ABSTRACT
More than a decade has passed since we first suggested the “dark side” as a heuristic metaphor for integrating and extending avenues of research on interpersonal communication and personal relationships (Cupach & Spitzberg, 1994, 2004; Spitzberg & Cupach, 1998a). In that time, we have encountered many on our road who stereotypically associated us with the study of all things depressing, deviant, or disturbing. Others more sanguinely suggested that our trek had opened up a new paradigm, a new theoretical perspective, or perhaps a new space for scholarly speculation.
