Human Relationships: An Introduction to Social Psychology

While most introductory social psychology textbooks do an excellent job of outlining the field and presenting current research, they often seem to be unrelated to real life because they undervalue the substructure of social behaviour: our relationships with other people. The intention of this unique book is to make the study of social psychology a living reflection of students' everyday experiences through the study of relationships. Human Relationships will not supplant the instructor's chosen introductory text, but will instead supplement it to give students an exciting glimpse into the psychology of their own lives. Professor Duck, who has played a major international role in the establishment of the new science of personal relationships, skilfully interweaves current research on interpersonal emotions with traditional social psychology topics to demonstrate conclusively that relationships form the basis for our mental and physical well-being. Thus the book offers information to students about key areas of research in the field, while asking them to relate it to their own lives and showing them its subtle interconnections with other areas of social psychology.Chapters introduce questions frequently asked by undergraduates, such as why some people are lonely or shy, what is jealousy, how do people fall in -- and out -- of love, why some children are unpopular, how children are affected by their parents' divorce. In addition, the book includes sections on sociolinguistics and the role of speech styles in social behaviour, non-verbal communication, social skills, physician-patient relationships, the social psychology of death and bereavement, social anxiety and the repair of deteriorating relationships. Human Relationships gives strong teaching support to instructors by encouraging students to consider familiar emotions and experiences analytically and to interpret them through research. An appendix contains library and research skills instruction, 'thought exercises', practical exercises and suggestions for further research.Steve Duck has not only written a book that will stimulate and supplement students' interest in social psychology, but has also added the definitive text on personal relationships to the professional psychologist's library.