Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T07:27:04.420Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

24 - Intimate Relationships

from Section 4 - Work and Family Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2020

By
Ahva Rashin Mozafari  and
Xiaomeng Xu
Edited by
Fanny M. Cheung  and
Diane F. Halpern
Fanny M. Cheung
Affiliation:
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Diane F. Halpern
Affiliation:
Claremont McKenna College, California
Get access

Summary

Intimate relationships exist around the world, throughout the lifespan, and are influential in every domain of peoples’ lives. This chapter provides a brief review of the literature on intimate dating and marital relationships including processes such as attraction and relationship initiation, relationship maintenance, and relationship dissolution. A few theoretical perspectives (evolutionary, interdependence, attachment, self-expansion) are highlighted throughout the chapter. A main focus of this review is discussing intimate relationships in the context of gender and culture, including limitations in our current knowledge and suggestions for future research.

Keywords

Romantic relationshipsintimate relationshipslovedatingmarriagedivorcebreakuprelationship maintenancerelationship dissolutionsexgenderculture
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the International Psychology of Women , pp. 342 - 354
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Suggested Readings

Ahva Mozafari is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program at Idaho State University. She received her BSc in Psychology from Boise State University and her MSc in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Washington University. Her research interests include romantic relationships, shame, attachment, and culture. A large portion of her clinical work has been in community mental health with refugees as well as with US-born adults, children, and adolescents. She has also worked with couples and families. Mozafari was born and grew up in Boise, Idaho. Her parents are immigrants from Iran, and she has spent several summers there throughout her life. She identifies as a first generation Iranian American.

Xiaomeng (Mona) Xu is an Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology at Idaho State University. She received her BA in Psychology from New York University and her MA in Psychology and PhD in Social Health Psychology from Stony Brook University, and she completed a postdoctoral Research Fellowship sponsored by the National Institutes of Health at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the Miriam Hospital.  Xu and her lab conduct both basic and applied research on romantic relationships, behavioral health, neuroimaging, and pedagogy. She was born in Fuling, a district of Chongqing Municipality in China and grew up in the United States. She conducted collaborative research in Bejing. She identifies as an immigrant.

Bormans, L. (Ed.). (2014). The world book of love. Tielt: Lannoo.Google Scholar
Finkel, E. J. (2017). The all-or-nothing marriage: How the best marriages work. New York: Dutton.Google Scholar
Knee, C. R., & Reis, H. T. (Eds.). (2016). Positive approaches to optimal relationship development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lehmiller, J. J. (2018). Tell me what you want: The science of sexual desire and how it can help you improve your sex life. New York: Da Capo Press.Google Scholar
Luvze.com (formerly ScienceOfRelationships.com)Google Scholar
Miller, R. S. (2017). Intimate relationships (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.Google Scholar
Society for the Psychology of Women (American Psychological Association Division 35) Newsletters. www.apadivisions.org/division-35/publications/newsletters/index.aspxGoogle Scholar

References

Acevedo, B., Xu, X., Lewandowski, G. W. Jr., & Aron, A. (2017). Love and self-expansion. In Fitzgerald, J. (Ed.), Foundations for couples’ therapy: Research for the real world (pp. 245–255). New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315678610-25Google Scholar
Adams, R. D., & Baptist, J. A. (2012). Relationship maintenance behavior and adult attachment: An analysis of the actor–partner interdependence model. American Journal of Family Therapy, 40, 230–244. doi:10.1080/01926187.2011.605047Google Scholar
Alexander, M. G., & Fisher, T. D. (2003). Truth and consequences: Using the bogus pipeline to examine sex differences in self-reported sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, 40, 27–36. doi:10.1080/00224490309552164Google Scholar
Amato, P. R. (2000). The consequences of divorce for adults and children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1269–1287. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.01269.xGoogle Scholar
Amato, P. R., & Previti, D. (2003). People’s reasons for divorcing: Gender, social class, the life course, and adjustment. Journal of Family Issues, 24, 602–626. doi:10.1177/0192513X03024005002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychological Association. (2002). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/policy/multicultural-guidelines.aspxGoogle Scholar
