The Science of the Couple

Although love and relationships have been focal points for poets and philosophers for thousands of years, these topics had not traditionally been the focus of empirical research. As a result, very little was known about how couples maintained happiness and satisfaction in their relationships, or how relationships deteriorated, ultimately ending in separation or divorce. However, since the early 1980s, relationships research has blossomed as a field and is now one of the most vibrant topics in social psychology and beyond. This volume brings together the latest research on couple functioning from the perspectives of social and personality psychology, neurobiology, health, and clinical psychology. Additionally, the research presented highlights the use of survey, experimental, implicit, and longitudinal methods, as well as specialized techniques employed in neuroscience, psychophysiology, and psychoneuroimmunology in the study of couple level processes. The underlying aim of this volume is to examine how these theories and methods converge to provide a deeper, holistic model of couples processes and functioning. With its state-of-the-art, integrative overview of this exciting discipline, The Science of the Couple is essential reading for social psychologists, clinicians, and anyone with an interest in the dynamics of interpersonal relationships.