The Mating Game

Pamela Regan is Professor of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota and her undergraduate degree in English from Williams College. Her research interests are in the areas of close relationships and human sexuality, with an emphasis on passionate love, sexual desire, and mate preference. She has published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and reviews (and has given over 75 professional presentations) on the dynamics of sex, love, and human mating, and she is the author of Close Relationships (Routledge, 2011), the co-author (with Ellen Berscheid) of The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships (Pearson, 2005) and Lust: What We Know About Human Sexual Desire (Sage, 1999), and the co-author (with Bruce King) of Human Sexuality Today (Pearson, 2014). In 2007, she was honored with the Outstanding Professor Award by her university for excellence in instruction and professional achievement.

• PART I. Mating RelationshipsChapter 1: Mate PreferencesTheoretical Approaches to Human MatingMethods Used to Examine Mate PreferencesEmpirical EvidenceContinuing DebatesChapter 2: Attraction, Affiliation, and CourtshipWho Do We Like? Principles of Romantic AttractionWho Do We Approach? Principles of Romantic AffiliationHow Do We Convey Romantic Interest? Principles of FlirtingE-Courtship: Attraction, Affiliation, and Flirting in CyberspaceThe First DateBeyond the First Date: Initiating a Romantic RelationshipPathways to CommitmentChapter 3: Relationship DevelopmentThe Sequence of Relationship DevelopmentThe Process of Relationship DevelopmentChapter 4: Marriage and Mate SelectionMating Systems Across CulturesThe Nature of MarriageDivision of LaborMarital Satisfaction: How Happy Are Married Couples?Has Marriage Changed Over Time?Same-Sex MarriageCohabitation: An Alternative to MarriageChapter 5: Conflict and DissolutionConflictRelationship DissolutionChapter 6: InterventionIdentifying Distressed RelationshipsTreating Distressed RelationshipsDoes Therapy Work?Part II. LoveChapter 7: General Theories of LoveThe Triangular Theory of LoveThe Colors (Styles) of LoveThe Prototype Approach: Mental Models of LoveChapter 8: Passionate and Companionate LovePassionate Love: A “Sexy” Kind of LoveCompanionate Love: A “Sturdy” Kind of LoveChapter 9: Love Gone Bad: Problematic Aspects of LoveUnrequited Passionate Love: When the One We Love Does Not Love UsRelational Stalking: When Romantic Interest Becomes ObsessionRelational Aggression: When Love Turns ViolentLoss of Passion: When Attraction FadesPART III. SexChapter 10: Sexual AttitudesBeliefs About Sex in Dating RelationshipsBeliefs About Sex in Marital RelationshipsChapter 11: Sex in Beginning RelationshipsSexuality and the Attraction ProcessSexuality in Beginning RelationshipsChapter 12: Sex in Established RelationshipsSexual FrequencySexual PracticesSexual PreferencesSexual SatisfactionSexual CommunicationSexuality and Relationship SatisfactionChapter 13: Sex Gone Bad: Problematic Aspects of Relational SexSexual Disinterest: When the One We Desire Does Not Desire UsSexual Assault: When Sex Becomes NonconsensualSexual Infidelity: When the One We’ve Chosen CheatsSexual Jealousy: A Common Response to InfidelityPART IV. Individual DifferencesChapter 14: Maleness and FemalenessBiological SexPsychological Gender and Gender Role OrientationChapter 15: PersonalitySupertraitsSelf-MonitoringSociosexual OrientationChapter 16: Interpersonal Belief SystemsAttachment StylesRejection SensitivityRomanticism