christopher r agnew

Power is an inherent feature of social interactions, yet it is hard to define and therefore understand. This book is the first to organize current interdisciplinary theorizing and research about power from leading academics in areas such as social psychology, communications, family studies, and public health. It also focuses exclusively on how power operates and affects close relationship processes, while the theoretical insights provided point the way toward new lines of research and understanding. Using specific examples to illustrate complex theoretical explanations and supplying thorough descriptions of the existing literature on power in close relationships, this book is an essential resource for researchers, professionals, students, or laypeople seeking to better understand how power operates in those relationships that are most important to us.

How do we choose a partner to initiate a relationship with, and what makes us stay in a given relationship over time? These questions are most often pursued by scholars with an emphasis on the internal thoughts, feelings, and motivations of individual decision-makers. Conversely, this volume highlights the importance of considering external influences on individual decision-making in close relationships. Featuring contributions from internationally renowned scholars, the volume is divided into two interrelated sections. The first section considers global and societal influences on romantic relationships and the second focuses on social network and communicative influences on romantic relationships. Taken together, this collection helps us to better understand how external factors influence the internal machinations of those involved in intimate relationships.

Power is an inherent feature of social interactions, yet it is hard to define and therefore understand. This book is the first to organize current interdisciplinary theorizing and research about power from leading academics in areas such as social psychology, communications, family studies, and public health. It also focuses exclusively on how power operates and affects close relationship processes, while the theoretical insights provided point the way toward new lines of research and understanding. Using specific examples to illustrate complex theoretical explanations and supplying thorough descriptions of the existing literature on power in close relationships, this book is an essential resource for researchers, professionals, students, or laypeople seeking to better understand how power operates in those relationships that are most important to us.

How do we choose a partner to initiate a relationship with, and what makes us stay in a given relationship over time? These questions are most often pursued by scholars with an emphasis on the internal thoughts, feelings, and motivations of individual decision-makers. Conversely, this volume highlights the importance of considering external influences on individual decision-making in close relationships. Featuring contributions from internationally renowned scholars, the volume is divided into two interrelated sections. The first section considers global and societal influences on romantic relationships and the second focuses on social network and communicative influences on romantic relationships. Taken together, this collection helps us to better understand how external factors influence the internal machinations of those involved in intimate relationships.

Focusing attention on a multiplicity of issues surrounding the study of behavior is timely and important. Some scholars believe that, across various sub-disciplines of the field, social psychology ac