Thirty-three of the top scholars in this fast moving domain present a picture of work at the cusp in social psychology -- work that deals with cognition and affect in close relationships. The present volume contains a wealth of research findings and influential theoretical accounts that spring as much from indigenous work in the close relationship field as from purebred social cognition. The chapters introduce theories and research programs concerned with the role of individual and couple differences in close relationship knowledge structures. They deal with the role of emotion and affect in close relationships. And they discuss the function of cognition and knowledge structures in relation to the developmental course of close relationships. Each section is accompanied by a critical review written by an expert in the field. This volume is a must for any close relationship scholar interested in the latest research and theorizing about close relationships that adopt a social psychological perspective. It will also be of interest to scholars and students working in clinical psychology, social cognition, communication, individual differences, and family studies.

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of interest and research on close relationships and social cognition. In both areas, numerous handbooks, textbooks, and journal articles have been published. However, it is the editors' impression that although cognitive theories and concepts have filtered through to research dealing with close relationships, much of this research reflects a relatively untutored understanding of the theoretical and empirical work in social cognition. Conversely, the research literature that provides a more sophisticated perspective on the role of cognition in close relationships typically reveals a relatively limited knowledge of the literature on close relationships. As researchers who have worked in both social cognitive processes and close relationships, Fletcher and Fincham are convinced that each field has much to offer the other. In fact, their book is based on two important postulates: first, that a social cognitive framework offers a valuable resource for developing our understanding of close relationships; and, second, that studying cognition within close relationships has the potential to inform our understanding of basic social cognitive processes.

Close Relationships: Functions, Forms and Processes provides an overview of current theory and research in the area of close relationships, written by internationally renowned scholars whose work is at the cutting edge of research in the field. The volume consists of three sections: introductory issues, types of relationships, and relationship processes. In the first section, there is an exploration of the functions and benefits of close relationships, the diversity of methodologies used to study them, and the changing social context in which close relationships are embedded. A second section examines the various types of close relationships, including family bonds and friendships. The third section focuses on key relationship processes, including attachment, intimacy, sexuality, and conflict. This book is designed to be an essential resource for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, and practitioners, and will be suitable as a resource in advanced courses dealing with the social psychology of close relationships.

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.

This collection of essays represents a follow-up to the editors' 1994 publication, The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication. In the preface to that collection of essays, they argued that "To fully understand how people function effectively requires us to consider how individuals cope with social interaction that is difficult, problematic, challenging, distressing, and disruptive." In this companion volume, the focus expands from social interaction to close relationships. Aside from the inherent need to investigate the bad as well as the good of interpersonal relationships, the editors and their colleagues simply find the dark side metaphor to be intellectually arousing. It stimulates investigation of important yet often neglected phenomena, and it especially encourages consideration of the hidden and forbidden, and the paradoxical and ironic elements of human relating. This volume assembles the cutting-edge work of first rate scholars from the ranks of communication, psychology, sociology, and cognate disciplines. As in the previous text, the subject matter and stylistic approaches are diverse, reflecting the broad and interdisciplinary domain that is the dark side of human affairs. The selection of topics is somewhat selective, reflecting only a sample of emerging scholarship in the interdisciplinary study of relationships. These internationally recognized scholars examine various topics related to the dark side, including fatal attractions, jealousy and envy, misunderstanding, gossip, conflict, codependence, sexual coercion, stalking, relationship termination, unrequited love, and mental health problems in relationships. Some chapters present original data and models, whereas others reconfigure the way in which the understandings of relationships can be better understood. In addition, the bookend chapters examine the ideology, nature, and problems of dark side scholarship. Collectively, the scholarly journeys made in this volume are intended to illustrate the complexities--both moral and functional--involved in close relationship processes. The intent is neither to valorize nor demonize the darker aspects of close relationships, but rather to emphasize their importance to the day-to-day "doing" of relationships. Only by accepting such processes as integral to relationships can their role be fully understood.

This authoritative handbook provides a cutting-edge overview of classic and current research as well as an assessment of future trends in the field of interpersonal processes. Ensures thorough and up-to-date coverage of all aspects of interpersonal processes Includes contributions by academics and other experts from around the world to ensure a truly international perspective Provides a comprehensive overview of classic and current research and likely future trends Fully referenced chapters and annotated bibliographies allow easy access to further study Now available in full text online via xreferplus, the award-winning reference library on the web from xrefer. For more information, visit www.xreferplus.com

Relationships abound in the library and information science (LIS) world. Those relationships may be social in nature, as, for instance, when we deal with human relationships among library personnel or relationships (i. e. , "public relations") between an information center and its clientele. The relationships may be educational, as, for example, when we examine the relationship between the curriculum of an accredited school and the needs of the work force it is preparing students to join. Or the relationships may be economic, as when we investigate the relationship between the cost of journals and the frequency with which they are cited. Many of the relationships of concern to us reflect phenomena entirely internal to the field: the relationship between manuscript collections, archives, and special collections; the relationship between end user search behavior and the effectiveness of searches; the relationship between access to and use of information resources; the relationship between recall and precision; the relationship between various bibliometric laws; etc. The list of such relationships could go on and on. The relationships addressed in this volume are restricted to those involved in the organization of recorded knowledge, which tend to have a conceptual or semantic basis, although statistical means are sometimes used in their discovery.

ATTRIBUTIONS, ACCOUNTS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHPIS documents attributional and accounts approaches to the study of close relationships. Issues of focus include communication pro- blems in marriage and their relationship with causal attri- butions; marital violence and its relationship with early learning experience; ego-defensive attribution and excuse- making in couples and with respect to medical problems; and attributions about transitions in relationships.

This text explores how memory, communication, & social cognition function in the development of romantic relationships, and describes the stages of the development. For students of close relationships, interpersonal communication.