ipl-logo

Relational Dialectics, Social Penetration Theory

847 Words4 Pages

Communication, Theories, and Challenges When we communicate with one another, there is various communication, that is backed by theories, and challenges. This essay is going to define two theories which are Relational Dialectics Theory and, Social Penetration Theory. Then the essay will compare challenges, and complications using three different relationships. The three relationships chosen are sibling, friendships, and romantic interest.
Theory: Relational Dialectics
Proposed in 1988 by Leslie Baxter and W.K. Rawlins, this theory of interpersonal communication reflect and highlights the struggles, tensions, of relationships with bonds that are personal or close. “Communication parties experience internal, conflicting pulls causing relationships …show more content…

Those pressures include: connection–autonomy; certainty–uncertainty; and openness–closedness. With the connection and autonomy: there is the desire to have permanent and close ties in the interpersonal relationship, however the relationship cannot tolerate unless involved parties have alone time. One can lose their individuality if private alone time does not take place. With certainty-uncertainty: the parties in their interpersonal relationship look for predictability along with assurance. Nevertheless, there must be some spontaneity, if not the relationship can become predictable and boring. Last but no least in openness-closedness: the parties divulge and reveal information that is personal but only disclose a little to the …show more content…

The theory is steered by the relational development assumptions that includes the four stages, which can include the distance and deterioration. This theory considered to be psychological, is the framework in interpersonal communication.
Challenges Relating to the Theories- Siblings Siblings such as brother and sister, have their own identity. In the social penetration theory, exposing their vulnerability, it will be only seen amongst them but not exposed to the public. In relational dialectic, they will not lose their individuality. The only spontaneity will be the adventures they will look to achieve at various ages or those from a bucket list.
Challenges Relating to the Theories-Friendships With friendships the challenges in these two theories can be kind of tricky. Depending on the type of relation the two friends have will determine how information will verbalized and not spoken. For instance, Jane and Janet are high school friends. They have been friends since they were ten years old. Jane meet a nice senior name Jimmy, and start dating. Because Jane and Jimmy are not ready to divulge their relationship to Janet, Jane decline because she vulnerable. They decide to wait to. In the meantime, Jane is not spending as much time with Janet because she is dating Jimmy. Janet feels like her relationship with Jane is on the decline because

Show More
Related
182 Words | 1 Pages

Beginning with the relational dialects which means that the different needs in the friendship can cause strains to each individual within the friendship. With relational dialects it is important for each party within the friendship to have a dual perspective. The second part of these internal tensions

Read More
617 Words | 3 Pages

Without sincere communication and bonding, people quickly grow hopeless, confused, and even mentally insane. Although Mildred and Montag speak to each other, their talks are dry, short, and shallow. An aimless conversation does not serve a purpose in connecting human beings. Instead, it completes the opposite, wasting time. People must adequately connect with others in their relationships to maintain healthy interconnection and show dedication.

Read More
448 Words | 2 Pages

This shows a sign of trust because they had too keep it a secret that they went and

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

When trying to really get to know someone it usually requires a lot of time and effort as well as self-disclosing information about you as well. In the movie My Big Fat Greek wedding a young girl named Toula is told from very early on by her families strong culture that women must do three things in life “ marry Greek boy, make Greek babies and feed everyone.” However this becomes hard to uphold when she meets and eventually wants to marry a man that comes from a very conservative non-Greek family. Throughout the movie we see how not only does the social penetration theory relate to the relationship between Toula and the non Greek man she falls for but the relationship that has to build between the man, his family and patulas family as well in order for them to be able to get married and all get a long peacefully despite the different cultures both families come from. Right away in the beginning of the movie we see how large and crazy the family is and that everyone always seems to be in everyone’s else’s business having a lot of self disclosure amongst each other however it also means that there is little room for any sense of privacy and that information in the family travels fast.

