Chapter 9

Question 1

conflict

Answer 1

the process that occurs when people perceive that they have incompatible goals or that someone is interfering in their ability to achieve their objectives

Question 2

kitchen sinking

Answer 2

in which combatants hurl insults and accusations at each other that have little to do with the original disagreement

Question 3

power

Answer 3

the ability to influence or control people and events

Question 4

symmetrical relationships

Answer 4

relationships with balanced power

Question 5

complementary relationships

Answer 5

relationships with imbalanced power

Question 6

dyadic power relationships

Answer 6

people with only moderate power are most likely to use controlling communication

Question 7

power currency

Answer 7

to acquire power, you must possess or control something that other people want

Question 8

resource currency

Answer 8

include material things such as money, property, and food

Question 9

expertise currency

Answer 9

compromises special skills or knowledge. the more highly specialized and unique the skill or knowledge you have, the more expertise power you possess

Question 10

social network currency

Answer 10

what you have if you are a person who is linked with a network of friends, family, and acquaintances with substantial influence

Question 11

personal currency

Answer 11

personal characteristics (beauty, intelligence) that people consider a desirable constitute

Question 12

intimacy currency

Answer 12

when you share a close bond with someone (because you’re my friend…)

Question 13

avoidance

Answer 13

ignoring the conflict, pretending it isn’t really happening, or communicating indirectly about the situation

Question 14

skirting

Answer 14

in which a person avoids a conflict by changing the topic or joking about it

Question 15

sniping

Answer 15

communicating in a negative fashion and then abandoning the encounter by physically leaving the scene or refusing to interact further

Question 16

cumulative

Answer 16

repressed irritation grows as the mental list of grievances we have against our partner builds

Question 17

pseudo-conflict

Answer 17

the perception that a conflict exists when it fact it doesn’t

Question 18

accommodation

Answer 18

one person abandons his or her own goals and acquiesces to the desires of the other person

Question 19

competition

Answer 19

coupled with the pursuit of one’s own goals without regard for others’ goals

Question 20

escalation

Answer 20

a dramatic rise in emotional intensity and increasingly negative and aggressive communication

Question 21

reactivity

Answer 21

is characterized by accusations of mistrust, yelling, crying, and becoming verbally or physically

Question 22

collaboration

Answer 22

treating conflict as a mutual problem-solving challenge

Question 23

separation

Answer 23

the sudden withdrawal of one person from the encounter

Question 24

domination

Answer 24

occurs when one person gets his or her way by influence the other to engage accommodation and abandon goals

Question 25

compromise

Answer 25

both parties change their goals to make them compatible

Question 26

integrative strategies

Answer 26

the two sides preserve and attain their goals by developing a creative solution to the problem

Question 27

structural improvements

Answer 27

people agree to change the basic rules or understandings that govern their relationship to prevent further conflict

Question 28

sudden death statements

Answer 28

occur when people get so angry that they suddenly declare the end of the relationship even though it was a possibility before the conflcit

Question 29

dirty secrets

Answer 29

statements that are honest in content but have been kept hidden to protect a partner’s feelings

Question 30

serial arguments

Answer 30

a series of unresolved disputes, all having to do with the same issue

Question 31

demand-withdraw patterns

Answer 31

in which one partner in a relationship demands that his or her goal be met, and the other partner responds by withdrawing from the encounter

Question 32

chilling effect

Answer 32

whereby individuals stop discussing relationship issues out of fear of their partner’s negative reactions