The Experience and Expression of Uncertainty in Close Relationships

This book summarizes theoretical and empirical advancements in research on uncertainty in close relationships, and recommends practical applications and extensions.

Jennifer A. Theiss (Author)

9781107571969, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 September 2019

224 pages, 1 b/w illus. 2 tables
15 x 23 x 1 cm, 0.35 kg

'This book is the perfect solution for scholars and students searching for a well-written, engaging, and comprehensive examination of uncertainty as a fundamental and pervasive part of personal relationships. Dr Theiss is an eloquent writer who masterfully weaves together the various threads of the uncertainty experience - from the conditions that promote uncertainty to the effects uncertainty has on communication, cognitions, and emotions. Theiss also provides an insightful analysis of the many of the issues that scholars have grappled with related to the uncertainty - from theoretical issues to operationalization concerns. I'm thrilled that such a book exists and can't wait to assign it in my classes!' Rachel McLaren, University of Iowa

Close relationships are an important and desired aspect of the human experience; however, as individuals pursue intimacy and connection with others, they will encounter a variety of questions about the nature, status, and future of their relationships. Consequently, uncertainty is an inevitable and unavoidable element of close relationships. It can arise in response to a variety of relational circumstances and can shape the ways that partners think, feel, and act toward one another. This book summarizes the expansive body of theoretical and empirical research regarding the nature of uncertainty, the conditions that promote uncertainty about relational involvement, and the emotional, cognitive, and communicative outcomes of uncertainty for individuals and their relationships. Based on the robust accumulation of data about uncertainty in close relationships, the book also offers recommendations for coping with ambiguous relational circumstances and proposes new directions for conceptualizing and studying uncertainty in close relationships.

Part I. Conceptual and Theoretical Foundations of Uncertainty in Close Relationships: 1. Defining uncertainty as a relational construct
2. Theoretical perspectives on uncertainty
Part II. Antecedents and Consequences of Uncertainty in Close Relationships: 3. Conditions ripe for uncertainty
4. The effects of uncertainty in close relationships
Part III. Communicating and Coping Under Conditions of Uncertainty in Close Relationships: 5. Uncertainty and communication in close relationships
6. Coping with uncertainty in close relationships
Part IV. Refining the Conceptualization and Operationalization of Uncertainty in Close Relationships: 7. Measuring relational uncertainty in empirical research
8. Exploring new orientations toward uncertainty in close relationships.

Subject Areas: Psychology: emotions [JMQ], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Sociology: family & relationships [JHBK], Sociology [JHB]