This text explores how memory, communication and social cognition function in the development of romantic relationships, and describes the stages of their development. Topics discussed include the modern-day pursuit of intimacy and relational memory structures; schemata, scenes and scripts for romantic relationships; emotion and cognition about relationships; generating and maintaining relationships through imagined development of relationships; memory structures for developing relationships; memory structures for decaying relationships; and the semantics of break-ups.

This book deals with the diversity of family types and communication, including chapters dealing with the "dark side" of family abuse and breakup. The antiquated definition of a nuclear family is changing. A classic definition of the nuclear family was a family group consisting of a pair of adults and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller, single-parent family and to the larger extended family.
Not only are culturally diverse functions of families examined, but a variety of family forms which exist in the United States over its history are investigated as well. In...