Whether they involve sexual partners in the bedroom, customers and sales clerks in stores, or work colleagues in committee meetings, interpersonal relations between real people are the essential heart of society. But it is a 'heart' that has, for too long, been overlooked in social and psychological analysis.

This book aims to recover the lost heart by exploring a wide range of examples of interpersonal control:

· Intimate relations of love

· Romance

· Family ties

· Sexuality

· Emotional blackmail

· Violence

The book outlines a new way of thinking about control and power in everyday life. Written with accessible authority, the book will be of interest to students of Sociology, Social Psychology and Psychology.