The Fourth Edition of this highly successful textbook provides a unique and comprehensive introduction to the study and understanding of human relationships. This thoroughly revised edition combines the most recent research from social, personality, and developmental psychology, communication studies, family studies, and sociology with greater interdisciplinarity coverage and emphasis on processes of everyday life. Fresh insights from family studies, developmental psychology, occupational, and organizational psychology also combine to bring new perspectives to this thorough survey of the field. Thoroughly updated, with new chapters on Relating Difficulty, "small media" technology and relationships, and practical applications, the new edition is responsive to the student demand for insight into their own lives.