Question: Aron and colleagues (2005) found a correlation between intense romantic love [as assessed by the Passionate Love Scale (PLS)] and activation in a specific region of the brain [as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)]. The PLS (Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986) assessed the intensity of romantic love by asking people in romantic relationships to respond to a series of questions, such as "I want ______ physically, emotionally, and mentally" and "Sometimes I can't control my thoughts; they are obsessively on ______," replacing the blanks with the name of their partner.
a. How might we examine the reliability of this measure using test-retest reliability techniques? Be specific and explain the role of correlation.
b. Would test-retest reliability be appropriate for this measure? That is, is there likely to be a practice effect? Explain.
c. How could we examine the reliability of this measure using coefficient alpha? Be specific and explain the role of correlation.
d. Coefficient alpha in this study was 0.81. Based on coefficient alpha, was the use of this scale in this study warranted? Explain.