Machine generated contents note: pt. One Introduction -- 1. The Science of Intimate Relationships -- 2. Intimate Relationships in Context: Key Theories, Concepts, and Human Nature -- pt. Two The Relationship Animal -- 3. The Intimate Relationship Mind -- 4. The Intimate Relationship Body -- pt. Three Beginning Relationships: Attachment and Mate Selection -- 5. Born to Bond: from Infancy to Adulthood -- 6. Selecting Mates -- pt. Four Maintaining Relationships: the Psychology of Intimacy -- 7. Love, Sweet Love -- 8. Reading Minds, Partners, and Relationships -- 9.Communication and Interaction -- 10. Sex and Passion -- 11. Relationship Violence -- pt. Five Ending Relationships: the Causes and Consequences of Relationship Dissolution -- 12. Relationship Dissolution -- pt. Six Conclusion -- 13. Assembling the Relationship Jigsaw -- pt. One Introduction -- 1. The Science of Intimate Relationships -- The Science of Intimate Relationships: a Brief History and Analysis -- Domains of study -- An example -- Interdisciplinary links -- The relation between mind and body -- Common sense and pop psychology -- Research methods -- Contents of the book -- Summary and Conclusions -- 2. Intimate Relationships in Context: Key Theories, Concepts, and Human Nature -- Social Psychology -- A brief history -- Interdependence theory -- Evolutionary Psychology -- Darwin -- Darwinian evolutionary theory -- Selection for survival -- Sexual selection -- Parental investment theory -- Key features of evolutionary psychology -- Human Nature and Genes -- What is Human Nature? -- Life History Theory -- Goals of life history theory -- Life history mysteries and the critical role of tradeoffs -- The Strange Nature of Human Development -- Offloading the heavy lifting: the role of alloparents -- Inclusive fitness -- Of human bondage -- Humans are cultural animals -- Summary and Conclusions -- pt. Two The Relationship Animal -- 3. The Intimate Relationship Mind -- Relationship Goals -- Lay Relationship Theories -- General social theories -- A case study: attribution theory -- Self-esteem -- General relationship theories -- Local relationship theories -- Self theories -- Relationship evaluations -- The Functions of Lay Relationship Theories: Back to the Goals -- On-line Cognitive Processing: Unconscious and Automatic versus Conscious and Controlled -- When do people think consciously about relationships? -- Evidence for this distinction -- Role of stored relationship theories -- Self-regulation -- Interlude and a Caveat -- Emotions in Relationships -- Functions of emotions -- Lay emotion theories and scripts -- Basic emotions -- Do emotions get in the way of rational thought? -- The Distal Origins of the Intimate Relationship Mind: Evolution and Culture -- Summary and Conclusions -- 4. The Intimate Relationship Body -- Why Sexual Reproduction? -- Human Genitalia and their Origins -- The human body and behavior are windows into our mating past -- Orgasms, Nipples, Adaptations, and By-products -- Hormones, Sex, and Relationships -- Sex hormones -- Cuddle hormones -- Fight or flight hormones -- The Relationship Brain -- Social cognition and the brain -- The prefrontal cortex (PFC) -- Emotions and cognitions work together -- Controlled versus automatic processing -- Bonding and love -- The cuddle hormones as neurotransmitters -- The dopamine system -- Summary -- Health and Intimate Relationships -- Intimate relationships, social support, stress, and health -- Summary and Conclusions -- pt. Three Beginning Relationships: Attachment and Mate Selection -- 5. Born to Bond: from Infancy to Adulthood -- Attachment Theory -- Brief historical overview -- Normative features of attachment -- Mother-infant synchrony -- Keeping close -- Four phases of development -- Individual differences in attachment -- Attachment in Adolescence and Adulthood -- Normative processes and outcomes in adulthood -- Individual differences and outcomes in adulthood -- Life History Models of Social Development -- The development of individual differences in attachment and mating strategies -- Variations on a theme -- Controversies -- Summary and Conclusions -- 6. Selecting Mates -- Searching for a Mate: What do People Want? -- The Nature of Mating Standards -- Personality traits, status, and resources -- Physical attractiveness -- Summary -- The Origins of Mating Standards -- Good investment -- Good genes -- Within-gender Differences in Mating Standards -- Sociosexuality and mating strategies -- The menstrual cycle and mate preferences -- Gender Differences, Mating Strategies, and Short-term versus Long-term Liaisons -- Physical attractiveness, age, status, resources, and personality traits -- Sexual variety -- Explaining Gender Differences in Mate Selection Strategies -- Parental investment theory -- Sexual strategies theory -- Social structural model -- Resolution -- Mate Preferences, Self-Presentation, and the Self-Concept -- How the mating game (and the media) shape the self-concept -- Explaining Within-gender Differences in Mating Strategies and Preferences -- Do Mate Preferences Predict Actual Mate Choices? -- Summary and Conclusions -- pt. Four Maintaining