Christopher R. Agnew is Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University, USA, where he currently serves as Associate Vice President for Research. As a social psychologist, his research focuses on interpersonal relationships and using relational theories to understand broader social and health processes. Jennifer J. Harman is Associate Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University, USA. Her research has focused on perceptions and power in intimate relationships, most recently with how these concepts affect relationships and families after they have dissolved.

• An evolutionary perspective on the role of status in close relationships Gillian A. Mccabe and Virgil Zeigler-Hill; 2. Attachment insecurity and the regulation of power and dependence in intimate relationships Emily J. Cross and Nickola C. Overall; 3. Interdependence perspectives on power in relationships Ximena B. Arriaga, Michael Ioerger and Laura E. Vanderdrift; 4. Leveraging power in intimate partner relationships: a power basis perspective I-Ching Lee, Felicia Pratto and Judy Y. Tan; 5. The dyadic power-social influence model: extensions and future directions Allison K. Farrell, Alexander J. Rothman and Jeffry A. Simpson; 6. The impact of multilevel sources of power on intimate relationship functioning Christopher R. Agnew, Jennifer J. Harman, Elizabeth Keneski and Andrew L. Stewart; 7. Power in families J. Kale Monk, Brian G. Ogolsky and Angela M. Whittaker; 8. When sex is power: gender roles in sex and their consequences Michelle R. Kaufman and Julie Pulerwitz; 9. Power in close intimate relationships Emily A. Impett, James J. Kim and Mariko L. Visserman; 10. Power and interpersonal violence; 11. Power and interpersonal communication Michael E. Roloff and Denise Haunani Solomon; 12. Interpersonal power and nonverbal communication Quinten Bernhold and Norah E. Dunbar.

'Why do some people have more power than others? When do people use their power for good versus ill? These are among the essential questions that are asked and answered by this stellar and interdisciplinary line-up of scholars. The book is marvelous, and it's a blast to read!' Eli J. Finkel, author of The All-Or-Nothing Marriage and Northwestern University