Strangers in a Strange Lab

Winner of the 2012 International Association for Relationship Research Book AwardCan we predict how well -- or how poorly -- two strangers will get along? According to social psychologist William Ickes the answer is yes. Drawing upon relevant research findings from his 30-year career Ickes explains how initial interactions are shaped by gender race birth order physical attractiveness androgyny the Big Five dimensions shyness and self-monitoring.Ickes''s work offers unprecedented insights on the links between personality and social behavior that have not previously been compiled in a single source: how sibling relationships during childhood affect our interactions with opposite-sex strangers years later; why Latinos have a social advantage in initial interactions; how men react to the physical attractiveness of a female stranger in a relatively direct and obvious way while women react to the attractiveness of a male stranger in a more indirect and subtle way; and how personality similarity is related to satisfaction in married couples.