Communicating Revenge in Interpersonal Relationships

Communicating Revenge in Interpersonal Relationships explores how and why people take revenge on others in modern social life. Stephen M. Yoshimura and Susan D. Boon draw from research across academic disciplines to show the times and places at which revenge occurs, the types of acts that people engage in, and the psychological and social effects revenge can have on both receivers and avengers in various interpersonal relationship contexts, including romantic relationships, professional relationships, families, and friendships. The authors also review various methods of conducting empirical research on revenge, provide a theoretical account to explain why revenge occurs when it does, and discuss ethical and philosophical issues surrounding its practice.

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Contexts and Expressions of Revenge Chapter 3: Ways of Studying Revenge Chapter 4: Theoretical Foundations for Understanding Revenge Chapter 5: Toward a Theory of the Revenge Process Chapter 6: To What Ends? Thoughts on the Bright and Dark Sides of Revenge References About the Authors

About the Author :
Stephen M. Yoshimura is professor of communication studies at the University of Montana. Susan D. Boon is associate professor of psychology at the University of Calgary.

Review :
With its explicitly communicative foundation and process orientation, the authors have produced a richly nuanced narrative of the functions and dysfunctions of revenge and a working model that will generate new and creative research projects for years to come. I found the book exciting, it pushed my thinking along in all kinds of new directions, and I commend the authors for such a sophisticated and coherent account. As the title implies, Stephen M. Yoshimura and Susan D. Boon examine revenge as more than just an emotion or behavior but as an intentional method of communicating and establishing meaning within a variety of interpersonal relationships. In addition to detailing an insightful theory of revenge, they examine variables that both impel and impede revenge. Both professionals from a variety of disciplines and lay readers will find much to gain from reading this book. Revenge is one of the most fascinating and perplexing phenomena in human and non-human societies. Yoshimura and Boon have taken on the challenge to give a comprehensive overview of the latest research on revenge. They have accomplished this task extraordinarily well. Communicating Revenge in Interpersonal Relationships will be a standard text about revenge, and, hopefully, it will inspire students and researchers alike to dig deeper into the psychological and social processes involved in vengeful acts. Leading experts Yoshimura and Boon provide a superb overview of the current state of scholarly knowledge regarding revenge. Based on interdisciplinary research both classic and contemporary, this book presents a comprehensive synthesis of revenge research across various contexts that is situated squarely in the perspective of revenge as a communicative activity. Conceptualizations, operationalizations, strategies, and theoretical foundations of revenge are reviewed in an accessible and relatable manner, culminating with the authors’ development of a compelling goal-based theory of the revenge process that is sure to be a focus of future revenge research. Yoshimura and Boon’s Communicating Revenge in Interpersonal Relationships is a vital addition to the available sourcebooks on topics that are often studied from a dark side perspective.