American Psychological Association. (2015). APA dictionary of psychology (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Aron, A., & Aron, E. N. (1986). Love as expansion of self: Understanding attraction and satisfaction. New York: Hemisphere.Google Scholar
Aron, A., Dutton, D. G., Aron, E. N., & Iverson, A. (1989). Experiences of falling in love. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 243–257. doi:10.1177/0265407589063001Google Scholar
Aron, A., Fisher, H., Mashek, D., Strong, G., Li, H., & Brown, L. L. (2005). Reward, motivation and emotion systems associated with early-stage intense romantic love. Journal of Neurophysiology, 93, 327–337. doi:10.1152/jn.00838.2004Google Scholar
Aron, A., Norman, C., Aron, E., McKenna, C., & Heyman, R. (2000). Couples’ shared participation in novel and arousing activities and experienced relationship quality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 273–284. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.273Google Scholar
Barr, A. B., Culatta, E., & Simons, R. L. (2013). Romantic relationships and health among African American young adults: Linking patterns of relationship quality over time to changes in physical and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 54, 369–385. doi:10.1177/0022146513486652Google Scholar
Bartels, A., & Zeki, S. (2000). The neural basis of romantic love. NeuroReport, 11, 3829–3834. doi:10.1097/00001756-200011270-00046Google Scholar
Berscheid, E. (1994). Interpersonal relationships. Annual Review of Psychology, 45, 79–129. doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.45.020194.000455CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berscheid, E., & Graziano, W. (1979). The initiation of social relationships and interpersonal attraction. In Burgess, R. L. & Huston, T. L. (Eds.), Social exchange in developing relationships. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. doi:10.1016/B978–0-12-143550-9.50008-2Google Scholar
Berscheid, E., & Walster, E. H. (1978). Interpersonal attraction (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Bratter, J. L., & King, R. B. (2008). “But will it last?”: Marital instability among interracial and same-race couples. Family Relations, 57, 160–171. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00491.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In Simpson, J. A. & Rholes, W. S. (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46–76). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Broman, C. L. (2002). Thinking of divorce, but staying married: The interplay of race and marital satisfaction. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 37, 151–161. doi:10.1300/J087v37n01_09CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bui, K. T., Peplau,  L. A., & Hill,  C. T. (1996). Testing the Rusbult model of relationship commitment and stability in a 15-year study of heterosexual couples. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1244–1257. doi:10.1177/01461672962212005Google Scholar
Bulanda, J. R., & Brown, S. L. (2007). Race-ethnic differences in marital quality and divorce. Social Science Research, 36, 945–967. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2006.04.001Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (1989). Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 12, 1–49. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00023992Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (1994). Evolution of desire: Strategies for human mating. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M. (2006). The evolution of love. In Sternberg, R. & Weis, K. (Eds.), The new psychology of love (pp. 65–86). New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., Abbott, M., Angleitner, A., Asherian, A., Biaggio, A., Blanco-Villasenor, A., & Yang, K.-S. (1990). International preferences in selecting mates: A study of 37 cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 21, 5–47. doi:10.1177/0022022190211001Google Scholar
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.100.2.204CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Byrne, D., & Nelson, O. (1965). Attraction as a linear function of proportion of positive reinforcements. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1, 659–663. doi:10.1037/h0022073Google Scholar
Chen, J. H., Waite, L. J., & Lauderdale, D. S. (2015). Marriage, relationship quality, and sleep among U.S. older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 56, 356–377. doi:10.1177/0022146515594631Google Scholar
Clark, C. L, Shaver, P. R, Abrahams, M. F. (1999). Strategic behaviors in romantic relationship initiation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 709–722. doi:10.1177/0146167299025006006Google Scholar
Cohen, S. (2004). Social relationships and health. American Psychologist, 59, 676–684. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.676Google Scholar
