COMM 315 1nd EditionExam # 3 Study Guide Lectures: 16-24Lecture 16 (October 23)Chapter 9: Understanding Interpersonal RelationshipsA relationship is a connection established when we communicate with another person. An interpersonal relationship is a perception shared by two people of an ongoing, interdependent connection resulting in the development of relational expectations and varying in interpersonal intimacy (degree to which relational partners mutually accept and confirm each other’s sense of self). Relationships of circumstance occur because surrounding conditions cause you to interact with someone. In contrast, you create relationships of choice when you intentionally seek to establish relationship. With respect to power and decision-making, relationship can be: 1. Complementary relationship- when one partner dominates and the other submits 2. Symmetrical relationship- both have the same amount of power, so that the relationship is competitive when both are strong or submissive when both are weak 3. Symmetrical relationship- a relationship in which both partners behave toward power in the same way, either both wanting power or both avoiding it 4. Competitive symmetrical relationship- a relationship in which both people vie for power and control of decision making 5. Submissive symmetrical relationship- a relationship in which neither partner wants to take control or make decisions 6. Parallel relationship- with power changing from situation to situationThe degree to which you wish to form or maintain a relationship represents your interpersonal attraction. Our interest in potential relationship reflects short-term initial attraction (degree to which you sense a potential for developing an interpersonal relationship) that might lead to escalating or sustaining a relationship through the development of long-term maintenance attraction (degree of liking or positive feelings that motivate us to maintain or escalate a relationship). Factors that contribute to short-term initial attraction include proximity, which increases communication, and physical appearance (nonverbal cues that allow us to assess relationship potential), including sexual attraction. Some factors contribute to both short-term and long-tern attraction, including the credibility, competence (the quality of being skilled, intelligent, charismatic, and credible), and intelligence of the other person; being open and degree of liking or positive feelings that motivate us to maintain or escalate a relationship self-disclosing, which contributes to reciprocation of liking (liking those who like us); and similaritiesand differences, or complementary needs (needs that match).The Predicted outcome value theory (POV) says that people predict the value of a relationship based on initial self-assessment compared to the potential costs and rewards of the relationship. Relational development is movement of a relationship from one stage to another, either toward or away from greater intimacy. As relationships escalate toward intimacy or de-escalate away from it, they go through identifiable stages. Relational escalation is the movement of a relationship toward intimacy through five stages: 1. Preinteraction awareness- stage at which you gain information about others by observing them or talking with others about them without having any direct interactions, a passive strategy 2. Acquaintance- stage at which very fist interaction begins. Introductions (where interaction is routine and basic information is shared) and casual banter (when impersonal topics are discussed but very limited personal information is shared) occur here. 3. Exploration- stage at which you begin to share more in depth information about yourselves 4. Intensification- stage at which you start to depend on each other for self-confirmation and engage in more risky self-disclosure 5. Intimacy- stage at which partners confirm and accept each other’s sense of selfA post-intimacy relationship is a formerly intimate relationship that is maintained at a less intimate stage. Relational de-escalation is the movement of a relationship away from intimacy through five stages: 1. Turmoil or stagnation- Turmoil involves an increase in coercive conflict (use of negative tactics and unequal outcomes), as one or both partners tend to find more faults in the other 2. Deintensification- stage at which decreasing interactions, in increasing their physical, emotional, psychological distance, and decreasing their dependence on the other for self-confirmation occur 3. Individualization- stage at which the partners tend to define their lives more as individuals and less in terms of their relationship 4. Separation- stage at which individuals make an intentional decision to eliminate or minimize further interpersonal interaction 5. Post-separation effects- stage that contains the lasting effects that the relationship had on you and therefore on your other interactions and relationship. Grave dressing (when we try to put a positive spin on the death or our relationship) occurs at this stage.Changes in relationship are signaled by a 1. Turning point- a specific event or interaction associated with a positive or negative change (first date or saying “I love you”) 2. Causal turning point- an event that brings about a change in a relationship (because the event caused a change in the relationship, it is a causal turning point) 3. Reflective turning point- an event that signals a change in the way a relationship is defined (receiving and accepting an invitation to visit a friend’s family for the firsttime doesn’t cause a change in the relationship, but it reflects a change in how you and your friend perceive the relationship.)Lecture 17 (October 28)Three theories explain relationship development. 1. Social exchange theory posits that we make decisions about becoming more or less intimate on the basis of the immediate rewards and costs (rewards and costs that are associated with a relationship at the present moment) that we perceive to be associated with the relationship. Decisions are made on the basis of forecasted rewards and costs (rewards and costs that an individual assumes will occur, based on projection and prediction) and cumulative rewards