COMM 4471: Communication in Marriage and Family
Fall 2007
Theoretical Perspectives in Family Communication Research
Logical-Empirical (76%) Interpretive (20%) Critical (4%)
Logical-Empirical
Reality is objective Purpose of theory is to discover
“objective Truth” Knowledge is based on empirical
testing of deductively derived hypothesis
Interpretive
Reality is subjective and multiple Purpose of theory is to understand
how subjective reality is created Knowledge is based on individual
experiences
Critical
Reality is socially constructed by those in power
Purpose of theory is to liberate and emancipate the powerless/oppressed
Knowledge is based on acceptance of ideology/dogma
Defining Family
Structural by social role
Task-Orientation by goals & outcomes
Transactional by communication behaviors &
relationships
“Family” Properties
Long-term commitment Types of relationships
biology, law, affection Enmeshment in kinship networks Ongoing interdependence Institutionalization
B & B’s Definition
“a social group of two or more persons, characterized by ongoing interdependence with long-term commitments that stem from blood, law, or affection.” (p. 3)
Consequences of Definitions
Social Legal Psychological Theoretical
B & B’s Definition of Communication
“symbol use between persons through verbal and nonverbal means” (p. 3)
An alternative definition of Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Communication is any interaction between two or more persons who exchange information, create meaning, and influence each other and who through this process create social reality for themselves and others and create and maintain relationships with each other.
Social Identity Theory
Identity is gained thru membership in socially meaningful groups
Individuals enact membership to protect & support identity, esp. when identity or group are threatened
Communication Accommodation Theory
Accommodation = change in communication based on partner Approximation (performance, style)
Convergence-Divergence Interpretability Discourse management Interpersonal Control
Assumptions of Communication Accommodation Theory
Accommodation affected by group membership (i.e., SIT)
Family relationships are intergroup relations E.g., generation, gender, ethnicity
Accommodation processes affected by culture
Assignment
Individually, think of a situation where your communication can be attributed to accommodation processes between members of different social groups
Assignment (cont) In groups, share your experiences and
discuss how well CAT explains the behaviors and how useful CAT is in understanding family comm.
Consider CAT’s utility Types of behaviors explained Relevance of explained behaviors Relative power of alternative
explanations
Privacy Management Theory
Private information = info one owns Privacy is in dialectical tension with
disclosure How persons manage privacy in
relationships explains much of their behavior, esp. in families
Boundaries
Enclose those who know private information
Are defined and enacted thru rules Boundary coordination
Who’s linked? (is inside vs. outside) Parameters of co-ownership Permeability of boundary
Boundary Turbulences
Processes of creating, changing, and maintaining privacy rules
Because they involve others, these processes are often contentious, conflicted, and involve trail and error
Turbulence also occur in families when new members join
Questions
Why do people disclose? Why do they keep info private?
What are the relational consequences of sharing or hiding private information?
Why is privacy management particularly relevant for families?
Family Communication Patterns
Associated with Shared Social Reality Two means to share reality (McLeod
&Chaffee) concept (conversation) orientation socio (conformity) orientation
Two Dimensions ofFamily Communication Concept (Conversation) - Orientation
- open discussion of ideas- family values interaction
Socio (Conformity) - Orientation- children’s adoption of parental values- family values conformity
Significance of Conversation Orientation
facilitates socialization of children increases cognitive complexity validates children’s opinions,
enhances self-esteem
Significance of Conformity Orientation
determines autonomy and independence of children
determines children’s decision making
Consensual
Pluralistic
Protective
Laissez-Faire
Conversation Orientation
ConformityOrientation
Family Types
Protective Families
High conformity, low conversation = Baumrind’s authoritarian parents Parents teach rules & obedience Cold family climate / relationships Children fail to self-regulate Children’s adjustment dependent on
social group (family, peers)
Pluralistic Families
High conversation, low conformity = Baumrind’s permissive parents Parents supportive and child centered Warm family climate / relationships Children fail to regulate Children’s adjustment dependent on
own intelligence & social group
Consensual Families
High conformity, high conversation = Baumrind’s authoritative parents Parents teach principles Warm family climate / relationships Children learn to self-regulate Children adjust well
Laissez-Faire Families
low conformity, low conversation = Baumrind’s neglective parents Parents teach few rules & obedience Cold family climate / relationships Children fail to self-regulate Children’s adjustment dependent on
social group (peers)
Assignment
In groups, determine how Communication Accommodation or Privacy Management would be handled in the four FCPT family types
FCP and PMT
Conversation orientation Fewer boundaries within & outside More boundary negotiation Less tension in turbulences
Conformity orientation More boundaries within & outside More boundary rules More tension in turbulence
FCP and CAT
Conversation orientation Less accommodation Power de-emphasized
Conformity orientation More accommodation Power emphasized
Goals Plan Action
Assumes behavior is result of cognition
Assumes people pursue goals communication is result of goal
directed cognition
Goals
= future states one hopes to attain or maintain
Become interaction goals when they require communication/coordination
Vary in concreteness/abstractness
Goal Types
Primary: what an interaction is about Secondary: other contextual goals
that constrain communication Identity Conversation Relationship Personal resources Arousal management
Plans and Planning
Cognition using knowledge from memory and interaction used to behave to bring goals about
Vary in complexity Vary in specificity Lead to Action = goal driven behavior
GPA and Interaction
How does goal pursuit play out in dyadic and/or family relationships?
