Bachelors: The Psychology of Men Who Haven't Married

Waehler, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Akron, presents here his conclusions resulting from several studies he undertook on the psychology of bachelors (Waehler is himself a bachelor). Defining bachelors as heterosexual men over the age of 40 who have never married, the author divides them into three types--flexible, entrenched and conflicted bachelors--and provides case histories for each type based on his interviews and questionnaires. Although the individual stories are interesting, Waehler's conclusion that all bachelors share core personality traits--independence and self-reliance, emotional detachment, interpersonal passivity and idiosyncratic thinking--is not contrasted here by any documented research with married men. Much of the text deals with advice on how bachelors can lower their guard and get more in touch with their emotions. The book will be of interest primarily to bachelors who are interested in self-help and women who are interested in bachelors. (Nov.)