Table of Contents

About the Authors xv


Preface xvi


Part One: Introduction 1


1 The Science of Intimate Relationships 3


2 Intimate Relationships in Context: Key Theories, Concepts, and Human Nature 14


Part Two: The Relationship Animal 39


3 The Intimate Relationship Mind 41


4 The Intimate Relationship Body 69


Part Three: Beginning Relationships: Att achment and Mate Selection 97


5 Born to Bond: from Infancy to Adulthood 99


6 Selecting Mates 125


Part Four: Maintaining Relationships:the Psychology of Intimacy 155


7 Love, Sweet Love 157


8 Reading Minds, Partners, and Relationships 184


9 Communication and Interaction 210


10 Sex and Passion 236


11 Relationship Violence 259


Part Five: Ending Relationships: the Causes and Consequences of Relationship Dissolution 285


12 Relationship Dissolution 287


Part Six: Conclusion 313


13 Assembling the Relationship Jigsaw 315


Glossary 327


References 338


Author Index 383


Subject Index 390

About the Author

Garth Fletcher is Professor of Psychology at VictoriaUniversity Wellington. He is a fellow of five societies includingthe Royal Society of New Zealand, the Association forPsychological Science, and the Society forPersonality and Social Psychology, and has been associateeditor of both Personal Relationships and Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology. Fletcher has published over100 articles and book chapters, and has authored and edited 6books. Jeffry A. Simpson is Professor of Psychology and Directorof the Doctoral Minor in Interpersonal Relationships (IREL) at theUniversity of Minnesota. He has been the editor of the journalPersonal Relationships and is currently the editor ofJournal of Personality and Social Psychology: InterpersonalRelations and Group Processes (JPSP-IRGP). Simpson is theincoming president of the International Association forRelationship Research, and has published nearly 200 articlesand chapters along with several edited books. Lorne Campbell is Associate Professor of Psychology theUniversity of Western Ontario. He has published over 40 articlesand book chapters, serves on the editorial board of Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology and Personality and SocialPsychology Bulletin, and has been the editor of the journalPersonal Relationships. Nickola Overall is Senior Lecturer of Psychology at theUniversity of Auckland, New Zealand. She has published over 35articles and book chapters, serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and iscurrently associate editor for Personal Relationships.

Reviews

This textbook would work well for a collegeclass. (Metapsychology Online Reviews, 29 July2014) The text can be used academically at an advancedbaccalaureate or graduate level. There is an equally well-organizede-study guide available as a Kindle download that highlightsconcepts to facilitate the memorization of terms. The book can alsobe drawn upon in arenas outside of academia. The busy clinician,for example, may find that the work is simply a good read whilealso encouraging currency with scientific domains falling outsideof his or her immediate field. (Journal of Sex& Marital Therapy, 22July 2014) Overall, The Science of Intimate Relationshipsserves asan important contribution to the array of books available in thefield of relationship science. Its breadth of coverage would makeit an excellent choice for college courses in intimaterelationships, as noted above, as well as make it of interest toanyone wishing to have a good background in the science of romanticrelationships. (PsycCRITIQUES, 11 September2013) An essential read for budding relationshipsexperts. (Psychology Today, 30 April 2013)