With the premise that close relationships are subjected to extraordinary scrutiny in contemporary society, the authors go on to say that this generation values individual fulfilment more than any before us. We are able to leave existing relationships with relative ease, demand a high level of satisfaction from our intimate relationships, and are frustrated at those times when we fail to achieve it.; This volume presents a range Of Theoretical And Clinical Approaches To Understanding And Promoting relationship satisfaction. Integrating findings from social, clinical and counselling psychology, researchers illuminate what it means to be satisfied within a love relationship and identify the factors that allow couples to create successful relationships over time.

Emotion is once again at the forefront of research in social psychology and personality. The Handbook of Communication and Emotion provides a comprehensive look at the questions and answers of interest in the field: How are specific emotions (fear, jealousy, anger, love) communicated? How does the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of this communication affect relationships? How is the communication of emotion utilized to deceive, or persuade, others? This important reference work is edited by top researchers in the field of communication and authored by a who's who in emotion and communication. - Provides a comprehensive look at the role of communication in emotion - Includes contributions from top researchers in the field of communications - Examines how specific emotions are communicated - Includes important new research on the effect of communication on relationships

This volume summarizes and organizes a growing body of research supporting the role of motivation in adaptive and rewarding interpersonal interactions with others. The field of human motivation is rapidly growing but most studies have focused on the effects of motivation on individuals' personal happiness and task engagement. Only recently have theorists and empiricists begun to recognize that dispositional and state motivations impact the ways individuals approach interpersonal interactions. In addition, researchers are now recognizing that the quality of interpersonal interactions influences consequent happiness and task engagement, thus helping to explain previous findings to this end. Similarly social psychology and relationships researchers have focused on the impact of cognitions, emotions, and behaviors on people's relationships. In their work, relationships researchers demonstrate that both contextual characteristics and individual differences influence the quality of interactions. Many of these studies seek to understand which characteristics strengthen the bonds between people, encourage empathy and trust and create a sense of well-being after a close interaction. This work seeks to integrate the field of human motivation and interpersonal relationships. Both fields have seen extensive growth in the past decade and each can contribute to the other. However, no single compiled work is available that targets both fields. This is the case, in part because only now is there enough work to make a strong and compelling case for their integration. In the previous years, research has been conducted to show that motivation is relevant and important for interactions among strangers and in close relationships. In addition developmental mechanisms for these relations are identified and mechanisms by which motivation strengthens people's relationships. Finally recent work has demonstrated the many implications for interpersonal relationships, showing that motivation impacts a range of interpersonal processes from prejudice regulation and objectification of others to empathy and care. This book seeks to summarize and organize all these findings and present them in a way that is relevant to both motivation researchers and social and relationship researchers.

With contributions from the leading experts on relationships, this book covers important issues, such as love as self-expansion, equity in maintaining close relationships, commitment, social support, self-verification, and minding the relationship. The end result is a comprehensive account of the reasons why close relationships are or are not maintained and the manner in which these principles can be applied to current social issues and clinical interventions. Divided into two sections, Part I describes models developed to characterize how relationships are maintained over time, accounts of specific mechanisms at work in close relationships, and conceptualizations of the maintenance and enhancement of close relationships using existing theoretical paradigms. Part II addresses contemporary social issues, as well as clinical applications. Close Romantic Relationships will appeal to students, researchers, and professionals due to its broad sampling of theory and research on relationship maintenance and enhancement.

Although sexuality is an integral part of close romantic relationships, research linking these two constructs has been less systematic than other areas pertaining to close relationships. To date, researchers in communication, sociology, family studies, psychology, and psychiatry, have made significant advances in both of these fields. The editors' goal is to integrate this research into one volume. They bring together major scholars from the diversity of fields working on close relationship topics to examine past contributions and new directions in sexuality. The emphasis is on theoretical integration and stimulation, methodological rigor, and critical analysis. This volume explores: *early sexual experiences and their impact on late life sexuality; *how life's stresses impact sexuality and satisfaction with closeness; *the affect of postpartum depression on sexuality; and *the relationship between control, power, anger, as well as revenge and sexual processes in couples. The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships is intended for students and researchers in the disciplines of social, clinical, developmental, and health psychology; family studies; counseling; and interpersonal, family, and health communication. An excellent reference in advanced courses in close relationships taught in psychology, communications, sociology, anthropology, and family studies, the material in Part V will also appeal to clinical psychologists, health professionals, and policymakers.

This is a companion volume to Coping: The Psychology of What Works, which is also edited by Snyder. This second book includes chapters by some of the most well known clinical and health psychologists and covers some of the newest and most provocative topics currently under study in the area of coping. The contributors address the key questions in this literature: Why do some of us learn from hardship and life's stressors? And why do others fail and succumb to depression, anxiety, and even suicide? What are the adaptive patterns and behaviors of those who do well in spite of the obstacles that are thrown their way? The chapters will look at exercise as a way of coping with stress, body imaging, the use of humor, forgiveness, control of hostile thoughts, ethnicity and coping, sexism and coping aging and relationships, constructing a coherent life story, personal spirituality, and personal growth.

This is one of the first volumes to examine the interface between research undertaken in sexuality and that in close relationships from a social psychological perspective. Experts from several different disciplines offer chapters that contain theory, extant literature, and their own original research on such topics as jealousy, extradyadic sexuality, communication, love, and sexual coercion. Aimed at a fairly wide audience, this book will be of interest to students, faculty, and other professionals in social psychology, sociology, communication, and family and women's studies. It is also a valuable source of information for teachers, researchers, and clinicians working in the areas of human sexuality and/or close relationships.