The field of family communication is a largely understudied field of communication sciences. Family members use relational maintenance behaviors in order to maintain their relationship with various members of their family. These relational maintenance behaviors have mostly been studied in the context of romantic relationships. Relational maintenance behaviors vary in context, but these behaviors help people maintain positive, healthy relationships. This paper’s focus will be on the relational maintenance behaviors families take part in and the effects these behaviors have on family communication patterns (FCP).
Relational Maintenance
Relational Maintenance strategies are used by people to help maintain their relationship with friends,
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family, lovers, and other people with whom one may have any kind of relationship with. Stafford and Canary (1991) describe five relation maintenance strategies: positivity, openness, social networks, and sharking tasks. Positivity is remaining cheerful and optimistic. Openness is direct discussion and disclosure, assurances or statements that imply a future. Social networks are use of common associations to keep the relationship going. Sharing tasks involves fulfilling shared chores and responsibilities as a team (Stafford and Canary, 1991). Canary and colleagues (1993) later added another list of strategies to accompany the major five.
These strategies include inductively derived, positivity, openness, assurances, sharking tasks, social networks, joint activities, cards/letters/calls, avoidance, antisocial, humor and miscellaneous. These behaviors will vary based on the type of relationship involved. Every relationship is following a different path therefore there will be different strategies used for different relationships. Differences in paths will lead to different strategies used. Dindia (1989) in a different study described another set of three strategies. These strategies were romantic which involved being affectionate, fun, and spontaneous; prosocial involving cooperatively discussing the relationship; and antisocial, using coercion. Canary and Colleagues (1993) resulted in the five most used strategies which included openness, assurances, joint activities, positivity, and cards/letters/calls. The least popular strategies were avoidance, sharing tasks, anti-social behaviors, social networks, and humor. These strategies are a mix of direct and indirection communication. Direct communication includes openness, assurances, and positivity while indirect includes joint activities, sharing tasks, and humor. On paper these strategies seem to be either direct or indirect, but this can be subjective to ones opinion. One may feel that joint activities are more of a direct communication strategy since …show more content…
it is easier for this person to do activities than to open up emotionally. The importance of relationship also plays a role into exactly how much maintenance one puts into a relationship. Family Communication Patterns We are able to pick our friends and our romantic partners and in most cases our colleagues, but we cannot pick our family members.
Family is with a human before one can even remember. The dynamic of a family greatly influences one as they grow up. These influences can effect ones social life, love life, as well as their relationship with other family members. Communication between family members influences relationships between family members which develops feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards these relationships. Family Communication Patterns (FCP) is the way in which “family members process media messages by co-orientating them and communication about them with one another” (Koerner,2014). The FCP “are based on how families create and share social reality and represent an observable manifestation of these cognitive processes” (Koerner,2014). One concept that is used when it comes to FCP is co-orientation. “Co-orientation is a basic concept in psychology that refers to a situation where two or more individuals focus their cognitive attention on the same object in their social or physical environment and form beliefs about the object”(Koerner,2014). There is co-ordinating between family members because we as humans like to agree and be balanced as described the Balance Theory (Koerner, 2014). Balance theory as described by Fritz Heider is a theory of attitude change. This theory is explained using a triangle formation. The goal of the triangle is for
there to be a shared opinion, either positive or negative towards an object, opinion, belief or person. (CITE) Family members must figure out what other family members stance on certain beliefs are and decide if they agree or disagree. Agreeing with family members creates congruent beliefs, while disagreement creates incongruent beliefs. In order to get congruent beliefs among family members, parents and children must openly discuss their beliefs. Since human nature causes us to seek balance family members may appoint one member to make the decision or belief for them. This is socio-orientation. A combination of co-ordination and socio-orientation allows families to create shared beliefs between family members. Depending on the type of family one is a part of, there will be different ways for family members to communicate their thoughts on their beliefs. Koerner & Schrodt have gone on to define four types of families. These families are based on high low scales of conformity orientation and conversation orientation. Conversation orientation is “the degree to which families create a communication environment in which all family members are encouraged to participate in unrestrained interaction about a wide range of topics.(Koerner, 2014)” Families high on this scale have free flowing conversation between members without limits. Families low on this scale have less conversation and many topics are off limits. Private thoughts are also kept private and are not discussed among family members. On the other had conformity orientation is “the degree to which family communication stresses a climate of homogeneity of beliefs, values, and attitudes. (Koerner,2014)” Families high on this scale stress congruent beliefs as well as interdependence of family members. Families low on this scale have incongruent beliefs and as well as independence from family members. Koerner & Schrodt name the four types of families as protective, consensual, laissez-faire, and pluralistic. Protective families are highly confirmative while lowly conversational. Consensual families are highly confirmative while highly conversational. Laissez-faire families are lowly confirmative and lowly conversational. Pluralistic families are lowly confirmative and highly conversational. Protective families are low conversation orientation and high conformity orientation. When it comes to decision making, that is the parent’s role. Parents in this type of