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.
Communication and Relationship Maintenance provides readers with a comprehensive, dynamic examination of relationship maintenance across a variety of relational contexts. Informed by contemporary research and literature in communication, psychology, and sociology, this text introduces the study of relationship maintenance, highlights current issues and debates, and provides insight as to the future of the discipline. Each chapter focuses on a particular relationship type and emphasizes a concept that influences its maintenance. For each relationship, authors Marianne Dainton and Scott A. Myers explore critical theories used to understand the maintenance process for the relationship and illuminate its unique features, the maintenance behaviors typically applied in the relationship, and the significant influences on the use of maintenance activities for that particular type. Relational contexts covered include opposite-sex romantic relationships, same-sex romantic relationships, friendships, family relationships, and workplace relationships. Additional chapters examine cultural variations on the maintenance process, the role of mediated communication on relationship maintenance, and the future of scholarly study within the discipline. Communication and Relationship Maintenance is well suited for advanced undergraduate and graduate and courses in relational and interpersonal communication. Marianne Dainton (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) is a professor of communication at La Salle University, where she teaches courses in interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and communication theory. Dr. Dainton is the author/coauthor of Maintaining Relationships through Communication, Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life, and Maintaining Black Marriage. Scott A. Myers (Ph.D., Kent State University) is a professor and the Peggy Rardin McConnell Endowed Teaching Chair of Communication Studies at West Virginia University, where he teaches courses in instructional communication, organizational communication, and communication pedagogy. Dr. Myers is the coauthor of The Fundamentals of Small Group Communication and The Communication Age: Connecting and Engaging.
'The authors ...extend the reach of their comprehensive reviews into theoretically driven and innovating explorations. The scope of coverage across and within chapters is striking. The developmentalist, the methodologist, the feminist, the contextualist, and the cross-culturalist alike will find satisfaction in reading the chapters' - Catherine A Surra, University of Texas, Austin The science of close relationships is relatively new and complex. This volume has 26 chapters organized into four thematic areas: relationship methods, forms, processes, and threats, as well as a foreword and an epilogue.
Relational maintenance provides a rallying point for those seeking to discover the behaviors that individuals utilize to sustain their personal relationships. Theoretical models, research programs, and specific studies have examined how people in a variety of close relationships choose to define and maintain those relationships. In addition, relational maintenance turns our attention to communicative processes that help people sustain their close relationships. In this collection, editors Daniel J. Canary and Marianne Dainton focus on the communicative processes critical to the maintenance and enhancement of personal relationships. The volume considers variations in maintaining different types of personal relationships; structural constraints on relationship maintenance; and cultural variations in relational maintenance. Contributions to the volume cover a broad range of relational types, including romantic relationships, family relationships, long-distance relationships, workplace relationships, and Gay and Lesbian relationships, among others. Maintaining Relationships Through Communication: Relational, Contextual, and Cultural Variations synthesizes current research in relationship maintenance, emphasizes the ways that behaviors vary in their maintenance functions across relational contexts, discusses alternative explanations for maintaining relationships, and presents avenues for future research. As such, it is intended for students and scholars studying interpersonal communication and personal relationships.
In the past 10 years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of theoretical and empirical investigations into the maintenance and enhancement of close, romantic relationships. This literature targets the everyday behaviors, expressions of love, and cognitive styles that characterize such relationships. Chapters provide a sampling of the expanse of topics in the domain of how clinical scholars and practitioners address the timely topic of maintaining and enhancing close romantic relationships, including marriage. A distinguished group of scholars and therapists discuss specific problems, such as alcoholism and therapeutic interventions, such as insight therapy. Topics include maintenance issues relevant to: depression, anxiety disorders, the role of children in affecting close relationships, how premarital therapy may serve as an antidote to early relationship problems, forgiveness, remarriage issues, and peer marriage. This volume is intended for practitioners in the field of close romantic relationships, such as marriage, family and relationship therapists, and clinicians.
The inspirational sequel to 12 RULES FOR LIFE, which has sold over 5 million copies around the world - now in paperback In 12 Rules for Life, acclaimed public thinker and clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson offered an antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to modern anxieties. His insights have helped millions of readers and resonated powerfully around the world. Now in this long-awaited sequel, Peterson goes further, showing that part of life's meaning comes from reaching out into the domain beyond what we know, and adapting to an ever-transforming world. While an excess of chaos threatens us with uncertainty, an excess of order leads to a lack of curiosity and creative vitality. Beyond Order therefore calls on us to balance the two fundamental principles of reality - order and chaos - and reveals the profound meaning that can be found on the path that divides them. In times of instability and suffering, Peterson reminds us that there are sources of strength on which we can all draw: insights borrowed from psychology, philosophy, and humanity's greatest myths and stories. Drawing on the hard-won truths of ancient wisdom, as well as deeply personal lessons from his own life and clinical practice, Peterson offers twelve new principles to guide readers towards a more courageous, truthful and meaningful life.
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.
Whether you’re newly together and eager to make it work or a longtime couple looking to strengthen and deepen your bond, Eight Dates offers a program of how, why, and when to have eight basic conversations with your partner that can result in a lifetime of love. “Happily ever after” is not by chance, it’s by choice– the choice each person in a relationship makes to remain open, remain curious, and, most of all, to keep talking to one another. From award-winning marriage researcher and bestselling author Dr. John Gottman and fellow researcher Julie Gottman, Eight Dates offers an ingenious and simple-to-implement approach to effective relationship communication. Here are the subjects that every serious couple should discuss: Trust. Family. Sex and intimacy. Dealing with conflict. Work and money. Dreams, and more. And here is how to talk about them—how to broach subjects that are difficult or embarrassing, how to be brave enough to say what you really feel. There are also suggestions for where and when to go on each date—book your favorite romantic restaurant for the Sex & Intimacy conversation (and maybe go to a yoga or dance class beforehand). There are questionnaires, innovative exercises, real-life case studies, and skills to master, including the Four Skills of Intimate Conversation and the Art of Listening. Because making love last is not about having a certain feeling—it’s about both of you being active and involved.