Given that relationship satisfaction is ultimately a cognitive phenomenon, social cognition likely plays a critical role in determining the extent to which intimates are satisfied with their relationships. This chapter begins with a theoretical description of the cognitive processes that determine relationship satisfaction. Following from this framework, the second section reviews work suggesting there are various benefits to thinking positively about one’s relationship. Nevertheless, the third section highlights work suggesting there are important limits to these benefits, such that they depend on qualities of the two partners, their relationship, and the broader context in which that relationship is embedded. The fourth section then introduces the possibility that distinguishing between controlled and more automatic forms of social cognition may offer insights into why such limits exist. The final section concludes by suggesting various directions for future research that may offer insights into how both controlled and automatic thinking shape relationship development.

This chapter begins by sketching Déat’s last days in occupied France before fleeing to Germany with the retreating Nazis. It then highlights Déat’s opportunism and his search for intellectual distinction as significant factors in his trajectory and eventual radicalization as a collaborationist fascist fully aligned with Nazism. Déat’s path from democratic socialism to fascism is summarized in terms of the practical logic of his political conversion, with the conclusion that his ultimate conversion to fascism was the culmination of his repeatedly unsuccessful attempts at political reinvention. The chapter ends by reaffirming the fundamentally discontinuous and relational character of political conversion, which is best understood in terms of what Bourdieu calls “trajectory.” Political conversions are not just individual biographical facts, nor are they passive mental processes; they are actively made by political actors within changing political fields.

This chapter examines the legal contestation of language rights within courtroom proceedings, focusing on individuals’ assertions of their right to use a particular language in legal settings. It explores the intersection of legal procedural norms and the politics of language, analysing how these disputes unfold in broader sociopolitical contexts. Two primary types of language rights in legal proceedings are considered: universal language rights, rooted in the right to a fair trial and procedural fairness, and official language rights, derived from legislative recognition of specific languages. While universal language rights are broadly applicable, official language rights depend on jurisdictional policies and historical legacies. Drawing on the interdisciplinary analysis of court judgments and media reports across different jurisdictions, this chapter highlights how official language rights are often unevenly implemented despite their legal recognition. The chapter also demonstrates how language rights are negotiated and contested in legal proceedings, shedding light on the broader implications for multilingual legal orders and the evolving politics of language in legal systems.

Relationships are influenced by how and where they begin. This chapter focuses on the initiation of romantic and nonromantic relationships (e.g., friendships), including those initiated online. We discuss what types of people are selected as friends and romantic partners as well as the role of context in initial social interaction. First, we first explore the influence of geographic and virtual proximity in relationship initiation. Then, we offer homophily and predicted outcome value theories to understand why some people are more socially attractive than others, and why context influences social attraction. Next, we introduce social exchange and partner preference theories to explain why people are sexually and romantically attracted to others. We examine the similarities and differences between online dating and in-person romantic relationship initiation. Finally, we examine the conversational factors – both verbal and nonverbal – leading to attraction. We also discuss specific partner compatibility – that is, what makes two people "click."

In this chapter, we provide an overview of modern methodological approaches to relationship science that is both practical and accessible. We start with a “status report” on the field, outlining three popular methodological trends. First, we discuss the application of machine learning techniques, specifically random forests, to the field of relationships science. Second, we elaborate on the importance of multimodal data, describing studies incorporating physiological, neurological, and linguistic measures. Third, we briefly discuss nonstandard dyadic designs, such as the round-robin design and network analysis, which enable the examination of multiple dyads within larger groups. Throughout these sections, we provide recommendations for scholars who wish to implement these methods in future work. Next, we provide a description of two analytical approaches used frequently in dyadic data analysis – structural equation modeling (SEM) and multilevel modeling (MLM) – and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. We also present a brief discussion of differences between statistical software programs and suggestions for when to use each.

In the current chapter, we review the research on close relationships done via the methodologies of neuroscience – in short relationship neuroscience (RN). Much of the research we review focuses on attachment (child–parent or romantic) and sexuality. Nevertheless, we aim to cover RN broadly defined. We start by framing our topic and providing a few working definitions. We then cover the various relational (attachment, interdependence) and neuroscience (social baseline theory, and the Functional Neuroanatomical Model of Human Attachment) theories, methodologies (MRI, ERPs, and genetics), and types of relationships (familial relations, romantic, friendships, sexual relations, etc.) used or covered in this subfield. We explore both positive and negative aspects of close relationships. Finally, we reflect on the bidirectional link and contributions between relationship science and neuroscience and suggest potential implications for mental and physical health and policymaking. We also outline some remaining issues and future directions for RN.

There has been a growing body of research examining the longitudinal course of couple relationships. In this chapter, our goal is to synthesize and critically evaluate the research on long-term couple relationships, highlighting what we have learned and the advances that have been made to earlier work, while being inclusive of a variety of methodological and analytical approaches. We discuss early studies on long-term relationships; research assessing the different pathways of development as well as the antecedents, correlates and outcomes of various patterns of change; and the crucial role of self-help advice and intervention/prevention programs for fostering long-term couple relationships. We argue that although there has been progress in this area, the research still lacks much-needed diversity, and we consider broader limitations and directions for future research.

