Communication in Interpersonal Relationships: (SUNY series, Human Communication Processes)

This book discusses communication principles, processes, and skills from four different perspectives by explaining four related propositions. First, human communication is guided by socially established rules, the knowledge of which allows interacting persons to exert influence over the outcome of their interactions. Second, self concepts are formed and sustained in our interactions with others. Third, the formation of sustained interpersonal relations depends upon the attraction resulting from reciprocal self concept support. And fourth, organizations and the cultural system provide the parameters within which self concepts and interpersonal relations are formed. The implications of these propositions are examined in chapters two through ten. The authors develop their system in terms of results. What patterns of communication—what patterns of signal exchange—increase the probability of the development of affective relationship? What patterns erode interpersonal systems or prevent them from forming? The book also examines patterns of communication within task-oriented organizations and in situations involving cultural differences.

Table of Contents:
Preface 1. Communication and its Role in Human Relationships A Major Theme of our Age The Need for a Paradigm Shift A Multiple Systems Analysis Some Implications An Overview of the Book 2. Interpersonal Communication and Individual Self-Concepts A Symbolic Interactionist Perspective The Nature, Function, and Scope of Individual Self-Concepts The Role of Self-Concept Plays in Interpersonal Communication Processes Listening, Cueing, and Negotiation Skills 3. Interpersonal Communication and the Development, Presentation, and Validation of Individual Self-Concepts Self-Concept Support and Denial: The Focus of Interpersonal Interaction Self-Concept Development Self-Concept Presentation The Validation of Individual Self-Concepts 4. Interpersonal Communication and the Formation and Maintenance of Interpersonal Relationships Interpersonal Relationships The Friendship Formation Process The Mate Formation Process 5. Interpersonal Communication, Sexual Intimacy, Emotional Intimacy, and Interpersonal Relationships The Alignment of Sexual and Emotional Intimacy Aligning Sexual Intimacy and Emotional Intimacy: The Communication Complexities Aligning Sexual and Emotional Intimacy in Context: The Communication Problems 6. Interpersonal Communication and the Reassessment of Relationships Relationship Stress and Satisfaction A Quality Communication Environment The Continuation of a Relationship The Repair of a Relationship The Renegotiation of a Relationship The Disengagement from a Relationship 7. Organizational Communication and Interpersonal Relationships Communication in Organizations Organizational Communication and the Supervisor—Subordinate Relationship Employment Interview Employee Appraisal Supervisor—Subordinate Communication Problems 8. Cultural Communication and Interpersonal Relationships Culture: A Tyrannizing Image Culture and Communication Interpersonal Communication in American Culture American Culture and Marital Relationships The Cultural Repair Ritual for Marital Problems 9. Cross-Cultural Communication and Interpersonal Relationships Communication Between People from Different Cultural Groups Interpersonal Communication in Japan and the United States Organizational Communication in Japan and the United States 10. Telecommunication and Interpersonal Relationships Telecommunication, Interpersonal Relationships, and Post-Industrial Society Telecommunications: Bridging the Gap Between Man and Machine Mass Communication: From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting in Communications Technology Boss—Employee Interpersonal Relationships in an Information Age Teacher—Student Interpersonal Relationships in an Information Age Author Index Subject Index

About the Author :
Donald P. Cushman is Professor of Communications at the State University of New York, Albany. He has published over 30 articles in scholarly journals and a book entitled Message-Attitude-Behavior Relationship. Dudley Cahn is Assistant Professor of Communications at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu.