Social Relationships

How many friends do people have?.

How long do friendships last?.

Where do friends come from?.

What makes people like each other?.

Proximity.

Similarity.

Rewardingness.

Self-disclosure.

Why we need friends.

The rules of friendship.

Friendship skills.

Loneliness.

Theories of friendship.

Rewardingness.

Exchange.

Communal relationships.

Equity..

Part 2: Other Relationships.

Romantic love.

The biological basis of love.

The two factor theory of love.

The attachment theory of love.

The course of love.

Marriage.

Types of marriage.

Cultural differences in marriage.

Conflict and divorce.

Rewards of marriage.

Family and kinship.

Proximity of kin.

Shared activities.

The explanation of kinship bonds - sociobiology.

Work relationships.'.

Supervision.

The power of leaders..

Part 3: The Benefits and Costs of Relationships.

The effect of relationships on joy.

Satisfaction and enduring happiness.

The effect of relationships on mental health.

How do relationships help mental health?.

When relationships have negative effects.

The effect of relationships on physical health.

Bereavement..

Part 4: Success and Failure with Relationships.

Friends.

How to keep friends.

Love and courtship.

Marriage.

Unhappy marriages.

Relationships at work..

Part 5: Group Differences.

Males and Females.

Friends.

Kin.

Love and marriage.

Work.

Age differences.

Friends.

Kin.

Love and marriage.

Work.

Social class.

Friends.

Kin.

Love and marriage.

Work.

Total social contacts.

Cultural differences.

Friends.

Love and marriage.

Kin.

Work.

References.

Further Reading.

Answers to Self-Assessment Questions.

Glossary.

Acknowledgements.