Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Sex 4
#1 Men have a stronger libido than women 5
#2 Hooking up in college is bad for women 12
#3 All marriages have been consummated 20
#4 All marriages are sexually active 24
2 Attraction and Courtship 30
#5 Being smooth is the best way to pick someone up 31
#6 Opposites attract 42
#7 People know what they want in a partner 47
3 Online Dating 52
#8 Having access to innumerable online profiles of potential partners increases the likelihood of finding Mr. or Ms. Right 53
#9 Meeting potential partners electronically prior to meeting them in person decreases the chances of a successful relationship 59
#10 Couples who are “matched” by online dating services are more likely to have satisfying relationships 66
4 Same‐Sex Relationships 71
#11 The gender to which people are attracted is stable (or: the gender to which people are attracted is fluid) 73
#12 There are no differences between same‐sex relationships and heterosexual relationships 80
#13 Children raised by other‐sex couples are better off than children raised by same‐sex couples 85
5 Predicting Success and Failure in Relationships 92
#14 Living together before marriage is a good way to determine whether you’re with the right person 94
#15 Premarital counseling or relationship education programs prevent discord and divorce 100
#16 Good communication is the key to a happy relationship 109
#17 The key to a good relationship is knowing how to solve your problems 114
#18 Having children brings couples closer 121
#19 Stress is bad for relationships 128
#20 Supporting your partner will improve your relationship 133
6 Differences, Discord, and Dissolution 142
#21 Men are from Mars, women are from Venus 143
#22 Only men perpetrate violence in intimate relationships 150
#23 Marital therapy doesn’t work 156
#24 The first cut is the deepest 161
#25 Things will improve once you’re divorced 167
Coda 174
References 175
Author Index 229
Subject Index 244
