanding EM conceptually and recognizing it in real life. Additional exploratory analyses examined how variables such as attachment style, therapy experience, and perceived confidence related to knowledge and learning. Methodological and other limitations are discussed. Further research is needed to explore alternative strategies for enhancing relationship education and improving its real-world effectiveness.<strong></strong></p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Zaitz, Tiss

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ann Marie Yali

• Emotional Manipulation
• Unhealthy Relationships
• Relationship Education
• Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
• Red Flags
• Gaslighting
• Intermittent Reinforcement
• Love Bombing
• Social Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1206

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:cc_etds_theses-2341