Nov 01, 2011 - Claremont, Calif. -

Debra Mashek

Associate Professor of Psychology Debra Mashek offers her counsel in a newly released book that gives science-based answers to common relationship questions.

Mashek contributed two essays to “The Science of Relationships: Answers to your Questions about Dating, Marriage and Family,” published by Kendall Hunt Publishing.

Edited by the creators of ScienceOfRelationships.com, the 186-page work provides answers to 44 questions about key issues such as attraction, love, intimacy, conflict and parenting. Mashek’s essays—“How Can I Tell If Someone Is Interested In Me?” and “Isn’t Being Too Close To A Partner A Bad Thing?”— are featured in Chapters One and Two, respectively.

The book’s research-based, scientific approach uniquely positions it among other books on the topic. Contributors include relationship scientists and college and university faculty considered experts on relationship issues.

Mashek’s research focuses on the psychology of relationships, examining how individual behavior and identity are influenced by connections with others.

In 2009, she received the Jane S. Halonen Early Career Teaching Award from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association. She was awarded a Faculty Fellowship from the Haynes Foundation in 2010 to study strategies for motivating participation in Neighborhood Watch programs, and served as the HMC Critchell Assistant Professor from 2009-11.