Chapter 25: Further Reading

Essential Sources

Drigotas, S. M., Rusbult, C. E., Wieselquist, J., & Whitton, S. W. (1999). "Close partner as sculptor of the ideal self." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(2), 293–323. The original Michelangelo effect research.

Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (1999). The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Crown. The most accessible presentation of Gottman's Four Horsemen, repair, and relationship maintenance research.

Knee, C. R. (1998). "Implicit theories of relationships: Assessment and prediction of romantic relationship initiation, coping, and longevity." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 360–370. Destiny vs. growth beliefs and their impact on relationship outcomes.

Rusbult, C. E., Finkel, E. J., & Kumashiro, M. (2009). "The Michelangelo phenomenon." Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(6), 305–309. Updated review of the Michelangelo effect with additional evidence.

Gottman, J. M., & Levenson, R. W. (2002). "A two-factor model for predicting when a couple will divorce." Family Process, 41(1), 83–96. The evidence for ~90% prediction accuracy.

Gottman, J. M., & Gottman, J. S. (2018). Eight Dates. Workman. Evidence-based structured conversations for couples.

Perel, E. (2017). The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity. Harper. Challenges conventional assumptions about relationships.

Finkel, E. J. (2017). The All-or-Nothing Marriage. Dutton. Evidence-based analysis of modern marriage expectations.