There is a mysterious connection between our experiences of intimacy--of love, the longing to feel connected, and sexual embrace--and the human sense of time--eternity, impermanence, and rhythm. In this critical analysis of the time-intimacy equation, Bennett shows how the scientific study of personal relationships can address this mystery. As a study of transpersonal science, this book points to the possible evolution of intimacy and of our consciousness of time, and how the two evolutionary paths weave together. Dr. Bennett draws from a wide array of resources to advance and marry two compelling themes: first, the social and clinical science of personal relationships should integrate the spiritual or transpersonal dimension of intimacy, and second, science can contribute to lay understandings by describing the richly temporal aspects of relationships. In blending popular literature, transpersonal psychology, and scientific research and theory, this work also attempts to address the lack of dialogue between academics who study personal intimacy and those writers in the popular press who give advice and guidelines for building intimacy. Time and Intimacy is written for a broad audience, intended for those with a general interest in relationships, as well as for students, counselors, and psychologists. It can be used as a text in courses on personal relationships, as well as to supplement courses in humanistic psychology, transpersonal psychology, interpersonal communication, relationships, marital and family counseling, human relations, and related areas. Because it advances an interdisciplinary understanding of personal relationships, this book is certain to challenge prevailing views about the meaning of intimacy in both the academic and popular literatures.

Although theorists, researchers, and therapists alike emphasize emotional intimacy as an important aspect of a couple0́9s relationship, empirical data to understand the underlying processes behind this concept are lacking. The purpose of this study is to examine Reis and Shaver's interpersonal process model of intimacy in a community sample of couples and to contribute to the current understanding of constructs that may moderate the process of intimacy. Reis and Shaver's model suggests that vulnerable self-disclosure by one partner, coupled with empathic responding by the other partner, results in greater subjective emotional intimacy. Previous studies have examined this interpersonal process model in a sample of community couples in committed romantic relationships. The present study aims to contribute to the extant literature by testing emotion dysregulation as a potential moderator in Reis and Shaver's interpersonal process model of intimacy. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze data from 108 community couples. Couples completed measures and were asked to participate in videotaped interactions in which each partner discussed a time that someone other than the partner hurt their feelings (low threat condition) and a time the partner hurt their feelings (high threat condition). For each interaction, partners were assigned to a designated role (speaker or listener). Results lend support to Reis and Shaver's interpersonal process model of intimacy suggesting that both vulnerable self-disclosure and empathic responding by the partner are key components to one's subjective experience of emotional intimacy. Results also lend support to the idea that emotion dysregulation moderates the relation between self-disclosure, empathic responding, and resulting post-interaction intimacy; however, when measuring how emotion dysregulation affects post-interaction intimacy within this study, results varied based on whose intimacy was being measured (speaker or listener) and based on the condition (low or high threat.) Clinical implications as well as directions for future research were discussed.

Raising to the challenge of how to grasp such forms of inequalities that are mediated affectively, Affective Inequalities in Intimate Relationships focuses on subtle inequalities that are shaped in everyday affective encounters. It also seeks to bridge a gap between affect theory and empirical social research by providing ideas and inspiration of how to work with affect in research practice. Presenting cutting-edge empirical studies on affect and intimate relationships, the collection - introduces alternative and novel ways of conceptualizing the workings of affect in intimate relationships - provides tools for tackling the subtle ways in which affectivity connects with power relations in intimate relations - develops innovative methodologies that provide better access to affect as an embodied experience A fascinating contribution to the interdisciplinary field of affect studies, Affective Inequalities in Intimate Relationships will appeal to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates interested in fields such as gender studies, queer studies and cultural studies.

This handbook brings together the latest thinking on the scientific study of closeness and intimacy from some of the most active and widely recognized relationship scholars in social and clinical psychology, communication studies, and related disciplines. Each contributing author defines their understanding of the meaning of closeness and intimacy; summarizes existing research and provides an overview of a theoretical framework; presents new ideas, applications, and previously unstated theoretical connections; and provides cross-references to other chapters to further integrate the material. The Handbook of Closeness and Intimacy will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and students from social, clinical, and developmental psychology; family studies; counseling; and communication.

Communication, Intimacy, and Close Relationships offers an account of the nature of intimate relationships and their effects on people's self-concepts. The development and maintenance of intimate relationships are examined, along with people's motives and goals in pursuing intimacy; the nature of social exchanges in intimate relationships; and the consequences for individuals who find themselves socially isolated. The critical role of communication in intimate relationships is given emphasis. Comprised of seven chapters, this book begins with a discussion on the role of self-disclosure in intimate relationships as well as the risks that individuals incur when they self-disclose. The next chapter presents a cognitive interaction model of the nature of intimacy and intimate relationships within the context of cognitive-social learning theory and a systems theory approach to communication. The effect of people's motives on relationships is then considered, together with the role of two fundamental human motives - power and intimacy - on love and friendship. The remaining chapters focus on the importance of the identification process - that is, how people fix their own and others' identities in social interaction - in developing relationships; patterns of nonverbal exchange in close relationships; how and why loneliness occurs; and the nature of social exchange processes in intimate relationships. The book concludes with an epilogue that provides a perspective on why people may find it difficult or easy to form intimate relationships. This monograph should be a valuable resource for psychologists and sociologists.