family are the highest authority in the children’s life. Since parents hold the utmost power in a protective family, conflict is not an activity that takes place. Children are expected to obey their parents which does not leave much room for conversation regarding values or decision making among parents and children (Koerner 2014). Consensual families are high conversation orientation and high conformity orientation. When it comes to decision making in this type of family, parents are conflicted. These parents want children to be open to exploration, but feel as parents they should make conscious decisions for their family. Consensual families describe conflict as a threat to the family dynamic. In order to demolish this threat, this type of family engages in problem solving and conflict resolution strategies (Koerner 2014). Laissez-faire are low conversation orientation and low conformity orientation. When it comes to decision making parents in a laissez-faire family make their own decisions. This type of family does not engage in much conversation, which leads to little conflict. Children who grow up in these families often fall into peer pressure. There are no interactions between family members that would lead to cohesive family decisions (Koerner 2014). Pluralistic families are high conversation orientation and low conformity orientation. When it comes to decision making parents will let their children make their own decisions. These families engage in open conversation over a plethora of topics. Parents in pluralistic families would like to lead their children to decisions that are supported by both parents and children, but are willing to accept their children’s decision either way. Pluralistic families are accepting of differences, which leads low conflict among members (Koerner 2014). Research has shown a link between the importance of family communication and the functions of the family. These types of families without strong communication between members may struggle to have positive functions between family members. Laissez-faire and protective families, families that are low on conversation orientation will not communicate as much as consensual and pluralistic families. Much of the communication that happens in families revolves around intersubjectivity and interactivity. “Intersubjectivity refers to the sharing of cognitions among participants in a communicative event, whereas interactivity refers to the degree to which symbol creation and interpretation are linked” (Koerner, 2002, p.73). Protective and consensual families who are both high on conformity interaction both strive towards shared views. Protective families look to have more intersubjectivity, where all family members share the same view dictated by the parents. On the other hand consensual families will problem solve to find their shared interactivity, in order to get all family members on board with the same belief or symbol.
It is not all about communication” . It says that not surprisingly those couples who reported communicating more effectively showed the highest satisfaction with their relationships. But the next two reasons which were also the only other ones with strong links to couple happiness, were knowledge of partner which included everything from knowing their pizza-topping preferences to their hopes and dreams and life skills like being able to hold a job, manage money, etc . But in order to have a healthy relationship I do believe that the communication is key but they also do need to know how to communicate in a healthy way that will not cause
In conclusion, I have discussed family dynamic and structure in the brief articles listed above. The brief articles that I have included involves the dynamics of stay at home dads, the dynamics of sibling rivalry, and the dynamics of blended family, and the dynamics family domestic violence, and dynamics of nuclear families as well as how today’s family structuring has changed.
For this paper, we will be talking about relational communications and Goffman’s terms. The definition of relational communication is “communication processes in personal relationships such as romantic, family, and friendships. We assess the role of communication in developing, maintaining, and dissolving relationships, how communication impacts partners and their relationships, and how to improve relational quality or individual well-being through communication. Recent topics examined include conflict mediation, relational standards, relational uncertainty in dating relationships, and communication environments in families” (n.d.). As it has said, it is about the relationships in our life. Goffman also stated that there was a front and
Murray Bowen that suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as a part of their family, as the family is an emotional unit. Bowen family systems theory is a theory of human behavior that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit. It is the nature of a family that its members are intensely connected emotionally. Often people feel distant or disconnected from their families, but this is more feeling than fact. Families so profoundly affect their member’s thoughts, feelings, and actions that it often seems as if people are living under the same “emotional skin.” People solicit each other’s attention, approval, and support and react to each other’s needs, expectations, and upsets. The connectedness and reactivity make the functioning of family members interdependent. A change in one person’s functioning is predictably followed by reciprocal changes in the functioning of others. Families differ somewhat in the degree of interdependence, but it is always present to some
In understanding others, one must first understand our own family background and how it affects our understanding of the world. Conversely, family systems draw on the view of the family as an emotional unit. Under system thinking, one evaluates the parts of the systems in relation to the whole meaning behavior becomes informed by and inseparable from the functioning of one’s family of origin. These ideas show that individuals have a hard time separating from the family and the network of relationships. With a deeper comprehension of the family of origin helps with the challenges and awareness of normalized human behaviors. When interviewing and analyzing the family of origin, allow one to look at their own family of origin
Interpersonal conflict is. Every relationship has conflict and determining on how the conflict is resolved or handled can make the relationship stronger or weaker. If someone is more easily to come up with a compromise rather than always getting their own way, they may have stronger relationships (Bevan and Sole, 2014). Television shows also use interpersonal conflict between their characters to find a solution or compromise in the end. Interpersonal conflict is all around us, it is how we handle that conflict that makes or breaks our relationships.