Collibee, C., & Furman, W. (2015). Quality counts: Developmental shifts in associations between romantic relationship qualities and psychosocial adjustment. Child Development, 86, 1639–1652. doi:10.1111/cdev.12403Google Scholar
Conley, T. D., Moors, A. C., Matsick, J. L., Ziegler, A., & Valentine, B. A. (2011). Women, men, and the bedroom: Methodological and conceptual insights that narrow, reframe, and eliminate gender differences in sexuality. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 296–300. doi:10.1177/0963721411418467Google Scholar
Coulter, K., & Malouff, J. M. (2013). Effects of an intervention designed to enhance romantic relationship excitement: A randomized-control trial. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 2, 34–44. doi:10.1037/a0031719Google Scholar
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349–354. doi:10.1037/h0047358Google Scholar
Cunningham, M. R., Barbee, A. P., & Philhower, C. L. (2002). Dimensions of facial physical attractiveness: The intersection of biology and culture. In Rhodes, G. & Zebrowitz, L. A. (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives (pp. 193–238). Westport, CT: Ablex.Google Scholar
Cunningham, M. R., Roberts, A. R., Barbee, A. P., Druen, P. D. & Wu, C. (1995). “Their ideas of beauty are, on the whole, the same as ours”: Consistency and variability in the cross-cultural perception of female physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 261–279. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.261Google Scholar
Cuperman, R., & Ickes, W. (2009). Big five predictors of behavior and perceptions in initial dyadic interactions: Personality similarity helps extraverts and introverts, but hurts “disagreeables.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 667–684. doi:10.1037/a0015741CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtis, R. C., & Miller, K. (1986). Believing another likes or dislikes you: Behaviors making the beliefs come true. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 284–290. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.284CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E., LaGuardia, J., Moller, A., Scheiner, M., & Ryan, R. (2006). On the benefits of giving as well as receiving autonomy support: Mutuality in close friendships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 313–327. doi:10.1177/0146167205282148Google Scholar
de Munck, V., Korotayev, A., & Khaltourina, D. (2009). A comparative study of the structure of love in the U.S. and Russia: Finding a common core of characteristics and national and gender differences. Ethnology, 48, 337–357.Google Scholar
Del Giudice, M. (2011). Sex differences in romantic attachment: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 193–214. doi:10.1177/0146167210392789Google Scholar
Dion, K. K., & Dion, K. L. (1993). Individualistic and collectivistic perspectives on gender and the cultural context of love and intimacy. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 53–69. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb01168.xGoogle Scholar
Dys-Steenbergen, O., Wright, S. C., & Aron, A. (2015). Self-expansion motivation improves cross-group interactions and enhances self-growth. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 19, 60–71. doi:10.1177/1368430215583517Google Scholar
Eastwick, P. W., Luchies, L. B., Finkel, E. J., & Hunt, L. L. (2014). The predictive validity of ideal partner preferences: A review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 623–665. doi:10.1037/a0032432Google Scholar
Esch, T., & Stefano, G. B. (2005). Love promotes health. Neuroendocrinology Letters, 26, 264–267.Google ScholarPubMed
Fink, B., Neave, N., Manning, J. T., & Grammer, K. (2006). Facial symmetry and judgments of attractiveness, health and personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 491–499. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.01.017Google Scholar
Fisher, H. E., Aron, A., & Brown, L. L. (2006). Romantic love: A mammalian brain system for mate choice. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 361(1476), 2173–2186. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1938Google Scholar
Fletcher, G. J. O., Simpson, J. A., Campbell, L., & Overall, N. C. (2015). Pair-bonding, romantic love, and evolution: The curious case of Homo sapiens. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 20–36. doi:10.1177/1745691614561683Google Scholar
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350–365. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.350Google Scholar
Freese, J., & Meland, S. (2010). Seven tenths incorrect: Heterogeneity and change in the waist-to-hip ratios of Playboy centerfold models and Miss America pageant winners. Journal of Sex Research, 39, 133–138. doi:10.1080/00224490209552132CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gao, G. (2001). Intimacy, passion and commitment in Chinese and US American romantic relationships. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25, 329–342. doi:10.1016/S0147–1767(01)00007-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glasser, C. I., Robnett, B., & Feliciano, C. (2009). Internet daters’ body type preferences: Race-ethnic and gender differences. Sex Roles, 61, 14–33. doi:10.1007/s11199–009-9604-xGoogle Scholar
