ABSTRACT
We humans are among the most social creatures in the entire animal kingdom. Reproductive technology notwithstanding, every single one of us owes our very existence to a relationship (however brief or fl eeting) that once existed between two people. And we live our entire livesbeginning from the moment we enter the world at birth (and even earlier, if we consider the fact that we are, quite literally, connected to our mothers during pregnancy)—enmeshed in a complex web of
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interpersonal bonds and social associations. Most of us are aware of just how connected we are to other people, and just how signifi cant relationships are to the quality of our lives. Surveys consistently reveal that the majority of us value our close relationships, consider them to be essential for our personal well-being, and are happiest and most satisfi ed when we maintain positive social ties to others (Diener & Oishi, 2005). We are so social, in fact, that relationship scientists now believe that this aspect of our nature was actually programed into the human design over evolutionary time:
Evolutionary psychology places social interaction and social relationships squarely within the center of the action. In particular, social interactions and relationships surrounding mating, kinship, reciprocal alliances, coalitions, and hierarchies are especially critical, because all appear to have strong consequences for successful survival and reproduction. From an evolutionary perspective, the functions served by social relationships have been central to the design of the human mind.
