UW News

July 2, 2002

Your relationship could be in ‘jeopardy’ unless you try this quiz book

Make no mistake about it, University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz’s new book is the print version of a “chick flick.” The book, “The Lifetime Love and Sex Quiz Book,” is targeted at women, and for a good reason.

“Women — particularly those who are 25 to 45 — think endlessly about relationships,” said the UW professor and relationship expert. “If you wrote a book like this for men only your brother might buy it. But if you write it for women, they will take it to men. Women will make it into a game and use it with their guys, perhaps answering the questions together.”

The book, just published by Hyperion, consists of 37 quizzes — all of which are based on psychological and sociological research — that readers can use to improve their self-knowledge. Half of the quizzes are new, while the other half were initially developed by Schwartz for the Lifetime Television Network and a now-defunct Web site.

The tests are broken into four broad categories: dating and what you need to know about yourself to find what you’re looking for; what kind of love do you want and how to maintain love in a relationship; handling conflict and major decisions; and building a great sex life.

Schwartz said the book can help people by providing self-knowledge and useful information in a palatable way. However, the book is not meant to be a replacement for therapy with a licensed clinician.

“If we don’t see ourselves accurately and we are not honest about what we want, we can’t ever correct things, “Schwartz said. “People do things over and over that defeat them with no idea that they doing it. If you give them some awareness you can end this tail-chasing behavior. You want them to see if they are doing a behavior and ask questions about what they are doing.”

The book goes beyond questions and answers, offering analysis of what each question measures so people can get a clearer look at themselves. For example, one of the quizzes asks readers if they fight fair. It is based on the findings of Schwartz’ UW colleague, marital researcher John Gottman, and it explores what people do when they fight.

“Many people don’t know how important it is to resolve arguments in a marriage, and this test gives insights into how you fight and how you might consider changing your behavior.”

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For more information, contact Schwartz at (206) 543-4036 or couples@u.washington.edu. For a review copy of the book contact Karin Maake at Hyperion at (212) 456-0177 or Karin.Maake@abc.com.