Greer, A. E., & Buss, D. M. (1994). Tactics for promoting sexual encounters. Journal of Sex Research, 31, 185–201. doi:10.1080/00224499409551752Google Scholar
Harasymchuck, C., & Fehr, B. (2010). A script analysis of relationship boredom: Causes, feelings, and coping strategies. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 988–1019. doi:10.1521/jscp.2010.29.9.988Google Scholar
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 62–135. doi:10.1017/S0140525X0999152XCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hitsch, G. J., Hortacsu, A., & Ariely, D. (2010). What makes you click? Mate preferences in online dating. Quantitative Marketing and Economics, 8, 393–427. doi:10.1007/s11129–010-9088-6Google Scholar
Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581-592. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, J. B., Miller, R. B., Oka, M., & Henry, R. G. (2014). Gender differences in marital satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage & Family, 76, 105–129. doi:10.1111/jomf.12077CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, T., Chen, H., Guo, C., & Gao, X. (2006). Stories we love by: Conceptions of love among couples from the People’s Republic of China and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 446–464. doi:10.1177/0022022106288480Google Scholar
Jankowiak, W. R., & Fischer, E. F. (1992). A cross-cultural perspective on romantic love. Ethnology 31, 149–155. doi:10.2307/3773618Google Scholar
Jasienska, G., Lipson, S. F., Ellison, P. T., Thune, I., & Ziomkiewicz, A. (2006). Symmetrical women have higher potential fertility. Evolution and Human Behavior, 27, 390–400. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2006.01.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jasienska, G., Ziomkiewicz, A., Ellison, P. T., Lipson, S. F., & Thune, I. (2004). Large breasts and narrow waists indicate high reproductive potential in women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, Biological Sciences, 271, 1213–1217. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2712CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, J. M., Rasbash, J., & O’Connor, T. G. (2003). The role of the shared family context in differential parenting. Developmental Psychology, 39, 99–113. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.1.99Google Scholar
Jonason, P. K., & Balzarini, R. N. (2016). Unweaving the rainbow of human sexuality: A review of one-night stands, serious romantic relationships, and the relationship space in between. In Aumer, K. (Ed.), The psychology of love and hate in intimate relationships (pp. 13–28). New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-39277-6_2Google Scholar
Katzmarzyk, P. T., & Davis, C. (2001). Thinness and body shape of Playboy centerfolds from 1978 to 1998. International Journal of Obesity, 25, 590–592. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801571CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kelley, H. H., & Thibaut, J. W. (1978). lnterpersonal relations: A theory of interdependence. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Kito, M. (2005). Self-disclosure in romantic relationships and friendships among American and Japanese college students. Journal of Social Psychology, 145, 127–140. doi:10.3200/SOCP.145.2.127-140CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knee, C. R., & Canevello, A. (2006). Implicit theories of relationships and coping in romantic relationships. In Vohs, K. D. & Finkel, E. J. (Eds.), Self and relationships: Connecting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes (pp. 160–176). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Komisaruk, B. R., Wise, N., Frangos, E., Liu, W. C., Allen, K., & Brody, S. (2011). Women’s clitoris, vagina, and cervix mapped onto the sensory cortex: fMRI evidence. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8, 2822–2830. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02388.xGoogle Scholar
Le, B., & Agnew, C. R. (2003). Commitment and its theorized determinants: A meta-analysis of the investment model. Personal Relationships, 10, 37–57. doi:10.1111/1475-6811.00035CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le, B., Dove, N. L., Agnew, C. R., Korn, M. S., & Mutso, A. A. (2010). Predicting nonmarital romantic relationship dissolution: A meta-analytic synthesis. Personal Relationships, 17, 377–390. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01285.xGoogle Scholar
Ledbetter, A. M. (2013). Relational maintenance and inclusion of other in the self: Measure development and dyadic test of a self-expansion theory approach. Southern Communication Journal, 78, 289–310. doi:10.1080/1041794X.2013.815265Google Scholar
Lemay, E. P. Jr., Clark, M. S., & Greenberg, A. (2010). What is beautiful is good because what is beautiful is desired: Physical attractiveness stereotyping as projection of interpersonal goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 339–353. doi:10.1177/0146167209359700Google Scholar
