INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 10 Floyd Interpersonal

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 10 Floyd, Interpersonal Communication, 3 e ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Our Agenda • Communicating in Friendships • Communicating in Romantic Relationships • Communicating in Families • Communicating in the Workplace ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Friendships ] One of the defining features of friendships is that they are voluntary • We choose our friends and they choose us • We do not have to be friends with anyone we don’t want to be friends with ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Friendships (Peers) Friendships are usually relationships between peers • A peer is someone similar in power or status to oneself ] • Friendships with non-peers are possible but are often more challenging, because of the power difference ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Friendships (Rules) Friendships are governed by rules • A friendship is like a social contract to which both parties agree • Common rules in friendships: • Stand up for your friends and support them • Be enjoyable to be around • Provide help even without being asked ] • Be the kind of person with whom friends can share thoughts and secrets ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Friendships (Sex) Friendships often differ by sex • In same-sex friendships, men often value shared activity more than shared conversation, whereas women often value shared conversation more ] • In opposite-sex friendships, flirtatious—even sexual —behavior is relatively common even if those friendships never turn romantic ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Friendships (Life Span) Friendships have a life span • Role-limited interaction • Friendly relations • Moves toward friendship • Nascent friendship • Stabilized friendship • Waning friendship ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ] © Mixa/Getty Images, RF

[ Communicating in Friendships (Endings) Friendships can end for at least two reasons • The friends grow to dislike each other • The friends’ life circumstances can change ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Romantic Relationships ] Around the world, romantic relationships differ in how much they emphasize • Exclusivity • Voluntariness • Love • Sexuality • Permanence ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Romantic Relationships (Marital Types) Fitzpatrick differentiates between marital types • Traditional • Separate • Independent • Mixed ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ] © Max Riesgo/Getty Images, RF

[ Communicating in Romantic Relationships (Conflict) ] Romantic relationships vary in how they handle conflict • Validating couples discuss disagreements openly and cooperatively • Volatile couples discuss disagreements openly but competitively • Conflict-avoiding couples discuss disagreements covertly rather than openly • Hostile couples have frequent, intense conflict ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Romantic Relationships (Privacy) Romantic relationships vary in how they handle privacy • Petronio proposed communication privacy management (CPM) theory to explain the tension between privacy and disclosure • Partners in a couple jointly own the information about their relationship • We form and manage privacy boundaries ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Romantic Relationships (Emotions) Romantic relationships vary in how they handle emotional communication • Happy partners share more positive emotion and less negative emotion than do unhappy partners • Unhappy partners are more likely than happy partners to reciprocate expressions of negative emotion ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Romantic Relationships (Instrumental) Romantic relationships vary in how they handle instrumental communication • Day-to-day tasks require completion • The way in which partners divide everyday tasks often reflects the balance of power in their relationship • Same-sex relationships often divide tasks more equitably than opposite-sex relationships ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Families What makes a family? • Genetic ties • Legal obligations • Role behaviors ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ] © Hill Street Studios/Blend Images//Getty Images, RF

[ Communicating in Families (Types) Families come in various types • Family of origin ] • Family of procreation • Nuclear family • Blended family • Single-parent family • Extended family ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. © Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/Contour/Getty Images

[ Communicating in Families (Roles) Families enact roles • Family roles are the functions people serve in the family system • Four roles commonly emerge during conflict • Blamer • Placater • Computer • Distracter ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Families (Rituals) Families enact rituals • Family rituals are repetitive activities that have special meaning for a family • Some family rituals are “imported” from families into blended families ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. ]

[ Communicating in Families (Stories) Families tell stories ] • Family stories give families a sense of their history, their expectations, and their connections • Family stories are told and retold • Family stories convey an underlying message about the family ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in Families (Secrets) Families share secrets ] • Some families have secrets they intentionally keep hidden from others • Secrets can also be kept within families ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education. © Stockbyte/Thinkstock, RF

[ Communicating in the Workplace Social relationships can form between co-workers, who are usually our peers ] • Friendships with co-workers have both a social dimension and a task dimension, which can conflict with each other • Romantic relationships between co-workers can be beneficial, but can also involve stress and conflicts of interest ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in the Workplace (Superiors) ] Social relationships can form between superiors and subordinates • These relationships include a power difference that co -worker relationships generally do not • They often require agreeing to keep professional and personal sides of the relationship separate • They can provide a context for sexual harassment ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in the Workplace (Clients) Social relationships can form with clients ] • Like other workplace relationships, these relationships can experience conflict between social and task dimensions • Some employers and organizations discourage employees from developing personal friendships with customers ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in the Workplace (Tips 1) When communicating online in the workplace, remember these tips: • Learn and follow the organization’s policies for electronic communication ] • Use electronic communication for convenience, not as a shield • Don’t write in an e-mail message what you wouldn’t say in person ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.

[ Communicating in the Workplace (Tips 2) • Remember that electronic communication leaves a trail ] • Take advantage of the communication trail when it benefits you to do so • Know your audience • Upward communication • Downward communication • Lateral communication ©Mc. Graw-Hill Education.