Intimate Relationships
Issues, Theories, and Research
by Ralph Erber, Maureen Wang Erber
4th Edition
Publisher: Routledge
Book Details
| Print ISBN | 9781032412061 |
| eText ISBN | 9781003852155 |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Publishing Year | 2024 |
| Edition | 4th Edition |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 320 |
The textbook Intimate Relationships: Issues, Theories, and Research, 4th Edition, explores the psychological dynamics of personal connections and social bonds. Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, the work synthesizes classic and contemporary scholarship across the evolving field of relationship science.
Core areas of study include interpersonal attraction, emotional attachment, and communication processes. The volume also examines relationship maintenance, addressing both the origins of interpersonal conflict and the pathways supporting long-term stability.
To support engagement, each chapter incorporates real-life stories alongside critical thinking prompts that encourage conceptual reflection. The volume is prepared for undergraduate students in psychology, sociology, and related fields, while also serving graduate students and general readers.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Strangers, Friends, and Lovers: Why Is Life So Complicated?
- • The Need to Belong
- • Distinct Relationship Needs
- • The Inevitability of Social Relationships 4 Intimate Relationships Yesterday and Today
- • Summary
Chapter 2: Methods to Study Relationships
- • The Science of Intimate Relationships
- • Methodology: Data Collection and Analysis
- • Interpreting Experimental Data: Dyadic Effects
- • Collecting Couple Data
- • Open Science Framework: Increasing Transparency in Research
- • Summary
Chapter 3: Liking and Attraction
- • Psychological Attraction: Theories
- • Psychological Attraction: Phenomena
- • Physical Attractiveness and Dating Choices
- • Standards of Attractiveness: Bodies and Faces
- • Evolution and Attractiveness
- • The Physical Attractiveness Stereotype: Beauty Is as Beauty Does
- • Is Beauty Solely in the Eye of the Beholder?
- • Summary
Chapter 4: Self-Presentation and Self-Disclosure
- • Self-Presentation
- • Models of Self-Disclosure
- • Context Influences on Self-Disclosure
- • Summary
Chapter 5: Fairness and Equity
- • The Nature of Resources Exchanged
- • Determining What Is Fair: Equity Theory
- • Evaluating Relationship Outcomes: Comparison Levels
- • The Thibaut and Kelley Model
- • Close Relationships as Communal Relationships
- • Summary
Chapter 6: Love and Emotion
- • Liking and Loving: A Conceptual Distinction
- • The Prototype of Love
- • Causal Theories of Love
- • Type Theories of Love
- • Individual Differences in Love
- • Love Over Time: Does It Get Better or Worse?
- • Beyond Love: A Quick Look at Guilt
- • Summary
Chapter 7: Attachment
- • Patterns of Attachment in Infancy
- • Adult Attachment
- • Consequences of Adult Attachment Styles
- • Summary
Chapter 8: Sexuality
- • Attitudes About Sex: An Evolving Story
- • Sexual Behavior
- • Sexual Satisfaction
- • Sexual Communication
- • Sexual Pathways
- • Same-Sex Attraction
- • Summary
Chapter 9: Communication: Let's Talk
- • Sex Differences in Communication
- • Men and Women: Why the Trouble Connecting?
- • Communication Processes and Strategies in Intimate Relationships
- • Technology and Communication: Smartphones and Online Interactions
- • The Special Case of Long-Distance Relationships
- • Summary
Chapter 10: Infidelity and Jealousy
- • Infidelity and Jealousy Across Time and Cultures
- • Defining Jealousy
- • Sources of Jealousy: The Jealous Person, the Partner, and the Rival
- • Reactions to Jealousy
- • Gender Differences in Perceptions of Threat
- • Gender and Reactions to Jealousy: “Every Breath You Take . . . I’ll Be Watching You”
- • Coping with the Green-Eyed Monster
- • An Attachment Approach to Jealous
- • Summary
Chapter 11: Relationship Violence and Abuse
- • Relationship Violence: Its Definition and Measurement
- • Consequences of Relationship Violence
- • Causes of Relationship Violence
- • Sexual Violence
- • Summary
Chapter 12: Conflict: Causes and Consequences
- • Conflict Between Lovers and Strangers
- • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Conflict in Intimate Relationships
- • Sources of Conflict: “I Said . . . You Said . . .”
- • Reactions to Conflict
- • Transforming Relationships—From Conflict to Growth
- • Conflict in Context
- • Dissolution of Intimate Relationships: The End of Romance
- • Alternatives to Dissolution
- • Summary
Chapter 13: Making it Last: How to Maintain Intimate Relationships
- • The Evolution of Marriage
- • Relationship Management in Daily Life
- • Social Comparison and Relationship Maintenance
- • Relationship Maintenance Challenges for Marginalized Groups
- • Summary
Chapter 14: Intimate Relationships in the 21st Century
- • Dating and Mating in the Internet Age
- • Marriage in the 21st Century
- • Being and Remaining Single
- • Summary
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