Lewandowski, G. W. Jr., & Ackerman, R. A. (2006). Something’s missing: Need fulfillment and self-expansion as predictors of susceptibility to infidelity. Journal of Social Psychology, 146, 389–403. doi:10.3200/SOCP.146.4.389-403Google Scholar
Lewandowski, G. W. Jr., Aron, A., Bassis, S., & Kunak, J. (2006). Losing a self-expanding relationship: Implications for the self-concept. Personal Relationships, 13(3), 317–331. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2006.00120.xGoogle Scholar
Lewandowski, G.W. Jr., & Bizzoco, N. (2007). Addition through subtraction: Growth following the dissolution of a low quality relationship. Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(1), 40–54. doi:10.1080/17439760601069234Google Scholar
Little, A. C., Penton-Voak., I. S., Burt, D. M., & Perrett, D. I. (2002). Evolution and individual differences in the perception of attractiveness: How cyclic hormonal changes and self-perceived attractiveness influence female preferences for male faces. In Rhodes, G. & Zebrowitz, L. A. (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives (pp. 59–90). Westport, CT: Ablex.Google Scholar
Luo, S., & Zhang, G. (2009). What leads to romantic attraction: Similarity, reciprocity, security, or beauty? Evidence from a speed-dating study. Journal of Personality, 77, 933–964. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00570.xGoogle Scholar
Luxen, M. F., & Buunk, B. P. (2006). Human intelligence, fluctuating asymmetry and the peacock’s tail: General intelligence (g) as an honest signal of fitness. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 897–902. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.03.015Google Scholar
Manzoli, L., Villari, P., Pirone, G. M., & Boccia, A. (2007). Marital status and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Sciences & Medicine, 64, 77–94. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.08.031CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marcus, O. K., & Miller, R. S. (2003). Sex differences in judgments of physical attractiveness: A social relations analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 325–335. doi:10.1177/0146167202250193CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224Google Scholar
Mattingly, B. A., McIntyre, K. P., & Lewandowski, G. W. Jr. (2012). Approach motivation and the expansion of self in close relationships. Personal Relationships, 19, 113–127. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2010.01343.xGoogle Scholar
McKenry, P. C., & Price, S. J. (1995). Divorce: A comparative perspective. In Ingoldsby, B. & Smith, S. (Eds.), Families in multicultural perspective: Perspectives on marriage and the family (pp. 187–212). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Mehl, M. R., & Robbins, M. L. (2012). Naturalistic observation sampling: The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR). In Mehl, M. R. & Conner, T. S. (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 176–192). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2012). An attachment perspective on psychopathology. World Psychiatry, 11, 11–15. doi:10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.01.003Google Scholar
Miller, R. S. (2012). Intimate relationships. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Mitnick, D. M., Heyman, R. E., & Smith Slep, A. M. (2009). Changes in relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood: A meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 848–852. doi:10.1037/a0017004Google Scholar
Monroe, S., Rohde, P., Seeley, J., & Lewinsohn, P. (1999). Life events and depression in adolescence: Relationship loss as a prospective risk factor for first onset of major depressive disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(4), 606–614. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.108.4.606Google Scholar
Moors, A. C., Matsick, J. L., & Schechinger, H. A. (2017). Unique and shared relationship benefits of consensually non-monogamous and monogamous relationships: A review and insights for moving forward. European Psychologist, 22(1), 55–71. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000278Google Scholar
Nelson, L. O., & Morrison, E. L. (2005). The symptoms of resource scarcity: Judgments of food and finances influence preferences for potential partners. Psychological Science, 16, 167–173. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00798.xGoogle Scholar
O’Leary, K. D., Acevedo, B. P., Aron, A., Huddy, L., & Mashek, D. (2012). Is long-term love more than a rare phenomenon? If so, what are its correlates? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 241–249. doi:10.1177/1948550611417015Google Scholar
Orbuch, T. L., Veroff, J., Hassan, H., & Horrocks, J. (2002). Who will divorce: A 14-year longitudinal study of Black couples and White couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19(2), 179–202. doi:10.1177/0265407502192002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, P.R., & Laurel-Seller, E. (2006). Weight and shape ideals: Thin is dangerously in. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 979–990. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02506.xGoogle Scholar
