COMM 124

-surge in the past 20 years

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-began to be studied in 70's

-early work done in interpersonal couples

history of family comm

Specific communication behaviors and patterns

what is studied at a micro level

applied research, they are not therapists

is family comm applied research or practice?

IP is a broader rubric & family emerged out of IP

How does family communication differ from interpersonal (IP) communication?

Roles, behaviors and emotions--feel and act like family

role lens

Family as defined by laws and regulations

sociological lens

Relationship is (potentially) genetically reproductive

Whether the partners share genetic material

Biogenetic lens

Networks of people who share their lives over long periods of time bound by ties of marriage, blood, law, or commitment, legal or otherwise, who consider themselves as family and who share a significant history and anticipated future of functioning as a family

Family

Families depend on communication to develop identity and relay that identity to themselves and others

discourse dependent families

Dramatic declines in economics

Fear of abandonment

long-term behavioral and psychological problems

More likely to get divorced themselves

According to the class lecture and the Amato and Afifi article, what impact do divorce and conflict have on children?

-more discourse dependent

-new rules and traditions

-loyalty conflicts

-ambiguity of new rules

What are some challenges (positive or negative) that make stepfamilies different from other types of families?

families that are more reliant on commuication to build sense of self

What does Galvin mean by discourse dependent families? (outside article)

-showing a strong and unified bond

-warm but authoritative coparenting

-discuss key issues

-consult children

How can stepfamilies build strong relationships?

african american families

-more collectivistic, role of strong Black women and families, low context, high power distance

Latino families

-more collectivist, tight knit, most traditional gender roles and patriarchal, more authoritarian

What are some of the differences and similarities in communication patterns among African American families, Latino families, European American families, and Asian American families? Gay and lesbian families?

-more closeness and quity

-more monogamous

-children have a strong sense of self

lesbian and gay parents

Systems theory views human behavior though larger contexts, such as members of families, communities, and broader society. - when one thing changes within a system, the whole system is affected.

What is systems theory?

A relationship between countries in which they rely on one another for resources, goods, or services

•Some subsystems within a family might be more interdependent than others (e.g., child with a chronic illness & mother)

interdependence

the larger environment outside the system

Supra-system

family

System

dyads, individuals

Sub-system

•Whole is different than the sum of its parts

⚬Family is not just the individuals within it

•Family cannot be examined with just the individual; should also look at larger system and components of the system

Wholeness

•Free exchange of energy between system & environment

•System must be open to feedback and change to thrive

•E.g., coming out, addiction

Openness

•Behaviors become predictable and habituated over time

•Family members get stuck in established roles (and can't get out)

•E.g., one family member does all of the cooking or cleaning and another member tries to help, they may not do it "right"

Patterns of Behavior

•Balance or tendency to bring parts of the system back to "typical" or preferred level of functioning

⚬Does NOT mean this is healthy!

⚬Rules for behavior, boundaries, patterns of communication across time

•E.g., if you go off to college, family might view you as elitist or liberal when you return

Homeostasis

•Can achieve final objective in different, but equally valid ways

•E.g., parent who is perfectionistic/controlling and doesn't let child do things their own way

Equifinality

•Can have positive or negative energy in a group that can shape the behavior/dynamics of the group and the individuals within it

Synergy

Inconsistent Nurturing as Control theory

the behavior of people who are functional and people who are substance abusers reinforce each other

INC Theory (LePoire)

•Co-dependency: each person is fulfilling and sustaining the need of the other (interdependence)

•Need to examine whole family and individual with the addiction

Addiction in systems theory

Children are more concerned about parent's emotional needs than their own

emotional parentification

taking on responsibilities for household tasks and the care of siblings

instrumental parentification

-if there's a lot of fighting between parents

-they're doing things through the child

What does it mean for children to "feel caught" between their parents (class lecture and Amato & Afifi article)?

positive model of self and others

secure attachment

high anxiety, low avoidance

-high model of others negative model of self

preoccupied attachment

low anxiety, high avoidance

-positive model of self and negative model of others

dismissive attachment

high anxiety, high avoidance

-negative model of self and negative model of others

fearful attachment

-based on economic model of rewards

-humans are selfish

social exchange and equity theory

the cost-benefit ratio that people believe they deserve or could attain in another relationship

comparison level

people's expectations about the level of rewards and costs they would receive in an alternative relationship

comparison level for alternatives

People's commitment to a relationship depends not only on their satisfaction

Also depends on investment—what would be lost by leaving it

investment model of commitment

the idea that people are happiest with relationships in which the rewards and costs experienced by both parties are roughly equal

Equity Theory

theory that explains how people manage the tension between privacy and disclosure

Communication Privacy Management Theory

disruption of privacy management and relational trust that occurs when collective privacy boundaries aren't synchronized

boundary turbulence

a metaphor to show how people think of the borders between private and public information

privacy boundary

Process by which people communicatively manage boundaries

◦Linkages

◦2. Permeability

◦3. Co-ownership

Boundary coordination

about what information will be revealed, to whom, and when

Two types of rules:

◦1. Boundary access rules (i.e., rules about when information will be shared)

◦2. Boundary protection rules (i.e., rules about when information will not be shared)

Decision rules

Broad framework (also a strength)

◦Explanatory rather than predictive

-Tested primarily qualitatively rather than quantitatively

-Emphasis is on individual privacy rights—is privacy always individually owned?

-Not much discussion of cultural differences

critiques of communication privacy management theory