Intimate Relationships

by Thomas N. Bradbury, Benjamin R. Karney

As the first text to fully capture the excitement of today's research findings on couples, Intimate Relationships answers fascinating questions: How do relationships work? Why are they so hard sometimes? What are the principles that guide them? How can we use what we know to make them better?

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Textbooks

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

THOMAS N. BRADBURY earned a BA in psychobiology from Hamilton College, a MA in general psychology from Wake Forest University, and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois. A Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles,since 1990, Dr. Bradbury has received awards for teaching, mentoring, and research, including the distinguished Early Career Award in 1998 from the American Psychological Association and an honorary academic degree, the Laurea Honoris Causa, in 2013 from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy. Bradbury and his wife of 25 years, Cindy, a neuroscientist at UCLA, have two children and one large Bernese Mountain Dog; they live in Westwood. Watch videotapes of Bradbury's talks and his interviews with couples at: https://www.youtube.com/user/UCLARela...

Reviews

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best textbook of the semester, very engaging and interesting

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good textbook for teaching undergraduate courses because it's easy to read, and it incorporates examples that are relevant to their age group (e.g., using Chris Brown and Rihanna to illustrate domestic violence). I chose this book because of these features, the large amount of research it cites, and because the narrative aspect of the book isn't largely driven by an evolutionary perspective (I teach in the south). With that said, the book does become very repetitive. Some of the later chapters are entirely focused on theory and research explained 100-200 pages earlier, so lectures for those days tended to go a bit off course as I tried to incorporate new ideas to keep my students interested. Last, the online resources for the book were less than optimal, as none of the graphics (e.g., tables or figures) from the book are available for use in lecture.

[David Schwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives an overview of studies done by social scientists on the topic of human intimate relationships. One chapter was a particular interest in that it is quite likely in the future to predict the long term compatibility of couples, there is sufficient evidence to make me believe that this is an achievable goal.

[Stephabue · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️

Throughout my entire academic year, I don’t believe I have ever taken a course that could be applied to my everyday thinking in a needed way… until this. This textbook provides so much insight into relationships and explains possible explanations and theories for the way we act. Although the material can get upsetting when discussing partner violence, it’s important for me to educate myself on these matters. It is definitely… a textbook, though… as it is slightly dry to read. But again- the content makes it entirely worth it.

[Emma]

I'm counting this because I read all of it for a class. Every word. This had some sexist language in it and I hope that in future editions they have edited their wording.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

ILL

Intimate Relationships

What isn't in the subject index or glossary:
masturbation
the Kinsey scale
fantasy
polyamory
polygamy
sm
religion
primates (but voles are mentioned re: monogamy & oxytocin)
dominance
disability
bonding (pair-bonding is minimally discussed without any actual explanation of bonding)
sexual response cycle
class


Not in the name index:
Kinsey


bisexuality is minimally covered. might as well not be there.

Empowerment as regards a woman's potentially higher income is there, but mammalian dominance is not.

They make a point of covering Einstein but dismiss his first wife's contributions.


On the good side, they cover domestic violence and "intimate terrorism" well although I disagree that it is different from "common couple violence".