IMPROVING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

IMPROVING INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

1. COMM CLIMATES IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

   • Communication Climate: the emotional tone of a relationship.
   • Confirming and Disconfirming Messages: Comm climate is determined by the degree wo which pp see themselves as valued.
     • Recognition: Recognize others.
     • Acknowledgement: Acknowledging the ideas and feelings of others.
     • Endorsement: Agree with others' ideas
     • Disconfirming Responses: Messages that deny the value of others.
   • How Comm Climates Develop: As soon as two people start to communicate, a relational climate begins to develop. Spiral: a reciprocating comm pattern in which each person's ,essages reinforces the other's. Escalatory conflict spirals: the most visible way that disconfirming messages reinforce one another. Avoidance spirals: Slowly lessen the dependence on one another, withdraw, and become less invested in the relationship.
   • Creating Poisitive Comm Climates
     • Evaluation Vs. Descrption: "you" language vs "I" language
     • Control vs. Problem Orientation: Controlling message occurs when a sender seems to be imposing a solution on the receiver with little regard for the receiver's needs. Problem orientation: focus on finding a solution that satisfies both their needs and those of others involved.
     • Strategy vs. Spontaneity: Manipulation explains why most people detest coworkers who are unfriendly with peers while acting friendly and helpful to the boss. Spontaneity (honesty) is the label used as a contrast to strategy.
     • Neutrality vs. Empathy: neutrality (indifference) is the fourth behavior that arouses defensiveness. Empathy is an approach that confirms the other person.
     • Superiority vs. Equality: Superiority creates a defensive climate. Equality: although pp may have greater talent in certain areas, they see others as having just as much worth as human beings.
     • Certainty vs. Provisionalism: Certainty is a style of comm that is considered dogmatic and unyielding. Provisionalism is when pp may have strong opinions but are willing to acknowledge that they dont have a corner on the truth and will change their stand if anohter position seems more reasonable.

2. MANAGING INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT

   • The Nature of Conflict
     • Expressed Struggle: Both parties know some disagreement exists.
     • Perceived Incompatible Goals: Perceive their goals to be mutually exclusive.
     • Perceived Scarce Resources. Ex: Time & Money
     • Interdependence: The parties in a conflict usually depend on each other.
   • Styles of Expressing Conflict
     • Nonassertion: the ability or unwillingness to express thoughts or feelings in a conflict.
     • Direct Agression: A directly agressive message confronts the other person in a way that attacks his or her position and the dignity of the receiver.
     • Passive Agression: occurs when a communicator expresses hostility in an obscure way.
     • Indirect Comm: conveys a message in a roundabout manner to save face for the recipient.
     • Assertion: Assertive pp handle conflicts by expressing their needs, thoughts, and feelings clearly and directly but without judging others or dictating them.
   • Characteristics of an Assertive Message
     • Behavioral Desription: an objective pic of the behavior in question wo any judging or editotializing.
     • Your Interpretation of the Other Person's Behavior: Suggestions in Perception check.
     • A Description of Your Feelings
     • A Description of the Consequences
     • A Statement of Your Intentions
   • Gender and Conflict Style: Men tend to experience greater physiological arousal than women. Women are more likely than men to use indirect strategies instead of confronting conflict head-on. Men use aggression to get their way.
   • Conflict in Mediated Comm
     • Delay: Communicators arent obliged to respond immediately to one another.
     • Disinhibition: The absence of face-to-face contact can make it easy to respond aggressively, wo considering the consequences until its too late.
     • Permanence
   • Cultural Influences on Conflict: Ethnicity, the degree of assimilation,
   • Methods for Conflict Resolution: Win-Lose, Lose-Lose, Compromise, Win-Win.
   • Steps in Win-Win Solving: Identify Your Problem and Unmet Needs, Make a Date, Describe Your Problem and Needs, Partner Checks Back, Solicit Partner's Needs, Check Your Understanding of Partner's Needs, Negotiate a Solution, Follow Up on the Solution.