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The Psychology of Romantic Relationships

  • 1st Edition - July 2, 2025
  • Latest edition
  • Authors: Ami Sha'ked, Ami Rokach, Erez Zverling
  • Language: English

Psychology of Romantic Relationships delves into the myriad factors that contribute to successful relationships. Starting with Intimacy in Romantic Relationships, the book unveil… Read more

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Description

Psychology of Romantic Relationships delves into the myriad factors that contribute to successful relationships. Starting with Intimacy in Romantic Relationships, the book unveils new facets of the complex dynamics underpinning successful marriages. From the pivotal role of communication and trust to the delicate balance of gratitude and forgiveness, each chapter provides insightful knowledge to understand and enhance marital bonds. Furthermore, the book covers additional, essential aspects such as the importance of mutual respect, the role of shared activities in bonding, and the impact of individual growth on relationship harmony. It is a must-read for psychologists, therapists, and anyone interested in the intricacies of love.

Key features

  • Combines theoretical insights with real-world applications
  • Reviews what constitutes a marriage, including trust, attitudes, and control
  • Outlines the key factors that contribute to the problems and obstacles in an intimate relationship

Readership

Researchers, students and clinical professionals studying and treating patients in regard to sexuality and relationship and marriage

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Accurate empathy in romantic relationships

3. Intimacy, the heart and soul of romantic relationships

4. Don’t get list: Love-maps in romantic relationships

5. Attachment in intimate relationships

6. Attitude alignment in close relationships

7. Creating, maintaining and sharing positive emotions: Capitalization of positive emotions

8. Feeling and expressing gratitude

9. Interdependence is key to well-functioning marriage

10. Marital commitment

11. Respect and its benefits

12. The power to influence romantic partners

13. The willingness to sacrifice in romantic relationships

14. Martial satisfaction

15. Supporting our romantic partner

16. Self-expansion and its effect on martial intimacy and sexual desire

17. The centrality of trust in romantic relations

18. Loneliness: When a marriage does not enhance a sense of belonging

19. The centrality of communication in marriage

20. Accommodating partner’s destructive behavior

21. Casual attributions and conflict in intimate relations

22. Managing conflicts in romantic relationships

23. Locus of control in romantic relationships

24. The effects of emotional regulation on the couple

25. The effects of dialectic tension

26. Narcissism and its influence on intimacy and sexuality

27. The many faces of forgiveness

28. Managing relational stress

29. Maintaining and strengthening the marital relationship

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: July 2, 2025
  • Language: English

About the authors

AS

Ami Sha'ked

Dr. Ami Sha'ked is a couples and sex therapist for over four decades. He hods a PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Sha'ked was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Rehabilitation Research Institute (1974-1975). Dr. Sha'ked was an Assistant professor of psychology and the head of the Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Psychology at Indiana University-Purdue in the USA (1975-1978). In 1996 he was appointment to clinical professorship of psychology at Fairleigh-Dickenson University in New Jersey, and served as dean of the Psychology Program of FDU extension in Israel. In 1979 Sha'ked founded the Institute for Sex Therapy, Education and Research at Shiba Medical Center served as Director until 1996. Dr. Sha'ked is the Founding Editor of Sexuality and Disability Journal (A Journal Devoted to the Psychological and Medical Aspects of Sexuality in Rehabilitation and Community Settings). Currently Sha'ked is the Dean of the Psychology Faculty at the College of Law and Business in Ramat-Gan, Israel.

Affiliations and expertise
Academic Center for Law and Business, Tel Aviv, Israel

AR

Ami Rokach

Ami Rokach, Ph.D. A clinical psychologist, a member of the psychology dept. at York University in Toronto. His therapeutic and research interests include loneliness, sexuality, couple & sex therapy, anxiety and phobias, traumatic experiences and personal growth, stress management, and palliative care. After 35 years of ‘doing’ psychology he is still intrigued by human nature, people’s suffering, and the real opportunity that we all have to grow, flourish, and reinvent ourselves despite obstacles and painful experiences.

Affiliations and expertise
Psychology Department, York University, Toronto, Canada

EZ

Erez Zverling

Dr. Erez Zverling teaches social psychology, organizational behavior and statistics at the College of Law and Business, Ramat Gan. In his research, he examines the effects of social power in close relationships and social identity. He is the author of The Power to Care: Effects of power in Intimate Relationships.

Affiliations and expertise
School of Psychology, College of Law and Business, Ramat Gan, Israel School of Social Work, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

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