Read More
602 Words | 3 Pages

However, it’s not as dynamic, relationships aren’t based on trust or mutual likings, but are based on Party survival. It’s prevalent in the family relationship, which is shown through the Parsons’s. “With those children, he thought, that wretched woman must lead a life of terror”, here it’s depicted that family life is difficult, no one should be trust and children are feared (24). With no trust, a strain is caused by a The Party’s influence which breaks up families. The influence mostly effects children, it gives power to children, which causes them to abuse it and assert it on their own family.

Read More
1235 Words | 5 Pages

Sex, Lies and Conversations What is the importance of communication? Communication is an important life skill that helps to understand and connect with people by allowing to build respect and trust, it can resolve differences in the environment. In Deborah Tannen’s essay “Sex, Lies and Conversations” highlights the different styles of communications of man and woman. Tannen opens her essay with an anecdote that grabs the reader attention with her own personal experiences. Tannen discusses how men and women contact with each other, and how different the ways of communications for opposite sexes are, and how this can lead to a breakable marriage.

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

I have been and I still am involved in many personal relationships in my life, whether it’s with my family, my friends, or a significant other. Within all of my relationships, I have experienced the dialectical tensions of integration, separation, stability, change, expression, and privacy. However, I wasn’t aware that what I was exhibiting was legitimized in a theory. My experiences with these dialectical tensions have ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. I read somewhere that as individuals become closer, more conflicting tensions will emerge.

Read More
1820 Words | 8 Pages

Communication is a critical foundation of every relationship; without it the relationship is deemed unsuccessful. Unsuccessful communication can result in constant tension, power inequalities and disagreements. Relational Dialectics is a communication theory, formed by Leslie Baxter and Barbara Montgomery, in which personal relationships are judged upon the management of tension produced by contradictory forces. (Thrift, 2017). Each of the contradictory forces contain two components, an internal source, between the individuals in the relationship and and external source, which is interference from the outside world.

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

The Social Penetration Theory is founded by objective theorists Irvin Altman and Dalmas Taylor. Social Penetration theory is applied in our lives because each day we meet someone new while developing relationships and personal connections with people overtime. The Social Penetration Theory is the idea that relationships can become more intimate through the amount of mutual self-disclosure. In John Hughes’ 1985 film, The Breakfast Club, the cast displays the social penetration theory when five students begin not knowing one another until the end of detention. Due to the amount of effective self-disclosure, this group of high schoolers have become friends.

Read More
207 Words | 1 Pages

In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx defined the two main social classes a communist society as the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. Are these two social classes still prevalent in modern society? Yes, they are now known as the Middle class and the Lower or “working” class. In his theory, Marx states that the Bourgeoisie or the “capitalist class” are the ruling class of the two basic classes of capitalist society.

Read More
1699 Words | 7 Pages

Knapp’s Theory of Interpersonal Relationships was created by Dr. Mark L. Knapp, a professor of communication at the University of Texas, and provides the basic steps in a relationship ranging from coming together to coming apart. Coming together contains and

Read More
1225 Words | 5 Pages

“Divergent perceptions and absence of a common language of communication ... they fail to fathom each other’s feelings and likes and dislikes” (Priya). Miscommunication between people creates rifts and lays pretense for tension and dispassion. Without communication, people become impatient and disassociate. “They see daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese, who think they are stupid when they explain things in fractured English”(Tan 31).

Read More
916 Words | 4 Pages

Yet, one thing still remained – our interpersonal communication. We still exchange information. We still speak about our feelings, through verbal and non-verbal messages. Over time, myriads of professors have developed different theories that humans communicate. This paper will take a look at Knapp’s Relationship Theory what the purpose of the study is and the results.

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Love is difficult to find, but is even more difficult when you have no love. “The only thing more difficult than the crucifixion of love is the crucifixion of no love (Livatino).” To have no love is an unending loneliness and a void you can’t fill yourself. It’s almost as if a piece of you is missing and can only be filled by another. For me, I believe this is the goal of humans: to find love and to be loved.

Read More
1345 Words | 6 Pages

These theories serves us number of advantages, which are very important on our day to day teaching. There are many theories which highlight on human development. One of the four major theories which talk about the human development are: 1- Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development 2- Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Read More

More about Relational Dialectics, Social Penetration Theory

Related Topics

Open Document