The third edition of this text maintains its place as a key resource for learning the foundational and emerging theories in the field of interpersonal communication.

With each chapter devoted to a specific theory and authored by experts in that theory, the book gives students and scholars a comprehensive overview of this field. This edition features an expanded discussion of theory development and evaluation, a new section on theories of identity and difference in close relationships, and increased attention to social media.With the theory chapters sharing the same structure, the book ensures consistent coverage of topics within each theory.

This book is an essential text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in interpersonal communication and is a valued resource for scholars.

Accolades for the Second Edition: Winner of the Gerald Miller Book Award from the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association

Dawn O. Braithwaite (PhD, University of Minnesota) is a Willa Cather Professor of Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. She studies discourse-dependent families, dialectics of relating, and communication rituals in stepfamilies and voluntary kin. She has published 6 books and over 130 articles and chapters. A Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association and Western States Communication Associations, Braithwaite received NCA’s Bernard J. Brommel Award for Family Communication and the Becker Distinguished Service Award. She is the Past President of NCA and WSCA.

Paul Schrodt (PhD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln) is the Philip J. and Cheryl C. Burguières Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas Christian University, USA. He studies communication processes that facilitate family relationships, with a particular interest in conflict and stepfamily functioning. He has authored more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, has received the National Communication Association’s Bernard J. Brommel Award for Family Communication, and served as Editor of Communication Monographs.