Relationships: the Psychology of Intimacy -- 7. Love, Sweet Love -- Love as a Commitment Device: Pair Bonding in Humans -- The universality of romantic love -- Biological and behavioral markers of love -- Romantic relationships are good for you (usually) and they promote reproductive success -- Maintaining love in the face of alluring alternatives -- Arranged marriages -- Monogamy and polygyny -- Infidelity and divorce: is love meant to last? -- Summary -- The Nature of Love -- Passionate love -- Self-expansion -- Physical arousal and stress -- The slow slide in passion -- Companionate love -- Links between Passionate and Companionate Love -- Love styles -- Sternberg's triangular model of love -- Nonlove -- Liking -- Infatuation -- Empty love -- Romantic love -- Companionate love -- Fatuous love -- Consummate love -- The Maintenance of Love and Intimacy -- Summary and Conclusions -- 8. Reading Minds, Partners, and Relationships -- Looking through the Eyes of Love: Reality versus Illusion in Intimate Relationships -- Can bias be rational? -- Research case study -- Projection -- Can judgments be biased and accurate at the same time? -- Two kinds of accuracy -- Research case study -- Are people aware of bias and accuracy in their relationship Judgments? -- A puzzle and an explanation -- Causes and Consequences of Accuracy and Bias in Partner and Relationship Judgments -- Links between accuracy and relationship quality -- Relationship stage -- First meetings -- On-going relationships -- Individual differences and context -- Self-esteem and stress -- Security and stress -- Judgment category -- An anomaly and an explanation -- Summary -- Back to Reading Minds -- Methods -- Research findings -- Individual differences in mind-reading -- Summary and Conclusions -- 9.Communication and Interaction -- Couple Communication during Conflict -- What do communication behaviors predict? -- Destructive patterns of communication -- Moving Beyond Conflict -- The links between communication behavior and cognition -- Responding to relationship threats: accommodation and risk regulation -- Regulating risk -- Regulating partners -- Summary -- Good "Negative Behaviors" and Bad "Negative Behaviors" -- When Honest Communication is Healthy and Good Management Fails -- Stress is ... well, stressful -- Why Adopting One Default Strategy is Not a Good Idea -- Providing and Communicating Support -- Relationship satisfaction and support -- What recipients of support do, think, and feel counts -- Can partners be too supportive? -- Conclusions -- Summary and Conclusions -- 10. Sex and Passion -- The Biology of Sex -- Sexual Orientation -- The origins of sexual orientation -- Hormones, brain development, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) -- Genes and homosexuality in men -- Sexual plasticity in women -- Gender Differences in Sex and Sexuality -- Gender differences in sex drive -- Gender differences in desire for multiple sex partners -- Gender differences in negotiating sex in relationships -- Sexual Jealousy -- Sex and Relationship Satisfaction -- Does better sex lead to better relationships? -- Do better relationships lead to better sex? -- Communication may be critical -- Individual Differences in Sociosexuality -- Summary and Conclusions -- 11. Relationship Violence -- Gender Differences in Intimate Violence -- Research using the conflict tactics scale -- The research bombshell -- Is the conflict tactics scale reliable and valid? -- What do the results from the conflict tactics scale really mean? -- Resolving the paradox -- All men are not the same -- Severity and consequences of physical violence -- Summary -- Till Death Do us Part: Homicide in Intimate Relationships -- Explaining Relationship Violence -- An evolutionary approach -- A feminist perspective -- A social psychological approach -- Explaining variability in intimate violence within and between cultures -- Can Relationship Violence be Prevented, and if so, How? -- Summary and Conclusions -- pt. Five Ending Relationships: the Causes and Consequences of Relationship Dissolution -- 12. Relationship Dissolution -- Predicting Relationship Dissolution: What Drives Couples Apart? -- Socio-demographic variables, relationship history, and individual differences -- Are the fates of relationships sealed before they begin? -- Relationship-level factors -- Love and investment -- Satisfaction level -- Quality of alternatives -- Investment size -- The Power and Limitations of Relationship Maintenance Strategies -- Consequences of Relationship Dissolution -- The impact of divorce on children -- Moving on and letting go -- Relationship Therapy -- Traditional behavioral couples therapy -- Cognitive behavioral couples therapy -- Integrative behavioral couples therapy -- Emotion focused couples therapy.

Note continued: Does relationship therapy work? -- Summary and Conclusions -- pt. Six Conclusion -- 13. Assembling the Relationship Jigsaw -- The Power of Culture and Evolution -- Are Humans Just Another Ape? -- Gender Differences -- Within-gender Differences -- The Future of Intimate Relationships -- Science and Intimate Relationships -- Conclusion.