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The Psychology of Human Relationships - PSY350

This unit is subject to a quota. Limited places are available. Please refer to the Faculty for further information

Human beings are fundamentally social creatures who depend on one another for their survival and well-being, both physical and psychological. Everyone is born with powerful needs for love, friendship and belonging; similarly, we fear and avoid rejection, loneliness and the disapproval of others. Despite the central role they play in our lives, however, developing and maintaining happy and healthy relationships with family members, spouses, friends and even workmates is not easy, and professional psychologists spend the bulk of their time dealing with clients' relationship problems. This unit examines a variety of relationship topics from a social psychological perspective including attraction, love- and mate selection; kinship, friendship and enemyship; jealousy, betrayal and forgiveness; communication, conflict and aggression; and the processes involved in relationship breakdown and repair. Throughout, there is a strong emphasis on critically examining so-called 'pop' psychological approaches to relationships, and students are encouraged to examine the complexities of relationship structures and processes from different cultural perspectives.

Credit Points: 3
When Offered:

S2 Day - Session 2, North Ryde, Day

S3 Day - Session 3, December 2014 - February 2015, North Ryde, Day

Staff Contact(s): Professor Julie Fitness
Prerequisites:

39cp Prerequisite Information

Corequisites:

NCCW(s): PSY334
Unit Designation(s):

Commerce

Science

Social Science

Unit Type: People unit
Assessed As: Graded
Offered By:

Department of Psychology

Faculty of Human Sciences

Timetable Information

For unit timetable information and session dates for external offerings please visit the Timetables@Macquarie Website.