Scholars from such disciplines as psychology, family studies, sociology, gerontology, communications and psychiatry have long been interested in the study of personal relationships. Yet all too often these social scientists have worked in isolation and in ignorance of the contributions made in other disciplines. In 1979, Robert Hinde, a British ethologist at Cambridge University, called for a new science of relationships; scholars from all over the world responded and the new interdisciplinary field of personal relationships has emerged.