ABSTRACT
Most of us spend a good portion of our waking hours in the company of other people. Family, friends, neighbors, business associates, store clerks, and postal workers are among those with whom we interact on a regular basis. These relationships provide us with a number of goods and services. We purchase our groceries, turn to our neighbors for a cup of flour, interact with our children's teachers, and further our professional interests with our colleagues. However, many of these interactions also provide us with opportunities to socialize, network, and to secure much-needed human warmth and affectión. Less obviously, they provide us with a social support system and a mechanism for achieving cooperative goals that are in our mutual and collective interest.
