Cognitions (beliefs and attributions) in couple relationships

I would like to begin this chapter with an observation. It’s not just social psychologists and therapists who are fascinated by close relationships and how they work (or don’t work). Laypeople are also fascinated, and for much the same reasons. Simply put, and in line with the central role played by close relationships in maintaining human health and happiness, laypeople expend a great deal of mental energy in trying to figure out how their relationships are going, what their partners’ behaviours mean, and where their relationships seem to be heading.