I am an interpersonal (social) psychologist.  So although lately I have laid out my thoughts about the neo-diversity of our time, I still spend time analyzing the dynamics of romance. I do this because it is fun.  Who doesn’t think about romance?  Who hasn’t struggled with that kind of intimate interpersonal relationship?

    But I analyze romantic relationships because it is what I am called to do as an interpersonal psychologist. Interpersonal psychology is the area of study in which social psychologists develop theoretical and practical knowledge of how interpersonal relationships work. Interpersonal psychology is based on the idea that all relationships are relationships of interdependence; that is relationships where each person depends on the other person to obtain interpersonal satisfaction.

    Nothing brings all that together like romance.  So I study and analyze the dynamics of intimate, romantic relationships because I believe that analysis and understanding is important to all our everyday lives.

    At last night’s Grammy Awards, Adele swept all of the categories in which her album was nominated. 

      When she won the Album of the Year, she said her album was about something everyone has had to deal with.  Adele said, “This record is inspired by something really normal and everyone’s been through it…a rubbish relationship.”  Indeed… indeed…

    But how is it that we go from being “…in love” to realizing we have made a terrible mistake?  What is the dark magic of relationships that leads us to go with hope and optimism into a rubbish relationship?

    Is that the most important question?  Maybe we should ask, instead, what don’t we know about relationships that we need to know to give us a chance at success?  What do we need to know to prevent us from turning our own relationships into rubbish?

   Hold on; switchback ahead… a steep, curvy one.  Let’s talk about intimate relationships; let’s talk about the dynamics of developing intimate relationships in the 21^st century.  You see… something has changed… and there is no better evidence of that than Valentine’s Day, 2012; the apocalypse-now of romance.