Psychology 3724F/G Chapter 1-2: 3274 Chapter 1-2

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 3724F/G
• Professor: Lorne Campbell

Document Summary

Chapter one - the science of intimate relationships. The first known academic treatise on intimate relationships was plato"s symposium, written 2300 years ago. There was a being with 4 arms and 4 legs and 2 genitals who posed a threat to the gods so zeus split them up. The need for love is thus born of the longing to reunite with one"s long-lost other half and to achieve an ancient unity destroyed by the gods. Humans are alone and incomplete until they pair off and experience the intimacy of a relationship. This intimacy reaches its peak in parent-infant bonding and the intimate high of romantic sexual relationships. Humans have a basic need to be accepted, appreciated and cared for, and to reciprocate such attitudes and behaviours. The first scientific forays into intimate relationships did not take place until the 20th century.