Chapter 37 Further Reading

Foundational Research

Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (1999). The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Crown. Gottman's most accessible summary of his research program for a popular audience. Well-grounded in the empirical work; good starting place.

Gottman, J. M. (1994). What Predicts Divorce? The Relationship Between Marital Processes and Marital Outcomes. Lawrence Erlbaum. The academic treatment of the Love Lab research. Dense but essential for understanding the methodology behind the popular claims.

Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119–135. The original paper. Fairly readable for an academic article; the framework has held up well as a descriptive map of love components.

Desire and Sexuality

Nagoski, E. (2015). Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life. Simon & Schuster. Excellent popular synthesis of the Dual Control Model and desire science. Accessible and well-researched.

Bancroft, J., & Janssen, E. (2000). The dual control model of male sexual response: A theoretical approach to centrally mediated erectile dysfunction. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 24(5), 571–579. The foundational academic paper for the Dual Control Model that underlies Nagoski's work.

Attachment in Adult Relationships

Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2016). Attachment in Adulthood: Structure, Dynamics, and Change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Comprehensive academic treatment of adult attachment. The best single reference for deep engagement with attachment in long-term relationships.

Johnson, S. M. (2008). Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love. Little, Brown. Johnson's Emotionally Focused Therapy model, grounded in attachment theory. Well-written and clinically useful.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Hatfield, E., & Rapson, R. L. (2002). Passionate love and sexual desire: Cultural and historical perspectives. In A. L. Vangelisti, H. T. Reis, & M. A. Fitzpatrick (Eds.), Stability and Change in Relationships. Cambridge University Press. Overview of cross-cultural evidence on passionate love — useful counterpoint to Western-centric frameworks.

Sprecher, S., et al. (1994). Love: American style, Russian style, and Japanese style. Personal Relationships, 1(4), 349–369. Classic cross-cultural comparison of love concepts across three very different cultures.

On Relationship Dissolution

Amato, P. R. (2010). Research on divorce: Continuing trends and new developments. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72(3), 650–666. Authoritative review of divorce research trends; good empirical grounding for the dissolution section.