Outline of relationships

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to interpersonal relationships:

Interpersonal relationship – association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the context of social, cultural and other influences.

Essence of relationships

Main article: Interpersonal relationship

Social relations – relationship between two (i.e. a dyad), three (i.e. a triad) or more individuals (i.e. members of a social group). Social relations, derived from individual agency, form the basis of social structure.
Social actions – acts which take into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or 'agents'). According to Max Weber, "an Action is 'social' if the acting individual takes account of the behavior of others and is thereby oriented in its course" (Secher 1962).

Types of relationships

Membership in a social group

A social group consists of two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity.^[1] By this definition, a society can be viewed as a large group, though most social groups are considerably smaller.

Dyad – group of two people. "Dyadic" is an adjective used to describe this type of communication/interaction. A dyad is the smallest possible social group.
Triad – group of three people. Less stable than dyads because two will tend to unite against the other one.

Family membership

A table of relationships displays the relationships amongst relatives.

Family –

Household –
Nuclear family (immediate family) –
- Spouse –
  - Husband –
  - Wife –
- Parent –
  - Father –
  - Mother –
- Child –
  - Son –
  - Daughter –
- Sibling –
  - Brother –
  - Sister –
Extended family –
- Grandparent –
- Uncle –
- Aunt –
- Cousin –
- Nephew –
- Niece –
Family-in-law –
- Father-in-law –
- Mother-in-law –
- Brother-in-law –
- Sister-in-law –
Complex family –
Stepfamily –
Dysfunctional family –
Kinship –
- Consanguinity –
- Affinity –
- Fictive kinship –
- Marriage –
- Adoption –
- Divorce –
- Disownment –

Peer group membership

Special interest group –

Organization membership

An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including:

Community membership

Citizenship – membership in a country or nation.
Neighbor – member of a neighborhood.
Member of society – a society is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, possibly comprising characteristics such as national or cultural identity, social solidarity, language, or hierarchical organization.

Intimate relationships

Cohabitation –
Committed relationship – interpersonal relationship based upon a mutually agreed-upon commitment to one another involving exclusivity, honesty, openness, or some other agreed-upon behavior. The term is most commonly used with informal relationships, such as "going steady," but may encompass any relationship where an expressed commitment is involved.
- Close friendship –
- Courtship –
- Long-term relationship (LTR) –
  - Monogamy – having a single long-term sexual partner.
  - Polygamy – having multiple long-term sexual partners.
  - Polyandry – having multiple long-term male sexual partners.
  - Polygyny – having multiple long-term female sexual partners.
- Engagement –
- Marriage –
  - Marriage partners –
    - Husband –
    - Wife –
  - Types of marriage –
    - Arranged marriage –
    - Forced marriage –
    - Cousin marriage –
    - Open marriage –
- Civil union –
Domestic partnership –
- Boyfriend –
- Girlfriend–
Familial relationship – relationship between members of a family. Family members tend to form close personal relationships. See family section above.
Friendship –
Extramarital affair –
Love–hate relationship –
Polyamorous relationship –
- Non-monogamy –
- Polygamous relationship – having multiple long-term sexual partners.
- Polyandry – having multiple long-term male sexual partners.
- Polygyny – having multiple long-term female sexual partners.
- Polyfidelity –
- Polygynandry –
Romantic friendship –
Relationship anarchy –
Same-sex relationship –
Casual relationship –

Professional relationships

Employer-worker relationship –

Relations (relationship activities)

Human bonding –
Conflict resolution –
Interpersonal communication –
Social rejection –
Christian relational care – religious approach of relating to those who are poor, marginalized, or considered to be outcasts from mainstream society.^[2]
Wedding –

Relationship formation

Human mating is the process whereby an individual seeks out another individual with the intention of forming a long-term intimate relationship or marriage, but sometimes for casual relationship or friendship.

Personal advertisement –
Meet market –
Flirting –
- Pick-up line –
Singles event –
Courtship –
- Dating –
  - Internet dating –
  - Going Dutch –
Endogamy – the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting all others.
Hypergamy – act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status, or caste status than oneself.^[3]

Sexual relations

Human sexual activity –
- Sexual intercourse –
- Swinging –

Dysfunctional relations

Dysfunctional family –
Relational transgression – violation of implicit or explicit relational rules.

