Relationships - discuss the role of communication in maintaining relationships Flashcards

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1
Q

communication

A

what people say to each other AND how they say it

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2
Q

what to communicate

A
  • positive attribution styles
  • communicating openness and assurance
  • avoidance of negative emotions
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3
Q

communication: openness and assurance

A

openness:

  • sharing experiences
  • telling your partner things about yourself that they may not know

assurances:

  • offering comfort
  • showing interest in their emotional well-being

study: Weigel-Ballard and Reisch (1999)

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4
Q

Weigel-Ballard and Reisch (1999)

A
  • married couples completed a questionnaire
  • traditional couples: high levels of assurance but low levels of openness
  • independent couples: more communication, higher levels of openness
  • traditional couples are likely conflict-avoidant, resulting in lower openness
  • while independent couples would rather solve problems than avoid them
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5
Q

communication: attribution styles

A

Bradbury and Fincham (1990):

  • spouses in happy relationships f„ocused more on their partner’s positive behaviour
  • attributed positive events to partner’s disposition, and negative events to situational factors
  • spouses in unhappy relationships made the reverse attributions

Fincham (2004):
the link between attribution styles and marital satisfaction: positive attributions enhance the relationship, while negative attribution styles increase distress

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6
Q

communication: avoiding negative emotions

A

Gottman’s theory oƒf the Four Horsemen ofƒ the
Apocalypse:
- criticism: making negative dispositional attributions
- contempt: attacking the partner’s sense of self with the intent of psychological abuse
- defensiveness: self-victimization
- stonewalling: avoiding communication (e.g. silent treatment)

Gottman:

  • dissatisfied couples display more negative emotions, and often display negative reciprocity/retaliation
  • emotional expression and control play a role in confict resolution and marital satisf„action
  • non-verbal factors (e.g. facial expressions) can be picked up on by the partner

study: Gottman et al (2003)

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7
Q

Gottman et al (2003)

A
  • tested conflict management between older and younger married couples
  • 156 married couples were asked not to talk to each other for 8 hours prior to the experiment
  • asked to discuss 3 topics in the laboratory
  • physiological measurements (e.g. heart rate) were taken
  • 3 topics were: their experiences during the day, 1 pleasant topic, and 1 topic of disagreement between them
  • discussions were recorded on video and different emotions were observed
  • noted that older couples that had been together longer communicated more affection
  • also noted that older couples could communicate with their partner in a way that avoids negative results
  • thus communication styles change over time in order to maintain relationships
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