The Self and Social Relationships

Although the two major research areas of the "Self" and "Social Relationships" have flourished, they have done so largely independently of each other. More and more research, however, has indicated that relationships shape the nature of the self and identity, and that self-views influence interpersonal processes and the manner in which people navigate their close relationships. The integration of research on self and social relationships has proved a particularly rich one, generating some of the most creative and insightful theories in psychology. The Self and Social Relationships is the first volume that marks, expedites, and defines this exciting new research synthesis. It serves both as a platform for authors to present their latest ideas on the topic and to encourage continued integration in this emerging field. The contributions represent a diverse set of perspectives from social/personality and clinical psychology. Each chapter covers a topic that is central to the study of self and relationships, and presents some of the most exciting research programs in the field. This volume is essential reading for researchers and students in the areas of both self and relationships.

Table of Contents:
Self-Related Motives Influence Close Relationships. Risk Regulation in Relationships: Self-Esteem and the If-Then Contingencies of Interdependent Life. On the Role of Psychological Needs in Healthy Functioning: Integrating a Self-Determination Theory Perspective with Traditional Relationship Theories. Self-Verification in Relationships as an Adaptive Process. Narcissism and Interpersonal Self-Regulation. Functions of the Self in Interpersonal Relationships: What Does the Self Actually Do? Reciprocal Influences of Self and Other, I: Self-Perception and Self-Regulation. Self-Perception as Interpersonal Perception. Self-Regulation and Close Relationships. Evolutionary Perspectives. Immediate-Return Societies: What Can they Tell Us about the Self and Social Relationships in Our Society? Evolutionary Accounts of Individual Differences in Adult Attachment Orientations. Reciprocal Influences, II: Close Relationships and Changing the Self. How Close others Construct and Reconstruct Who we are and How we Feel about Ourselves. The Relational Self in Transference: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Consequences in Everyday Social Life. Changes in Working Models of the Self in Relationships: A Clinical Perspective. Time for Some New Tools: Toward the Application of Learning Approaches to the Study of Interpersonal Cognition

About the Author :
Joanne V. Wood, University of Waterloo, Canada. Abraham Tesser, Institute for Behavioral Research, University of Georgia. John G. Holmes, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Review :
'Wood, Tesser, and Holmes have done a great job. The writing is clear throughout. The style and level of discourse is consistent. A great deal of theory and empirical work is reviewed and new insights also appear, often in welcome sections devoted to integration where theorists place their own views within the larger context of others' theories and research. The book will be easy to use as a teaching tool. It is theory driven and, as such, provides readers with the structure that they will need to recall the many empirical findings that are reviewed. In addition, many authors provide wonderful role models of how to step back from one's own perspectives and findings and place them in a larger context.' - Margaret S. Clark, Yale Universit, USA