Description

---

This tightly edited volume provides an integrative overview of human bonding from infancy through adulthood. Through an attachment lens, the book synthesizes classic and cutting-edge research on close relationships and their profound impact in everyday life. Topics include infant-caregiver attachment, human social nature, child and adolescent social development, mate selection, love and sexual desire, hooking up and online dating, keys to relationship success, predictors and consequences of relationship dissolution, and the role of social connectedness in psychological adjustment and physical health. Readers get a solid grounding in the concepts, theories, and methods that define contemporary relationship science.

About the Author

---

Cindy Hazan, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development at Cornell University. A recent recipient of the Scientific Impact Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, she is an internationally recognized scholar whose seminal work on affectional bonds helped define a new field of study in social and personality psychology. Her 1987 article (coauthored with Phillip R. Shaver) "Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process" is one of the ten most cited articles ever published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In addition to her original theoretical and empirical work, Dr. Hazan designed the course "Human Bonding," which she has continued to develop and teach for 25 years at Cornell.

Mary I. Campa, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Skidmore College, where she teaches courses in introductory psychology, adolescent development, and interpersonal relationships. Dr. Campa's research focuses on adolescent and adult development, with an emphasis on close relationships. Her current work is aimed at understanding the reasons why attachment relationships (our closest relationships) are unique and enduring.

Praise For…

---

"The book fills an important niche in psychology--understanding how, when, and why humans bond. The excellent, diverse chapters cover bonding from infancy to old age, presenting novel insights into evolutionary psychology, animal models of bonding, sexuality, and social connectedness and health. This is a superb text for upper-division relationships courses."--Jeffry A. Simpson, PhD, Distinguished University Teaching Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota

"This comprehensive book offers an exciting, multilevel examination of theory and research. Chapters incorporate insights from several rich theoretical approaches, including attachment theory and evolutionary psychology, and capture bonding phenomena across the lifespan. A superb section focuses on timely topics such as online dating and same-sex relationships. An equally outstanding section underscores the far-reaching implications of close bonds for relationship outcomes and mental and physical health. This book offers a broad perspective that will appeal to researchers and students across all areas of psychology. It is a clear, accessible text for advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level courses."--Paula Pietromonaco, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"Hazan and Campa have recruited an all-star team of scholars and worked with them to produce the definitive volume on human bonding. This fascinating and engaging book is required reading for anybody interested in understanding human relationships. If you fall into that category (and who doesn't?), buy this book!"--Eli J. Finkel, PhD, Department of Psychology and Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

"Destined to become a classic in the field of close relationships. The editors have brought together a diverse set of scholars to address enduring questions about how relationships develop, the implications of early attachment bonds for social development, and the evolutionary significance of such bonds. The volume will be of great interest to both students and seasoned scholars who are eager to learn more about cutting-edge research and theory on the role of close relationships in shaping human experience."--R. Chris Fraley, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"Developmentalists of every stripe will find this compelling volume essential reading. Hazan and Campa have assembled a distinguished and diverse group of scholars who show how affectional bonds, including love and romance, are central to inter- and intrapersonal functioning and physical health from cradle to grave. Developmental psychologists will benefit from having, in a single carefully edited volume, the story of how Bowlby's claim for the centrality of attachment in psychosocial functioning and adaptive success has become the dominant model for understanding affectional ties. This volume is exceptionally well suited to provide core readings for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in lifespan development, adolescence, and adult development."--Gail S. Goodman, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Director, Center for Public Policy Research, Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis

“This is a significant text that realistically reflects the strengths and limitations of the interdisciplinary research from which it draws….Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.”

 
— Choice Reviews

“It will be helpful to graduate students in various fields of psychology, as well as to researchers and practitioners who want to keep up to date with the latest research on attachment in close relationships. Cindy Hazan has been an international authority in adult attachment for decades, and one of the pioneers of modern research in the field….This book is essential for anybody studying and researching attachment bonds. Very well written, with contributions from the foremost theoreticians and scholars in the field of attachment theory, it will be a classic for graduate level studies in psychology.”
— Doody's Review Service

“A strong and current collection of research that is understandable, informative, and grounded in theory….This book can serve as a valuable resource for students and researchers alike.”
— Interpersonal Acceptance

“For students who are new to the topic, or anyone looking for a good summary of all current attachment theory literature, this is a great resource.”
— The Psychologist

“Human Bonding is both a celebration of the contributions of one of the great scholar-teachers of those bonds and a wonderfully effective series of integrative chapters bringing together information across the life-span from several of the sub-disciplines that make up modern relationship science….For those looking for an integrative, science based introduction to the state of human bonding, there is no better book....It is unusual to find an edited volume all of whose chapters are first-rate. It is a testimony to Hazan and Campa's skills as recruiters of contributors and as editors that they have achieved that in this volume.”
— Metapsychology Online Reviews