Breaking Hearts: The Two Sides of Unrequited Love

by Roy F. Baumeister PhD, Sara R. Wotman

Overview

Throughout history, unrequited love has inspired ballads, arias, poetry, drama, and literature. Almost always, however, the tale of the "star-crossed lovers" has been told from the point of view of the heartbroken pursuer. This illuminating new work explores unrequited love from both sides—that of the aspiring and eventually brokenhearted lover, and more unusually, that of the beloved, unwilling rejector. Based on systematically collected first-person accounts, BREAKING HEARTS shows how radically different and often contradictory the two experiences actually are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780898625431
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	10/16/1992
Series:	Emotions and Social Behavior
Pages:	241
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Florida State University (Emeritus) and at the University of Queensland in Australia. One of social psychology's most highly cited researchers, Dr. Baumeister has been conducting research, teaching, and thinking about the human self since the 1970s. His work spans multiple topics, including self and identity, self-control, interpersonal rejection and the need to belong, sexuality and gender, violence and evil, self-esteem, self-presentation, emotion, decision making, consciousness and free will, and finding meaning in life. He has written approximately 700 professional publications as well as numerous books for professionals and the general public. Dr. Baumeister is a recipient of awards including the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Self and Identity and the William James Fellow Award, the highest honor of the Association for Psychological Science.

Editorial Reviews

"For all who've ever loved and lost, and for all therapists who've worked with lovesick clients (or their fantasy objects)."

Behavioral Science Book Service

Based on systematically collected first-person accounts, this fascinating work explores unrequited love from both sides--that of the aspiring and eventually brokenhearted lover, and that of the beloved, unwilling rejector--showing how radically different and often contradictory the two experiences actually are. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"Often I found myself swept along by the charming, fluid style in which the book is written....In short, the authors are highly successful in creating a book that will appeal to a wide audience....This book makes a significant contribution to the literature."

Contemporary Psychology

"Engagingly written, BREAKING HEARTS offers an insightful and broad-ranging theoretical analysis and a careful empirical documentation of the heart breakers and the heart broken....It captures the drama of breaking hearts without sacrificing the rigor of the scientific enterprise.''
—Bella DePaulo, Ph.D., University of Virginia

"This book is a rich and enlightening account of the experience of unrequited love, and should be of interest not only to scientists who study close relationships, but also to the general public." —Caryl E. Rusbult, Ph.D., University of North Carolina

"The topic of unrequited love is an intriguing one that has caused much interest lately since the film, Fatal Attraction, and the several cases of stalking that have received public attention. This book offers the first systematic attempt to uncover the patterns of unrequited love and it is a good example of what a psychological analysis of important social issues can contribute to their solution." —Steve Duck, Ph.D., University of Iowa

From the Publisher