This volume summarizes and organizes a growing body of research supporting the role of motivation in adaptive and rewarding interpersonal interactions with others. The field of human motivation is rapidly growing but most studies have focused on the effects of motivation on individuals' personal happiness and task engagement. Only recently have theorists and empiricists begun to recognize that dispositional and state motivations impact the ways individuals approach interpersonal interactions. In addition, researchers are now recognizing that the quality of interpersonal interactions influences consequent happiness and task engagement, thus helping to explain previous findings to this end. Similarly social psychology and relationships researchers have focused on the impact of cognitions, emotions, and behaviors on people's relationships. In their work, relationships researchers demonstrate that both contextual characteristics and individual differences influence the quality of interactions. Many of these studies seek to understand which characteristics strengthen the bonds between people, encourage empathy and trust and create a sense of well-being after a close interaction. This work seeks to integrate the field of human motivation and interpersonal relationships. Both fields have seen extensive growth in the past decade and each can contribute to the other. However, no single compiled work is available that targets both fields. This is the case, in part because only now is there enough work to make a strong and compelling case for their integration. In the previous years, research has been conducted to show that motivation is relevant and important for interactions among strangers and in close relationships. In addition developmental mechanisms for these relations are identified and mechanisms by which motivation strengthens people's relationships. Finally recent work has demonstrated the many implications for interpersonal relationships, showing that motivation impacts a range of interpersonal processes from prejudice regulation and objectification of others to empathy and care. This book seeks to summarize and organize all these findings and present them in a way that is relevant to both motivation researchers and social and relationship researchers.

PART I: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF MOTIVTION IN RELATIONSHIPS.- Chapter 1: On the Mutuality of Human Motivation and Relationships; Netta Weinstein and Cody DeHaan.- Chapter 2: The Universality of Psychological Autonomy across Cultures: Arguments from Developmental and Social Psychology; Valery l. Chirkov.- Chapter 3: Autonomy and Need Satisfaction in Close Relationships: Relationship Motivation Theory; Edward Deci and Richard Ryan.- PART II: MECHANISMS AND OUTCOMES OF MOTIVATION: THE ‘DARK SIDE’ AND ‘BRIGHT SIDE’ OF RELATIONSHIPS.- Chapter 4: Is Relatedness Enough? On the Importance of Need Support in Different Types of Social Experiences; Christopher Niemiec, Maarten Vansteenkiste and Bart Soenens.- Chapter 5: On the Flexibility of the Automatic Us-Them Divide; Jen-Ho Chang, Yi-Cheng Lin, Holley Hodgins and Chin-Lan Huang.- Chapter 6: The Self-Concept in Relationships; Martin Lynch.- Chapter 7: Self-Determination and the Regulation of Conflict in Romantic Relationships; C. Raymond Knee, Ben Porter and Lindsey M. Rodriguez.- Chapter 8: The Role of Autonomy in Intergroup Process: Toward an Integration of Self-Determination Theory and Intergroup Approaches; Lisa Legault and Catherine Amiot.- Chapter 9: Autonomy Support as Acceptance for Disclosing and Developing a Health Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered Identity; Nicole Legate and William Ryan.- PART III: APPLICATIONS OF MOTIVATION RESEARCH.- Chapter 10: Parental Conditional Regard: Psychological Costs and Antecedents; Avi Assor, Guy Roth and Yaniv Kanat-Maymon.- Chapter 11: Relationships within Physical Activity Settings; Martyn Standage and Lydia G. Emm.- Chapter 12: The Importance of Need-Supportive Relationships for Motivation and Psychological Health at Work; Véronique Dagenais-Desmarais, Jacques Forest, Laurence Crevier-Braud and Sarah Girouard.- Chapter 13: The Influence of the Social Environment on Health Behavior Change; Jennifer La Guardia and Heather Patrick.- Chapter 14:Motivation in the Client-Counselor Relationship; Martin Lynch.- Chapter 15: Self-Determination and the Patient-Health Practitioner Relationship; Geoffrey C. Williams.