As society continues to change, so, too, has the nature of social connections between people. This chapter, however, focuses on one relationship immutable: that people often maintain committed involvements with particular others. We begin by situating and defining relationship commitment within a modern social context. We review historical and current theoretical models of commitment, including coverage of hypothesized antecedents, emphasizing empirical findings on precursors of commitment since the last edition of the Handbook. We then turn to reviewing research on hypothesized consequences of commitment, again emphasizing empirical findings since the last edition. Recent research considering racial, ethnic, and cultural variations in commitment is also reviewed. We conclude the chapter by offering possible future directions for commitment research.

Individuals lack linguistic presence if they do not have sufficient proficiency in the language used by the court. Linguistic presence for these individuals is a critical procedural assumption, and failure to provide an interpreter during police interviews can inhibit procedural fairness in the criminal justice system. When judges in Australia assess confessional evidence from police interviews with non-native speakers of English, they often need to form opinions about defendants’ linguistic competence. In doing so, judges make assumptions about their own competence to decide matters which are usually in the province of language experts. They also make assumptions about their own imperviousness to bias, including implicit social biases. This chapter analyses Australian criminal cases which involved judicial consideration of individuals’ English language capacity. Our findings indicate that judicial exceptionalism may factor in decision-making and we argue that gatekeeping errors in determining defendants’ linguistic presence can compound systemic errors cascading from the police interview, and result in miscarriages of justice.

The principle of orality is a key feature of adversarial legal systems. It safeguards the right of the parties to present their case in court and for court hearings to be heard in public, underpinning thus transparency and procedural justice. The implementation of the principle of orality in legal proceedings has, however, been challenged in legal research and practice. The chapter draws on linguistic frameworks to explore the principle of orality from the theoretical perspective and question its implementation in county and family courts across England and Wales. Focusing on these high-volume proceedings, the analysis expands on the conceptualisation of the principle of orality, presents a novel methodological approach to exploring orality in legal practice and identifies court procedures that support and those that impede on the effective implementation of the principle of orality. To address issues with reduced orality and its patchy implementation, the chapter argues for the need to uphold the quality assurance of the investigative and evidentiary process, support court users through guided elicitation and provide scope for procedural flexibility.

This chapter is a review of evidence-based relationship education (RE), meaning education to promote healthy couple relationships whose content is informed by the psychology of intimate relationships, and evaluated in methodologically rigorous trials. We describe two broad approaches to RE and their theoretical underpinnings: assessment with feedback and curriculum-based RE. The chapter analyses how RE can be tailored for different stages of the family life cycle and made easily accessible by using different modes of delivery (e.g., face-to-face, online, and via apps on smart devices). The effectiveness of RE approaches and the factors influencing RE effects are summarized via an umbrella review of recent meta-analyses of outcome research. We conclude that future directions for research and practice should include expanding the diversity of RE theory and content to address diversity in culture, life circumstances, and gender diversity of couple relationships; and extending the reach of RE.

This chapter examines the founding doctrine of the Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière (SFIO) and heterodox challenges to socialist orthodoxy within the party. Though “doctrine” was an important guarantor of party unity and identity, heterodox challenges to this doctrine were not in themselves enough to provoke a schism within the SFIO. The more determinant factor behind the 1933 “neo-socialist schism” was the practical question of socialist ministerial participation in bourgeois governments. The doctrinal status of ministerial participation was, however, ambiguous according to the founding texts of the SFIO, raising the question of how the factional debate over ministerial participation was transmuted from a “tactical” debate into a question of “doctrine” and thus of the boundaries of legitimate socialist identity.

People enact meaningful personal relationships using communication technologies. The current chapter overviews how technology and personal relationships are intertwined. The perspective of the chapter is centered on how people relate via technologies while recognizing the importance of understanding the technologies themselves and how they are used. The chapter has three main sections. The first examines how communication technologies are integral to relational communication across the course of relationships, and the second considers factors that shape the nature and impact of relational communication occurring via technologies. The third section focuses on both relationships and technologies by considering the contemporary notion of mixed-media relationships, which are enacted via multiple channels, often simultaneously. Finally, the conclusion of the chapter elucidates some key complexities and their implications for future research and theory, including the need to consider both technologies and messages simultaneously and the challenges of analyzing multimodal communication in relationships.

This chapter argues that Déat and his allies rallied to a politics of collaboration not because of a prior affinity with fascism, but through the vector of pacifism and appeasement. After his marginalization by the Popular Front, Déat re-emerged as a leader of the pacifist camp as the political field became polarized around the question of war. Déat adopted an anti-anti-fascist stance, downplaying his prior opposition to fascism as he forged new alliances with pacifists on both the left and right. It was through the politics of appeasement that Déat and his pacifist allies found themselves favorably disposed to Franco-German collaboration and an authoritarian “national revolution” after France’s defeat. In Vichy, Déat sought unsuccessfully to position himself as a leader of the “national revolution.” This was not a simple continuation of his past neo-socialist commitments but represented an adaptation to the unique conjuncture of Vichy in 1940.

Friendship is a consequential relationship for child development and well-being. This chapter examines recent research on three major themes related to children’s friendships. We begin by reviewing findings from several long-term longitudinal studies documenting the diverse and multifaceted impacts of childhood and adolescent friendship competencies and experiences on later adjustment. We also highlight how these long-term longitudinal studies have allowed researchers to test and refine theoretical perspectives about how early family and peer relationships facilitate the development of skills and understandings that set the stage for social competence and positive adjustment later in development. With this as background, we review theory and research on the processes and provisions that characterize children’s friendships, and then describe important contextual factors that affect children’s friendships, with a particular focus on the school context and how contextual factors can facilitate or undermine the development and maintenance of cross-group friendship.