Human Relationships

In this revised, updated and expanded edition, the author presents an introductory textbook analyzing the world of human relationships as we experience them in our daily lives. The book has been updated to take account of the most recent research, enlarged to reflect the current expansion of the field and revised to present a new framework focusing on the role of communication in relationships. This second edition also contains an additional chapter on relationships and the law, examining the various ways in which relationships are recognized under the law and in turn have hidden effects upon its workings. "Human Relationships" addresses such topics as attraction, love, friendship, and our experiences of shyness, jealousy and loneliness. It considers how and why relationships are established, sustained and sometimes break down. It looks at families, at how children learn about and manage their own relationships, and at how people's health and well-being are profoundly affected by the nature of the relationships in which they are embedded.
In exploring such "ordinary" but fundamental themes, it attempts to show how a sound understanding of social and interpersonal behaviour must be grounded in an understanding of the workings of everyday relationships in daily life.