Abusive relations

Child abuse –
Elder abuse –
Dating abuse –
Domestic violence –
Infidelity – breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity. Also called "cheating".
- Extramarital affair –
  - Adultery –
  - Extramarital sex –
Nagging –
Spousal abuse –

End of a relationship

Reasons for ending a relationship

Dysfunctional relations – see Dysfunctional relations section above.
Irreconcilable differences –

Theories of interpersonal relations

Socionics – theory of intertype relations^[4] incorporating Carl Jung's work on personality types with Antoni Kępiński's theory of information metabolism.
Attachment theory – describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally.

Relationship characteristics

Aspects of relationships include:

Attachment in adults –
Attachment in children –
Interpersonal attraction – force acting between two people that tends to draw them together and resist their separation, which leads to friendships and romantic relationships. It is distinct from physical attraction.
New relationship energy (NRE) – state of mind experienced at the beginning of most significant sexual and romantic relationships, typically involving heightened emotional and sexual receptivity and excitement. It begins with the earliest attractions, grows into full force when mutuality is established, and slowly fades over months to years.

Stages of a relationship

Stages presented in George Levinger's relationship model:
1. Acquaintance
2. Buildup
3. Continuation
4. Deterioration
5. Termination

Feelings and emotions

Love
- Familial love –
- Parental love –
- Marital love –
- Brotherly love –
- Filial piety –
- Veneration –
Romance –

Sexual orientation

Relationship partners

Terms for partners in intimate relationships include:

Relationship management

Relationship intervention

Family therapy –
Relationship counseling –

Lacking an interpersonal relationship

Spinster –
Celibate –

Romance and Intimacy

Courtship –

Romance –

Intimacy –

Physical intimacy
- Touching
  - Erogenous zones
- Cuddling
  - Arm around shoulder
  - Arms around abdomen
  - Head on shoulder
  - Head on lap
  - Hugging
- Eye contact
- Holding hands
- Kissing
  - Nuzzling
Emotional intimacy
- Love
- Acceptance
- Jealousy
- Empathy
- Sympathy
- Longing

Other

Emotional contagion – tendency to catch and feel emotions that are similar to and influenced by those of others.
Casual relationship – sexual relationship without the extra commitments of a more formal romantic relationship.
Relational disorder – mental disorder attributable to a relationship rather than to any one individual in the relationship.
Emotional tyranny –
Equal power relationship –
Fear of commitment –
Friend zone –
Internet relationship –
Quality time –
Reciprocal liking –
Respect –
Sexual capital –
Term of endearment –
Roommate –
Interpersonal attraction –
Broken heart –
Long-distance relationship –
Marriage – a socially binding commitment to a partner
Sexual infidelity – having a sexual relationship outside of a relationship that includes a commitment to have no other sexual partners
Sexual fidelity – not having other sexual partners other than one's committed partner, even temporarily
Serial monogamy – having a series of monogamous relationships, one after the other
Polyamory – encompasses a wide range of relationships, including those above: polyamorous relationships may include both committed and casual relationships
Relationship anarchy – a theory that questions the idea of love as a special, limited feeling that is only real if it is restricted to two people only, at any given moment.
Sexual promiscuity – having casual sexual partners at will (compare with chastity)
Affection –
Casual dating –
Kiss –
Kissing traditions –
Emotional intimacy –
Female bonding –
Life partner –
Limbic regulation –
Limbic resonance –
Limbic revision –
MHC in sexual mate selection –

References

^ "Social Groups." Cliffsnotes.com. Accessed June 2011.
^ Frame, John Christopher. Homeless at Harvard: Street Culture Relationships and a Theology of Relational Care (Thesis, Harvard University Divinity School).
^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypergamy
^ Аугустинавичюте А. (1996). Социон, или Основы соционики. Соционика, ментология и психология личности, 4-5. (In Russian. Title can be translated as Augustinavichiute A. (1996). The Socion, or Socionics Basics. Socionics, Mentology, and Personality Psychology, 4-5).

[1] "Social Groups." Cliffsnotes.com. Accessed June 2011.

[2] Frame, John Christopher. Homeless at Harvard: Street Culture Relationships and a Theology of Relational Care (Thesis, Harvard University Divinity School).

[3] ttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypergamy

[4] Аугустинавичюте А. (1996). Социон, или Основы соционики. Соционика, ментология и психология личности, 4-5. (In Russian. Title can be translated as Augustinavichiute A. (1996). The Socion, or Socionics Basics. Socionics, Mentology, and Personality Psychology, 4-5).

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