Intimate Relationships

Ralph Erber is professor of psychology at DePaul University. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. His work has been published in a number of places, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and the European Journal of Social Psychology. He is also the author and editor of several books, including Understanding Genocide: The Social Psychology of the Holocaust and Social Psychology: A Story-telling Approach (with Len Newman).Maureen Wang Erber is professor of psychology at Northeastern Illinois University. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensborough. Her work has been published in a number of places, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Her research interests include trust and conflict in intimate relationships and mate-choice copying.

• 1. Strangers, Friends, and Lovers: Why Is Life So Complicated 2. Methods to Study Relationships 3. Liking and Attraction 4. Self-Presentation and Self-Disclosure 5. Fairness and Equity 6. Love and Emotion 7. Attachment 8. Sexuality 9. Communication: Let's Talk 10. Infidelity and Jealousy 11. Relationship Violence and Abuse 12. Conflict: Causes and Consequences 13. Making it Last: How to Maintain Intimate Relationships 14. Intimate Relationships in the 21st Century

This is a highly regarded text that covers complicated research in an accessible and thoughtful way. The order of the chapters is intuitive, building topically and conceptually as the book progresses. The structure of the book is designed with student learning in mind. The quotes at the beginning are a nice introduction bookended with summaries and key terms at the end to help recap the contents – Leah Bryant, Associate Professor, De Paul University, USA.