Be sure to consider primary and secondary goals, that all parties may pursue goals, and that all parties are aware of that fact!
Ways of Learning
Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Social Learning
Operant Conditioning Associating behavior with an outcome
through reinforcement Reinforcement
positive = presence of outcome negative = absence of outcome
Outcome positive = desirable (reward) negative = undesirable (punishment)
Operant Conditioning
Reinforcement
Outcome
pos.
pos.neg.
neg.
NoReward Reward
NoPunish-ment
Punish-ment
Codependence
Behavior of functional partner that enables other’s dependency
Enabeling behavior Controlling Nurturing Control = punishment Nurturing = reward
Inconsistent Nurturing as Control
Functional partner controls dependent through intermittent nurturing
Based on Learning Theory nurturing is rewarding withholding nurturing is used to punish
dependent (neg. reinforcement) intermittent rewards reinforce behavior
Assumptions of INC
Learning Theory is accurate Withholding nurturing only available
punishment to functional partner Functional partner is “weak”:
low self-esteem low Clalt
no other resources
Conclusions re. Codependence
Abuse & dependency of one partner are affected by dyadic processes
Codependents contribute to abuse & dependency thru enabeling behavior
Change in the codependent’s behavior can and does effect change in the behavior of the abuser/dependent
Ethics of codependence
What type of ethical concerns/insights do you have codependency and INC?
What’s the moral bases for these concerns, what are its assumptions?
Are ethical concerns valid in regard to theories based on realism?
Narrative Performance Theory
Critical Theory based on phenomenology Empirical: world as experienced Eidetic: world that is possible (essential) Performance: behavior that constitutes
something else Performativity: behavior that constitutes
itself
Family Story Telling
Strategies to perform Family: Content Ordering Task Ordering Group Ordering
Strategies hierarchically ordered Strategies give identities, meaning,
roles, purpose to life.
Assignment
Consider an instance of family story telling. How was family performed in that instance?
Systems Theory
Wholeness: Complete interdependence of parts
Nonsummativity: System is more than sum of parts
Systems Theory Input: The raw material used by the
system
Throughput: The processes used to convert input to output
Output: The product which results from the system's throughput or processing
Exercise
Goal/output Get you to go to bed on time
Explain did your family accomplish this goal (input/throughput)
Systems Theory
Equifinality: Outcomes are not pre-determined by inputs School achievement Family cohesion
Systems Theory
Boundaries: The point where a system or subsystem can be differentiated from its environment or from other subsystems.
Hierarchy: Systems interact with other systems
Openness: Systems do not exist in isolation
Diagram of Systems Theory
Draw your own family system Where do you draw your boundaries? What are the different subsystems? How permeable are the boundaries? What other systems interact?
