Psychology Press Cognition in Close Relationships

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of interest and research on close relationships and social cognition. In both areas, numerous handbooks, textbooks, and journal articles have been published. However, it is the editors' impression that although cognitive theories and concepts have filtered through to research dealing with close relationships, much of this research reflects a relatively untutored understanding of the theoretical and empirical work in social cognition. Conversely, the research literature that provides a more sophisticated perspective on the role of cognition in close relationships typically reveals a relatively limited knowledge of the literature on close relationships. As researchers who have worked in both social cognitive processes and close relationships, Fletcher and Fincham are convinced that each field has much to offer the other. In fact, their book is based on two important postulates: first, that a social cognitive framework offers a valuable resource for developing our understanding of close relationships; and, second, that studying cognition within close relationships has the potential to inform our understanding of basic social cognitive processes. Review "This book contains a great deal of valuable information about cognition and close relationships from theoretical, empirical, and, to some extent, applied perspectives. For readers interested in social cognition, this book would be a valuable reference."—Journal of Marriage and the Family "...this book will serve as useful guide to researchers of cognition in close relationships and to graduate students who wish to study the application of social cognitive theories to close relationship phenomena."—International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships Bulletin "Fletcher and Fincham are major contributors to one of the most vigorous research areas within the psychology of interpersonal relationships -- the thinking about self, partner, and relationship and how one behaves within relationships. The strengths of the volume are the consistently high quality of the individual chapters, the number of important leads developed for further research, and the breadth of coverage of important topics....Scholars and would-be scholars will want to study it carefully."—Contemporary Psychology