Communication Research

Due: Monday, December 11 Choose a current or past relationship (friendship/romantic/family/work) and describe three maintenance strategies that would better, or would have bettered, your relationship. Please be specific and relate it directly to class lectures. I will not give credit for vague descriptions.

� Power and Interdependency   Power is the ability to influence the behavior of others and to resist their influence on us. Sources of Power   From an interdependency perspective, power is based on the control of valuable resources. � One need not necessarily possess these resources; one needs only to control access to them. � One � s power varies with the other person � s desire and   need for the resource. � One � s power is reduced if the desired resources are   readily available elsewhere.   The principle of lesser interest observes that the   partner who is less dependent on the   relationship � who desires it less � has more   power in that relationship.   If your partner loves and needs you more than you love him or her, you � ll get to do what you want more often than not. � Types of Power Relationships � How power is distributed � complementary relationships: uneven division of power; one person controls th...

Maintaining and Enhancing Relationships   Relationship maintenance mechanisms  are the strategic actions people take to sustain their partnerships. Staying Committed   People who are committed to a partnership   --who want and expect it to continue--   both  think  and  behave  differently than less committed partners do. Cognitive Maintenance Mechanisms: � Cognitive interdependence  �  Committed partners think of themselves not as separate individuals but as a couple.     Plural pronouns such as �we,� �us,� and �ours� replace �I,� �me,� and �mine.� � Positive illusions  �  Partners idealize one another, judging each other�s faults to be relatively trivial, the relationship�s deficiencies to be relatively unimportant, and the partner�s misbehavior to be an unintentional or temporary aberration. � Perceived superiority  �  People consid...

� Ostracism   Ostracism , the � silent treatment, � occurs when others intentionally ignore us.   Ostracism hurts, and it is often confusing, leaving us wondering why we are being ignored.   Sometimes, we become contrite and compliant as we try to get back into others � good graces�     �but people often become defensive and antagonistic when they are ostracized.   It hurts to be ignored, and people with high self-esteem are relatively unlikely to put up with it.  When they encounter a cold shoulder, they are more likely than those with low self-esteem to end the relationship and seek a new partner. � Jealousy   Jealousy is the unhappy combination of hurt, anger, and fear that occurs when people face the potential loss of a valued relationship to a real or imagined rival.     Is jealousy a sign of love�            �or a sign of insecurity? Two Types of Jealousy Reactive jealousy  oc...

https://www.inforefuge.com/love-styles Please read the article from above and comment on the blog. Your comments can be positive or negative: add your opinion, refute something that was said, and/or include a personal account. Your comment must be thought-provoking, but doesn't have to be lengthy. Due by 11/18

Test #2 Review TEST - Wednesday November 15th NO MAKE-UPS Interdependency (much of these questions will be situation based) - social exchange - CL - CLalt - outcome Knapp's Model of Relational Development - understand what occurs within each stage and the order of stages  Love Styles   - most are situation questions  Triangular Theory of Love   - most are situation questions  Difference between Romantic Passionate Love/Companionate Love (ex. What fuels each love?) Conflict  - 4 Dialectical Tensions  - 4 instigating events  - 4 conflict couples  - 4 negotiation styles  - Speaker Listener Technique: rules of both individuals Gottman's predictors of divorce (stonewalling, criticism, contempt, etc) - definitions and situations XYZ Statement: "Rules"  Active Listening: perception checking, paraphrasing

Dysfunctional Communication and What to Do about It Miscommunication Unhappy partners do a poor job of saying what they mean. � They � re prone to  kitchen-sinking,  in which they confuse issues by addressing several topics at once. � Their conversations frequently drift  off-beam,  wandering from topic to topic. Unhappy partners also do a poor job of hearing each other. � They jump to conclusions with  mindreading , and wrongly assume that they understand their partners. � They  interrupt  to express disagreement frequently. � They find fault with anything their partner says, known as  yes-butting. � They also engage in  cross-complaining,  responding to a partner � s complaint with one of their own. Unhappy partners also display  negative affect  when they talk with each other: � Criticism  attacks a partner � s personality or character; � Contempt  in the form of mockery and insults occurs; � Defensiveness  le...