Perilloux, H. K., Webster, G. D., & Gaulin, S. J. C. (2010). Signals of genetic quality and maternal investment capacity: The dynamic effects of fluctuating asymmetry and waist-to-hip ratio on men’s ratings of women’s attractiveness. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 1, 34–42. doi:10.1177/1948550609349514Google Scholar
Petersen, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality, 1993–2007. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 21–38. doi:10.1037/a0017504Google Scholar
Pettijohn, T. F., & Jungeberg, B. J. (2004). Playboy playmate curves: Changes in facial and body feature preferences across social and economic conditions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(9), 1186–1197. doi:10.1177/0146167204264078Google Scholar
Proulx, C. M., Helms, H. M., & Buehler, C. (2007). Marital quality and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 576–593. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00393.xGoogle Scholar
Raley, R. K., Crissey, S. R., & Muller, C. (2007). Of sex and romance: Late adolescent relationships and young adult union formation. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 1210–1226. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00442.xGoogle Scholar
Reis,  H. T., & Shaver,  P. (1988). Intimacy as an interpersonal process. In Duck, S., Hay, D. F., Hobfoll, S. E., Icfces, W., & Montgomery, B. M. (Eds.), Handbook of personal relationships: Theory, research and interventions (pp. 367–389). Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Reis, H. T., & Sprecher, S. (Eds.). (2009). Encyclopedia of human relationships. New York: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781412958479Google Scholar
Rhatigan, D. L., & Axsom, D. K. (2006). Using the investment model to understand battered women’s commitment to abusive relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 21, 153–162. doi:10.1007/s10896–005-9013-zGoogle Scholar
Rhoades, G. K., Kamp Dush, C. M., Atkins, D. C., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2011). Breaking up is hard to do: The impact of unmarried relationship dissolution on mental health and life satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 366–374. doi:10.1037/a0023627Google Scholar
Rhodes, G., Harwood, K., Yoshikawa, S., Nishitani, M., & Maclean, I. (2002). The attractiveness of average faces: Cross-cultural evidence and possible biological basis. In Rhodes, G. & Zebrowitz, L. A. (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive, and social perspectives (pp. 35–58). Westport, CT: Ablex.Google Scholar
Riela, S., Bajoghli, H., Xu, X., Farnia, V., Golshani, S., & Shakeri, J. (2017). Falling in love and passionate love in an Iranian sample. Interpersona, 11(2), 141–155. doi:10.5964/ijpr.v11i2.272Google Scholar
Riela, S., Rodriguez, G., Aron, A., Xu, X., & Acevedo, B. P. (2010). Experiences of falling in love: Similarities and differences in culture, ethnicity, gender, and speed. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27(4), 473–493. doi:10.1177/0265407510363508Google Scholar
Rodrigues, A. E., Hall, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (2006). What predicts divorce and relationship dissolution? In Fine, M. A. & Harvey, J. H. (Eds.), Handbook of divorce and relationship dissolution (pp. 85–112). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, R. (1979). The file drawer problem and tolerance for null results. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 638–641. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.3.638Google Scholar
Rubenstein, A. J., Langlois, J. H., & Roggman, L. A. (2002). What makes a face attractive and why: The role of averageness in defining facial beauty. In Rhodes, G. & Zebrowitz, L. A. (Eds.), Facial attractiveness: Evolutionary, cognitive and social perspectives (pp. 1–33). Westport, CT: Ablex.Google Scholar
Rusbult, C. E. (1980). Commitment and satisfaction in romantic associations: A test of the investment model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 16, 172–186. doi:10.1016/0022-1031(80)90007-4Google Scholar
Rusbult, C. E. (1983). A longitudinal test of the investment model: The development (and deterioration) of satisfaction and commitment in heterosexual involvements. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 101–117. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.1.101Google Scholar
Rusbult, C. E., & Martz, J. M. (1995). Remaining in an abusive relationship: An investment model analysis of nonvoluntary dependence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 558–571. doi:10.1177/0146167295216002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rusbult, C. E., & Van Lange, P. A. M. (2003). Interdependence, interaction, and relationships. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 351–375. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145059Google Scholar
