Interpersonal Communication and Relationships

Introduction

  • Applied aspects of this week's topics focus on interpersonal relationships.
  • Next week's topics include family and nonverbal communication.
  • Nonverbal communication is relevant to interpersonal, small group, and organizational communication.

Course Paper Reminder

  • The course paper is due on Monday, May 5th, in twelve days.
  • Students should have drafted week one to three prompts.
  • Read instructions carefully on the assignment page.
  • Allow enough time for citations and bibliography.
  • Pay attention to avoid losing points on citations and bibliography.
  • Have bibliographies ready.
  • Office hours are available; take advantage of them before assignments are due.
  • TAs are available during section gaps and office hours.
  • High-achieving students use office hours before assignments.

Exam One Overview

  • An overview of exam one will be provided.
  • Dedicated slides will be available for review.

Grade Distribution

  • Chart shows score percentage, frequency, and cumulative percentage.
  • 20 questions equal 100%.
  • 95% means one incorrect answer.
  • 80% means four incorrect answers.
  • TAs will discuss answer types in prior sections.

Exam Statistics

  • Based on 300+ students' exams.
  • Average: 76.21%.
  • Standard deviation: 16.49.
  • 13 students got 0%; one got 10%.
  • Standard deviation measures grade spread from the average.
  • Grade ranges: 85 is A-, 90 is A, 95 is A+.
  • 137 students (44.19%) got A range grades.

Test Design

  • Exam rewards those who pay close attention and take notes.
Note-Taking Strategies
  • University of Washington teaching and learning center resource.
  • Note-taking and reviewing are crucial.
  • Strategies for good lecture notes include:
    • Separate notes for each class.
    • Make notes easy to read.
    • Be an aggressive note-taker.
    • Take notes from the beginning.
    • Isolate and learn specialized vocabulary.
    • Separate facts from opinions and add your own ideas.
    • Always attend lectures to develop a complete set of notes.

Tips for MCQ Questions

  • Predict test questions.
  • Look out for hints.
  • Note important information: key scholars, theories, arguments, examples, and facts.
  • Use multiple tools: digital highlighter, annotation apps.
  • Use stars to mark emphasis levels.
  • Notice presentation style: explaining, contrasting, comparing.
  • Identify order or odd ones out.
  • TAs contribute questions and clues in Friday sections.

Studying Strategies

  • Form a study group.
  • See the tree and the forest.
  • Synthesize information and create possible test questions.
  • Use study aids: organizational charts, graphs, summary sheets, vocabulary sheets, and flashcards.
  • Read aloud what you wrote down.
  • Write a summary, read it aloud, and teach it to others.
  • Flashcards are helpful; test each other.
  • Memory is sharpest when well-rested.

Reducing Test Anxiety

  • Comes from the Center for Disability Resources for Students.
  • Be prepared.
  • Avoid unnecessary stress.
  • Work with your thoughts during the exam.
  • Take fundamental care: adequate sleep (7-9 hours), food, hydration.
  • Breathe and drink water.
  • Limit caffeine.

Interpersonal Communication and Relationships

  • The course explores interpersonal communication and relationships.
  • Professor Valerouman Sams' reading emphasizes self-forgiveness in communication.
  • Interpersonal communication: "a process of exchanging messages between people whose lives mutually influence one another in unique ways in relation to social and cultural norms."

Key Aspects

  • Exchanging messages: requires management, not organic.
  • Mutuality: lives mutually influence one another.
  • Unique ways: related to social and cultural norms.

Important Considerations

  • Don't take people or their communication for granted; it takes effort.
  • Mutuality can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.
Examples
  • Talking with a landlord or judge involves mutuality.
  • Wedding invitations reflect network depth.
  • Cultural norms can override individual preferences.

Types of Relationships

Voluntary and Personal
  • Choices help decide who we want in our lives.
  • Example: choice of partner.
Voluntary and Social
  • Result from social circumstances.
  • Can evolve to voluntary and personal.
  • Example: gym buddy becoming a best friend.
Involuntary and Personal
  • Limited choice; requires maintenance and effort.
  • Siblings: often taken for granted but need reciprocity.
  • Colleagues: reciprocate care and effort.
Dimensions of Interpersonal Communication
  • Relational: depends on who is involved and evolves over time.
Example

*Number of friends based on a poll:
*27 people selected 10 friends.
*200 out of 260 people selected about the right amount of friends.
*42 people think it's less than the ideal amount.