Evaluation of Systems Theory
Strengths Emphasis on whole family &
interdependence Clarification of role of external factors
Weaknesses Complexity and interdependence make
testable hypotheses difficult or impossible
Cybernetics
Systems are self-regulating Have goals Can perceive actual states Compare actual state with goal Determine deviation from goal Engage in corrective action (feedback)
Relational Communication
Communicators constitute systems
Communication has 2 levels Content Relational
Relational Dialectics
Unlike Hegelian Dialectics, no synthetical resolution
Dialectics are in discourse Most crucial in 3 dimensions
1) integration2) certainty3) expression
Dialectics are internal & external
Internal & External Dialectics
INTERNAL– Connectedness –
Separateness– Certainty –
Uncertainty– Openness –
Closedness
EXTERNAL– Inclusion –
Seclusion– Conventionality –
Uniqueness– Revelation –
Concealment
Dialogue in Dialectics Dialectical flux Constitutive process Utterance Aesthetic moment
Symbolic Convergence Theory
Bridging rhetoric and social science Concerned with:
Group-Identity / Cohesion Social Reality of groups
Interaction Process Analyses Theory about leadership behaviors in
groups Identified process of “dramatization”
Fantasy in Group Communication
Creative/Imaginative interpretation that fulfills psychological/rhetorical need Dramatization Fantasy Chain Fantasy Themes Fantasy Types Rhetorical Vision
Symbolic Conversion
Dramatization Dramatization Dramatization
F-Chain
F-Theme
F-Chain F-Chain
F-Type
F-Theme
Rhetorical Vision
F-Type
Attachment
The Strong Bond between Infant & Primary Care Giver
Innate (shared with many other animals)
Necessary for Survival & Development
Characterized by Multi-Stage Reaction to Separation
Attachment (cont.) Necessary for Survival &
Development Secure Base Function Save Haven Function
Characterized by Multi-Stage Reaction to Separation: Protest Despair Detachment Rebound from Detachment
Ainsworth’s Attachment Styles(determined by Strange Situation)
1. Secure - briefly upset, then easily re-bond
2. Avoidant- Not upset, then avoid mother
3. Anxious/Ambivalent- very upset, then avoidant, upset & clingy
Kobak’s Attachment Dimensions
Secure
Insecure
PreoccupiedDismissing
Secure
DismissingAvoidant
Preoccupied
Bartholomew’s FourAttachment Styles
Model of Self
ModelOf Other
+
_
_+
Secure
Dismissive
Preoccupied
FearfulAvoidant
PCG’s Behavior and Infant’s Attachment Style Reliably Available
Secure Attachment Reliably Unavailable
Avoidant Attachment Unreliably Available/Over Involved
Anxious/Ambivalent AttachmentHowever, parenting behavior is also
determined by child behavior
Adult Attachment
Assumption that attachment system also applies to adult romantic relationships
Similar physiological/cognitive foundation
Not related to parent attachment to child
Similarities between Infant and Adult Attachment
Effects on relationship quality Effects on communication behaviors
Support providing and seeking Conflict / problem solving Averse behaviors, aggression, hostility Avoidance
Effects on psychological well-being
Differences between Infant and Adult Attachment
Infant Complementary Parent or Other
Adult Exploration System
easily overwhelmed
Adult Reciprocal Peer & Sexual
Partner Separation has to
be sever to elicit attachment-like reaction
Attribution Theory
Attributions= Explanations for behavior internal vs. external causation stable vs. temporary specific vs. global controllability of cause
Allow for prediction & control
Attribution Theory
Require “theory of mind” knowledge of rules relevant to context
Assume People actively interpret world They do so rationally (logical)
Kelley’s ANOVA
When making attributions, people look at: Consistency = similar behavior in similar
situations? Consensus = do other people behave
similarly? Distinctiveness = similar behavior in
different situations
Kelley’s ANOVA (cont)
These observations lead to judgments about locus of control (internal-external) how reliable (stable-unstable) how typical (global-specific)
Typical Biases
Fundamental attribution error attribute other’s behavior to internal
causes Explanation: Lack of knowledge
Actor-Observer Difference attribute own neg. behavior externally attribute other’s neg. behavior internally Explanation: self-serving biases
Attributions and Satisfaction In satisfied relationships:
Positive behaviors = internal, stable, global Negative behaviors = external, unstable,
local In dissatisfied relationships:
Negative behaviors = internal, stable, global
Positive behaviors = external, unstable, local
Bases of Attributions in Close Relationships: Knowledge of the Other
Goals & Personality Knowledge of Self
Goals & Personality Knowledge of Social Environment
Norms & Rules Knowledge of the Relationship
History, ongoing exchanges
Critical Theory
Focus on structures & practices that: Oppress, disadvantage, create &
maintain inequality Culture, status, privileges and lives
enacting them & affected by them Struggle between ideologies Past instances of social change
Aim is social change
Feminist Theory
Based on believe in equality of sexes Central concept Gender
Gender= social meaning of sex Gender is “performed,” as is sexuality
Central Concept Patriarchy Society as constituted reflects interests
of men (also whites, capitalists, etc.) Both men & women maintain it
Foci of CFT
Inclusion in Family Legal status of marriage Power relations in families Caregiving and other family
responsibilities What aspect of families should be
researched
Small Group Assignment
Read the article about children names Using CFT, analyze the phenomenon
and prepare to present your findings to the class
Emotion Regulation Theory
Regulation of negative emotions (sadness, anger) crucial for social competence & development
Regulation achieved thru parents’ teaching: meta-emotions
Regulation mediated thru physiology (baseline vagal tone = heart rhythm)
Meta-Emotions
Emotions about emotions i.e., executive function
Two Parenting Styles Emotion-coaching Emotion-dismissing
Emotion-coaching
Awareness of child’s emotion Child neg. affect = opportunity Teaching expression of emotion Acceptance of emotions Problem solving Result: Child accepts emotion and
learns how to deal with them
Emotion-Dismissing
Unaware of affect Child neg. affect = bad situation Teaching hiding of emotion Dismissal of emotion Problem solving Result: Childs learns that emotions
are bad and is given no tools to deal with them