1. Theories of Interpersonal Communication and Relationships
Attraction
Relationship rules
Social penetration
Social exchange and equity
Copyright ©2011, 2008, 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Attraction
We are attracted to others based on…
Physical attractiveness and personality
Similarity
Proximity
Reinforcement
Copyright ©2011, 2008, 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Relationship Rules
Friendship rules
Romantic rules
Family rules
Workplace rules
Copyright ©2011, 2008, 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Social Penetration
Social penetration theory explains…
Why relationships develop and what happens when they do
Breadth
Depth
Depenetration
Copyright ©2011, 2008, 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Social Exchange and Equity
Social exchange theory
You develop relationships that will enable you to maximize your profits
Based on economic model of profits and losses
Profits = Rewards – Costs
Copyright ©2011, 2008, 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Culture, Technology, Work, and Relationships
Culture and Gender
Consider whether relationships are voluntary or chosen by families
Effects how relationships end and the difficulties that you go through during dissolution
Determines how much people disclose about themselves
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Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Culture, Technology, Work, and Relationships cont…
We lose many relationship nonverbal cues through technology
Establishing online relationships can be safe (avoid physical violence and sexually-transmitted diseases)
Your inner qualities are revealed first
Copyright ©2011, 2008, 2005
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Culture, Technology, Work, and Relationships cont…
Workplace Romances
Advantages
Interest in the same field
Similar training and ambitions
Greater work satisfaction
Disadvantages
Discomfort to other workers
Problems for management
Stress if relationship ends
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Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Families as Communication Systems
Family members are interdependent
A family is more than the sum of its parts
Families have systems within the larger system
Family systems are affected by their environment
Interplay, Eleventh Edition, Adler/Rosenfeld/Proctor
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

10. Roles Role are based on kinship.
Kinship role is culturally-based
Functional roles: who doe what within the family
Social roles: harmonizer, problem solver, tension reliever, etc.
Role expectations are conveyed through communication
Interplay, Eleventh Edition, Adler/Rosenfeld/Proctor
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

11. Family Narratives Narratives
Reaffirm family’s identity by reinforcing shared goals
Teach moral values
Stress family concerns
Reflect how members feel about each other
Reflect how to operate in the world
Dysfunctional families can be united by a shared narrative.
Interplay, Eleventh Edition, Adler/Rosenfeld/Proctor
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

12. Models for Other Relationships
Experiences in our family of origin share the way we communicate throughout life.
Research:
Levels of hostility and positive engagement at 14 linked with same 17 years later
Culturally-based
North America:
Emotional support and loyalty comes from a limited number of people; children more self-reliant
Mexico, Latin America, Africa, Asia
Support and loyalty extend beyond immediate family.
Interplay, Eleventh Edition, Adler/Rosenfeld/Proctor
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

13. Communication Rules
Families have many rules governing communication among members and with outsiders.
Who may speak or to whom
How one speaks
Topic of conversation
Maintaining openness-closeness dialect difficult in stepfamilies
Interplay, Eleventh Edition, Adler/Rosenfeld/Proctor
Copyright © 2010 by Oxford University Press, Inc.