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; 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

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

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. They are more stable than a dyad. Reduces intense interaction and is based less on personal attachments and more on formal rules and regulations.

Household membership

Household — one or more persons who share main residence, and share meals or living space^[2]

Single person
Family
- Single parent
- Nuclear family (immediate family)
- Spouse
  - Husband
  - Wife
- Parent
- Child
  - Son
  - Daughter
- Sibling
  - Brother
  - Sister
Stepfamily
- Stepparent
- Stepmother
- Stepfather
- Stepchild
- Stepson
- Stepdaughter
- Stepsibling
- Stepbrother
- Stepsister
Extended family
- Grandparent
- Grandfather
- Grandmother
- Grandson
- Granddaughter
- Uncle
- Aunt
- Cousin
- Nephew
- Niece
Family-in-law
Kinship
Relation change
- Marriage
- Adoption
- Relation end
Household aspects

Peer group membership

Peers

Special interest group
Pen pals –

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

Community

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

Intimate relationship

Cohabitation – living together without being married.
Committed relationship – interpersonal relationship based upon a mutually agreed-upon commitment to one another involving exclusivity, honesty, trust 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 – being close friends
- Courtship
- Long-term relationship (LT —R)
  - Monogamy – having a single long-term partner or marriage to one person.
  - Polyamory – having multiple long-term lovers and/or partners.
  - Polygamy – marriage to multiple partners.
    - Polyandry – the marriage of a woman to multiple men.
    - Polygyny – the marriage of a man to multiple women.
    - Polygynandry – the marriage of multiple men to multiple women.
- Free union
- Engagement or betrothal; the period of time between a marriage proposal and the marriage itself, sometimes accompanied by the formal Church announcement of the intent to marry known as banns.
- Marriage
  - Marriage partners
    - Husband
    - Wife
  - Types of 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
Romantic friendship
Relationship anarchy
Casual relationship
Female-led relationship – woman or wife led relationship (FLR)

Business and professional relationships

Education and school-related relationships

Teacher and student
Counselor

Other types of relationships

Conservatorship
Enemy
Frenemy – a person with whom an individual maintains a friendly interaction despite underlying conflict, possibly encompassing rivalry, mistrust, jealousy or competition.^[3]
Godparents
Mentorship
Neighbor
Acquaintance

Relations (relationship activities)

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; in contrast to exogamy.
Hypergamy – act or practice of seeking a spouse of higher socioeconomic status, or caste status than oneself;^[4] in contrast to hypogamy.

Sexual relations

Human sexual activity
- Sexual intercourse
- Swinging

Dysfunctional relations

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

Abusive relations

Abuse

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

End of a relationship

Reasons for ending a relationship

Dysfunctional relations – see Dysfunctional relations section above.
Irreconcilable differences
Relational transgression – violation of implicit or explicit relational rules.

Theories of interpersonal relations

Socionics – theory of intertype relations^[5] 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.
Social exchange theory – a social-psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. Posits that human relationships are formed by a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives.
Relational models theory – a psychological theory authored by Alan Fiske proposing four elementary forms of human relations.^[6]

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.

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

Sexual orientation

Romantic orientation

Aromanticism
Homoromanticism
Heteroromanticism
Biromanticism
Panromanticism

Relationship partners

Terms for partners in intimate relationships include:

Relationship management

Relationship intervention

Relationship development

Terms for people who want to develop their relationships include:

Lacking an intimate relationship

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.
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
Female-led relationship – romantic commitment where the woman is the lead and/or principle partner; often referred to as an FLR
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 resonance
MHC in sexual mate selection

References

^ "Social Groups." Archived 2013-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Cliffsnotes.com. Accessed June 2011.
^ Haviland, W. A. (2003). Anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
^ Shannon B (2011). Frenemy: The Friend Who Bullies (Master of Applied Psychology). University of Waikato.
^ "Definition of HYPERGAMY". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
^ 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).
^ Fiske, Alan P. (1992). "The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations". Psychological Review. 99 (4): 689–723. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.99.4.689. PMID 1454904. S2CID 17809556.

[1] "Social Groups." Archived 2013-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Cliffsnotes.com. Accessed June 2011.

[ou1-2] Haviland, W. A. (2003). Anthropology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

[Shannon_2011-3] Shannon B (2011). Frenemy: The Friend Who Bullies (Master of Applied Psychology). University of Waikato.

[4] "Definition of HYPERGAMY". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-09-26.

[5] 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).

[Fiske1992-6] Fiske, Alan P. (1992). "The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations". Psychological Review. 99 (4): 689–723. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.99.4.689. PMID 1454904. S2CID 17809556.

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