Interpersonal Relationships Essay ⋆ Sociology Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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In any relationship, two participants are interdependent, where the behavior of each affects the outcomes of the other. Most of the research on interpersonal relationships has focused on relationships that are close, intimate, and have high interdependence. In the 1960s the initial focus of interpersonal relationship research was on the interpersonal attraction process, primarily between strangers meeting for the first time. This research developed primarily out of mate-selection studies first begun by family sociologists in the 1930s and 1940s (Burgess & Cottrell 1939). Most of the early research on the interpersonal attraction process relied on self-report measures to assess the factors that lead a person (P) to be attracted to another person (O). In the 1980s researchers turned their attention to the more intense sentiments and phenomena that occur within actual interpersonal relationships, and to the social context of various kinds of specific relationships. The majority of research started to focus on the ”pulse or quality of these interpersonal relationships and its link to processes inside (e.g., depression, physical health) and outside (e.g., work satisfaction, financial strain) the individual.

New Directions in Research

Even more recently, relationships have received considerable attention in sociology and the other social sciences. Research since 1980 illuminates several themes. First, an expanding body of literature demonstrates that interpersonal relationships are vital to the physical and mental health of individuals. Studies show that individuals are likely to suffer from depression, ill health, and other physical problems if they lack interpersonal relationships of high quantity and quality. Second, the current research emphasizes specific relational processes that are relevant at various stages of the life course of a relationship. A third new direction has been to concentrate on making the dyad the unit of analysis rather than the individual. This change is both methodological and conceptual and has become an important contribution. Fourth, given the prominence of symbolic interactionism in sociology, another new direction has been to apply symbolic interactionist concepts to the study of relationship well-being and stability. The self is created out of the interactions and feedback from others, and the relational context is even more salient for how individuals view themselves. The fifth new direction has been to examine the construction of meaning within relationships for relationship quality and stability. There is an acknowledgment that individuals may construct meanings of their relationships, based on the social context of that relationship and individual, which in turn has significant influence on individuals evaluations and status of those relationships. Sixth, the larger environment and structural conditions that can be harmful or beneficial for a couple’s well-being have been examined (e.g., social networks, race/ethnicity).

Bibliography:

Burgess, E. W. & Cottrell, L. S. (1939) Predicting Success or Failure in Marriage. Prentice Hall, New York.
Felmlee, D. & Sprecher, S. (2000) Close relationships and social psychology: intersections and future paths. Social Psychology Quarterly 63 (4): 365-76.
Orbuch, T. L., Veroff, J., Hassan, H. & Horrocks, J. (2002) Who will divorce: a 14-year longitudinal study of black couples and white couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 19 (2): 179-202.