Sears, D. O. (1986). College sophomores in the lab: Influences of a narrow data base on social psychology’s view of human nature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 515–530. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.3.515Google Scholar
Shin, L. M., & Liberzon, I. (2010). The neurocircuitry of fear, stress, and anxiety disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35, 169–191. doi:10.1038/npp.2009.83Google Scholar
Singh, O., & Luis, S. (1995). Ethnic and gender consensus for the effect of waist-to-hip ratio on judgment of women’s attractiveness. Human Nature, 6, 51–65. doi:10.1007/BF02734135Google Scholar
Slater, A., Brenner, G., Johnson, S. P., Sherwood, P., Hayes, R., & Brown, E. (2000). Newborn infants’ preference for attractive faces: The role of internal and external facial features. Infancy, 1, 265–274. doi:10.1207/S15327078IN0102_8Google Scholar
Soller, B. (2014). Caught in a bad romance: Adolescent romantic relationships and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 55, 56–72. doi:10.1177/0022146513520432Google Scholar
Sprecher, S., Aron, A., Hatfield, E., Cortese, A., Potapova, E., & Levitskaya, A. (1994). Love: American style, Russian style, and Japanese style. Personal Relationships, 1, 349–369. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.1994.tb00070.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sprecher, S., Regan, P., & Orbuch, T. (2016). Who does the work? Partner perceptions of the initiation and maintenance of romantic relationships. Interpersona, 10, 13–27. doi:10.5964/ijpr.v10i1.191Google Scholar
Stanley, S. M., Rhoades, G. K., & Markman, H. J. (2006). Sliding vs. deciding: Inertia and the premarital cohabitation effect. Family Relations, 55, 499–509. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00418.xGoogle Scholar
Stöber, J. (2001). The Social Desirability Scale-17 (SDS-17): Convergent validity, discriminant validity, and relationship with age. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 17, 222–232. doi:10.1027//1015-5759.17.3.222Google Scholar
Swami, V., & IBP Project Members. (2010). The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: Results of the International Body Project 1. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 309–325. doi:10.1177/0146167209359702Google Scholar
Tart-Zelvin, A., & Xu, X. (2016). Sexuality research within neuroimaging: A review of progress toward greater gender equality and sex positivity. Journal of Positive Sexuality, 2, 27–31.Google Scholar
Teachman, J. (2010). Wives’ economic resources and risk of divorce. Journal of Family Issues, 31, 1305–1323. doi:10.1177/0192513X10370108Google Scholar
Tsai, J. L., & Levenson, R. W. (1997). Cultural influences on emotional responding: Chinese American and European American dating couples during interpersonal conflict. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 28, 600–625. doi:10.1177/0022022197285006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsapelas, I., Aron, A., & Orbuch, T. (2009). Marital boredom now predicts less satisfaction 9 years later. Psychological Science, 20, 543–545. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02332.xGoogle Scholar
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 574–583. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
VanderDrift, L. E., Lewandowski, G. W. Jr., & Agnew, C. R. (2011). Reduced self-expansion in current romance and interest in relationship alternatives. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 356–373. doi:10.1177/0265407510382321Google Scholar
Wagner, M., & Weiß, B. (2006). On the variation of divorce risks in Europe: Findings from a meta-analysis of European longitudinal studies. European Sociological Review, 22, 483–500. doi:10.1093/esr/jcl014Google Scholar
Xu, X., Aron, A., Brown, L., Cao, G., Feng, T., & Weng, X. (2011). Reward and motivation systems: A brain mapping study of early-stage intense romantic love in Chinese participants. Human Brain Mapping, 32(2), 249–257. doi:10.1002/hbm.21017Google Scholar
Xu, X., Lewandowski, G. W. Jr., & Aron, A. (2016). The self-expansion model and optimal relationship development. In Knee, C. R. & Reis, H. T. (Eds.), Positive approaches to optimal relationship development (pp. 79–100). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316212653.005Google Scholar
Xu, X., Weng, X., & Aron, A. (2015). The mesolimbic dopamine pathway and romantic love. In Toga, A. W., Mesulam, M. M., & Kastner, S. (Eds.), Brain mapping: An encyclopedic reference (pp. 631–635). Oxford: Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978–0-12-397025-1.00057-9Google Scholar
Zajonc, R. B. (2001). Mere exposure: A gateway to the subliminal. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 224–228. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00154Google Scholar
Zeki, S. (2007). The neurobiology of love. FEBS Letters, 581, 2575–2579. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2007.03.094Google Scholar
Zeki, S., & Romaya, J. P. (2010). The brain reaction to viewing faces of opposite- and same-sex romantic partners. PLoS One, 5, e15802. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015802Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×