  • Communication is a basic response to relational schema.
  • Cultural blueprint influences what it means to be a good friend.
  • People good at talking are good at resolving conflict.
  • Initiating and maintaining communication is important.
  • Skills are important for jobs.
Friendship Characteristics
  • Not always about common interests; requires effort to maintain.
  • Beneficial but should not be taken for granted.
Instrumental
  • Benefits from being friends.
  • Example: learning to drive with a friend's help.
Self-Representational
  • Understanding what is permissible.
  • First impressions are important for representing yourself in all kinds of relations.
  • Understanding how much is too much.
  • Conversation is an important part of maintaining relations.
Conversation Vortex
  • Understanding when to get out of the conversation.
  • Understand nonverbal cues.
  • Eye contact in the conversation.

Close Relationships

  • Discussed uncertainty reduction, self-disclosure, staircase model, and relational turning points, then had a break.
  • Close relationships in general are positive.
  • Chart shows increasing hours people spend alone as they age, especially after 50 if they lack family and friends.
  • Loneliness is more prevalent in capitalist, consumerist, and individualistic societies.
  • Extroverted friends check on introverts emotionally.
  • Friends benefit both body and mind.
  • Call friends; don't just text because it helps you mentally and gives you a longer life.
  • Life duration depends on number and quality of interactions with your friends.

Uncertainty Reduction

  • Reduce uncertainty within friend circles through self-disclosure.
  • Self-disclosure: talking about yourself.
  • Reducing uncertainty by increasing not only the quality of communication, but also quantity of communication.
Factors to consider about what to disclose
  • Depth and breadth.
  • Frequency and duration.
  • Balance.
  • Velocity.
  • Strangers can become friends.
  • Spotting fake smiles involves honesty assessment.

Staircase Model of Relational Development (Mark L. Knapp)

  • Explains how relationships develop, initiated communication, increasing number.
  • People go on to experimenting, such as lunch or hiking.
  • Bonding can last long if you have some effort in maintaining those relationships.
  • Explains how relationships break down; the opposite of development.
Example
  • Not being invited to a barbeque
    *Would cause circumscribing, which cuts off from things.
    *Once there's no effort for reconciliation or reconnecting, that will be stagnating.
  • From number 2, people can straight go to number 8.
  • After experimenting, something might happen that leads straight to avoiding.
  • Can get back to integrating number 4.
Relational Turning Points
  • Significant life events that affect relationships.
  • Example: accidentally sending the exam question to everyone.
Limitations of Staircase Development

*Too linear, but still you can sometimes predict our relationship to some way in which we can be in a particular situation, and we can move on from there.

Three Kinds of Turning Points

  • Amendment and make up.
    *That way, you can overcome the turning point if it is going negative towards, whether it's intimate partner or siblings or friends or colleagues.
  • Risk prolonged conflict.
    *The conflict can go on for a long time.
  • Terminate.
    *If there is no further effort for amendment and make up.
  • Making up is a requirement for maintaining relationships. I'll make it up to you.
    Making up effort may not always pay off, but it gets noted into life events and, eventually, becomes important part of your life.

Managing Communication and Privacy

Privacy Fundamentals
  • Privacy: fundamental human right to keep information private.
  • Extending access: choosing to give certain people access without violating privacy.
Relationship Dynamics
  • Ownership indicates relationship depth.
  • Important to maintain boundaries.
  • Connected to relationship turning points.
  • Causes relationship changes.
Boundary Violations
  • Sharing certain texts/pictures can have consequences.
  • Text messages.
  • Certain pictures, should not be shared.
  • Sharing it with someone can cause you to lose an office.
Communication Privacy Management
  • Scholars found that couples without major fights are more likely to mishandle disclosures about breakups to kids.
  • Maintaining non-sexual, non-intimate friendships.
Key Points
  • Making effort to make up.
  • Sharing humor.
  • Maintaining fairness of balance is essential.