As an illustration, tension in relationship can result from having money problems, seems to be the biggest problem for couples. As a result, there seems to be a lot of fighting going on in the relationship. Another, problem may be in the relationship, there is one or both partners re interested in someone else (coldness or openness) or one may be seeing someone, which cause confusion and arguing among themselves (DeVito 2016). Therefore, the theory posits that relationships can succumb to pressures that are often associated with maintaining connections and relationships, and the communication patterns can be affected by these forms of instability. (DeVito 2016) Equally important, patterns in communication that create a constant state of imbalance acts in such a way that it is adverse to cultivating and sustaining developed relationships. There are four principle concepts that are associated with this theory: opposing needs and desire, connection with others, autonomy and independence. (DeVito 2016 Pg. 236). One of the most prominent strengths of this theory is the practicality that is associated with rebalance of your life. It provides a sense of stability in relationships when someone utilizes the theory correctly. Communication strategies are taught in this theory which is great. For example, the principle issues is that it assumes that
Family members’ ability to effectively express their emotions, insights, and ideas to each other reflects how well members relate to each other, and how well the family functions as a whole. According to Kirst-Ashman & Hull (2012) assessing communication patterns within a family is crucial to the planned change process that must occur in order to assist families reconcile their problems in the best possible way (p.331). There are various facets of communication in addition to verbal and nonverbal communication. There are at least five different paths of communication, referred to as avenues of communication, which include: consonance, condemnation, submission, intellectualization, and indifference (p. 331-332). An assessment of the various facets of communication used by a family is useful in indicating where change is
Within this particular counseling setting, the focus is on the interaction of the family members, and involves interventions that affect the entire family system (Henderson, 2016). The goal of this theory is to change the dysfunctional family patterns through a variety of arrangements, from individuals to group interaction. The Systems theory is organized in units made up of different parts, which is a circular, pattern which A causes B and B causes A (Henderson, 2016). Systems Family Theory viewed human nature in a positive perspective, which people are rational and have the ability to make choices (Henderson, 2016). Furthermore, the Family Systems Theory perceives behavior as directly relating to the individual position within the family. There are eight concepts that Bowen believed centered around the Family Systems Theory, many which reflect family boundaries and interactions. These concepts include, relationships between spouses, differentiation of self, triangles, nuclear family emotional system, family projection process, multigenerational transmission process, sibling position, emotional cutoffs, and emotional process in society (Henderson, 2016). Other core concept, determined by other theorist, revolves around centripetal and centrifugal which further describe the relationship styles within the families by looking inward, centripetal, as source of satisfaction; along with, centrifugal, looking outside for satisfaction (Henderson, 2016). In addition, another core concept is family projection process that refers to the transmission that causes symptoms in the child (Henderson, 2016). Many of the concepts described in the Family Systems Theory, are based on the connection, the togetherness, and the conflict that leads to a person holding responsibility within their role within the family.
Plans are also made for future undertakings-purchases, trips, inviting company over, parties, gifts. Every member of the family thus learns to work actively in the family and becomes aware that the family group is not just formal arrangement or the source of problems, but that he can exert influence on the family's decisions. Within the family, which to a certain extent functions without conscious control, there is usually an unconscious division of roles, strongly held disinclinations, and particular preferences. Since a family group functions simultaneously, i.e., with all members present at the same time and actively participating in the group, there is a move toward many-sided and -leveled transfers and emotional involvements. These can help to better control the ties and
Communication Patterns: How does it Contribute to Marital Adjustment?" Journal of marital and family therapy 25.2 (1999): 211-23. ProQuest Central. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.
The author’s purpose is to inform families that in order to sustain a strong relationship with one another they must remain relatively close by. The author describes a critical
The family communication pattern consists of two primary dimensions. They are family’s conversation orientation and the other being family’s conformity orientation. Conversation orientation refers to the degree to which family communication patterns are characterized by an open and unrestrained exchange of ideas. In contrast, conformity orientation refers to the degree to which family interactions are characterized by an emphasis on homogeneity of attitudes, values, and beliefs (Koerner & Fitzpatrick, 2002). All the families fall either in high or low combinations of these two orientations. Depending upon what the family falls, there are four types of patterns. They are- consensual, pluralistic, protective and
A supportive communication climate is one that is encouraging and increases understanding (Czech, Forward, Lee, 2011). In this climate, members of the relationship accept the other’s opinions, encourage them to achieve any goals they have, and give accurate information freely (Czech et al., 2011). These climates are “accepting, nonjudgmental, and empathetic” (Czech et al., 2011, p. 3). Supportive communication climates allow the relationship to grow and improve. In our relationship, we understand each other’s emotions and react accordingly.
Relationships are intricately complex. Made up of several interactions that are full of verbal and non-verbal communication, a relationship between any two people is completely and utterly unique. There are so many dynamics that are at play in relationships and several opportunities for both good and bad communication. In my life, I have experienced all kinds of people and relationships: friends, acquaintances, brothers, parents, teammates, lab-partners, peers, teachers, mentors. The list goes on and on. Three examples of my personal relationships are my relationship with my brother Caleb, my friend Kennedy, and my high school teacher Mrs. Antwine. In all three relationships, we communicate verbally and non-verbally. However, because of different circumstances, atmospheres, and backgrounds, each relationship differs from the others.