The Handbook of Relationship Initiation is the first volume to focus specifically on the very beginning stage of relationships – their origin. In this Handbook, leading scholars on relationships review the literature on various processes related to the initiation of relationships: how people meet, communicate for the first time, and begin to define themselves as being in a relationship. Topics include attraction, mate selection, influence of social networks on relationship initiation, initiation over the internet, hook-ups among young adults, and flirting and opening gambits. In addition, the dark side of relationship initiation is considered, including unwanted relationship pursuit and barriers to relationship initiation including social anxiety. This volume provides an overdue synthesis of the literature on this topic. It is especially timely in view of the growing prevalence on relationship initiation online, through matchmaking and other social networking sites, which has increased awareness that science can be used to understand, create, and facilitate compatible matching. This Handbook provides an essential resource for an interdisciplinary range of researchers and students who study relationships, including social psychologists, communication scientists and scholars of marriage and the family.

The Handbook of Relationship Initiation is the first volume to focus specifically on the very beginning stage of relationships – their origin. In this Handbook, leading scholars on relationships review the literature on various processes related to the initiation of relationships: how people meet, communicate for the first time, and begin to define themselves as being in a relationship. Topics include attraction, mate selection, influence of social networks on relationship initiation, initiation over the internet, hook-ups among young adults, and flirting and opening gambits. In addition, the dark side of relationship initiation is considered, including unwanted relationship pursuit and barriers to relationship initiation including social anxiety. This volume provides an overdue synthesis of the literature on this topic. It is especially timely in view of the growing prevalence on relationship initiation online, through matchmaking and other social networking sites, which has increased awareness that science can be used to understand, create, and facilitate compatible matching. This Handbook provides an essential resource for an interdisciplinary range of researchers and students who study relationships, including social psychologists, communication scientists and scholars of marriage and the family.

The Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships serves as a benchmark of the current state of scholarship in this dynamic field synthesizing the extant theoretical and empirical literature, tracing its historical roots, and making recommendations for future directions. The volume addresses a broad range of established and emerging topics including: theoretical and methodological issues that influence the study of personal relationships; research and theory on relationship development, the nature and functions of personal relationships across the lifespan; individual differences and their influences on relationships; relationship processes such as cognition, emotion, and communication; relational qualities such as satisfaction and commitment; environmental influences on personal relationships; and maintenance and repair of relationships. The authors are experts from a variety of disciplines including several subfields of psychology, communication, family studies and sociology who have made major contributions to the understanding of relationships.

Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on behaviors and strategies used to maintain intimate relationships.

The Science of Intimate Relationships represents the first interdisciplinary approach to the latest scientific findings relating to human sexual relationships. Offers an unusual degree of integration across topics, which include intimate relationships in terms of both mind and body; bonding from infancy to adulthood; selecting mates; love; communication and interaction; sex; passion; relationship dissolution; and more Summarizes the links among human nature, culture, and intimate relationships Presents and integrates the latest findings in the fields of social psychology, evolutionary psychology, human sexuality, neuroscience and biology, developmental psychology, anthropology, and clinical psychology. Authored by four leading experts in the field Instructor materials are available at www.wiley.com/go/fletcher

This textbook provides an integrated and organized foundation for students seeking a brief but comprehensive introduction to the field of relationship science. It emphasizes the relationship field's intellectual themes, roots, and milestones; discusses its key constructs and their conceptualizations; describes its methodologies and classic studies; and, most important, presents the theories that have guided relationship scholars and produced the field's major research themes.

This book provides an in-depth and comprehensive summary of the psychology of close relationships, and showcases classic and contemporary theories, models, and empirical research that have been conducted in the field.

With a synthesis of research on issues key to understanding family interaction, as well as an analysis of many theoretical and methodological choices made by researchers studying family communication, the Handbook serves to advance the field by reframing old questions and stimulating new ones. The contents are comprised of chapters covering: theoretical and methodological issues influencing current conceptions of family; research and theory centering around the family life course communication occurring in a variety of family forms individual family members and their relationships dynamic communication processes taking place in families family communication embedded in social, cultural, and physical contexts. Key changes to the second edition include: updates throughout, providing a thorough and up-to-date overview of research and theory new topics reflecting the growth of the discipline, including chapters on "singles" as family members, emerging adults, and physiology and physical health. Highlighting the work of scholars across disciplines--communication, social psychology, clinical psychology, sociology, family studies, and others--this volume captures the breadth and depth of research on family communication and family relationships. The well-known contributors approach family interaction from a variety of theoretical perspectives and focus on topics ranging from the influence of structural characteristics on family relationships to the importance of specific communication processes.