ABSTRACT
Relationships Human relationships primarily consist of friends, family, and a romantic partner. We invest a huge amount of time and effort into cultivating and maintaining these relationships. Even though most of us no longer live in close-knit communities of extended families, we find new ways of staying in touch with our inner circle. For example, undergraduates spend an average of 30 minutes a day keeping in touch with friends via Facebook alone (Pempek, Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2009). Why? We affiliate with others because we like it, and we like it because it is good for us. It is good for us not only for the material benefits that accrue from cooperation, but also because it has protective effects on our health. Uchino, Cacioppo, and KiecoltGlaser (1996) reviewed 81 studies investigating the effects of social support on cardiovascular-, immune-, and endocrine-related health. Social support in terms of supportive family interactions and the presence of an intimate and confiding relationship has a protective effect against these conditions. In contrast, loneliness and lack of intimacy may have the opposite effect: for instance, being associated with greater cognitive decline in old age (Wilson et al., 2007).
