1. Chapter 7
Developing and
Maintaining
Relationships

2. • Explain key aspects of interpersonal
relationships
• Describe how and why we form
relationships
• List the advantages and
disadvantages of relationships
Chapter Outcomes

3. • Describe the factors that influence
self-disclosure
• Outline the predictable stages of
most relationships
Chapter Outcomes
(cont.)

4. The interconnections
and interdependence
between two
individuals
Interpersonal
Relationships

5. Interpersonal
communication: the
exchange of verbal and
nonverbal messages
between two people who
have a relationship and
are influenced by their
partner’s messages
Interpersonal
Relationships (cont.)

6. A web of relationships that
connect individuals to one
another
Relational Network

7. • Family: A small
social group bound
by ties of blood,
civil contract, and
a commitment to
care for one
another
Types of
Interpersonal
Relationships

8. • Friendship:
– Close and caring
relationship between
two people
– Perceived as mutually
satisfying and beneficial
– Offers support,
companionship
Types of
Interpersonal
Relationships (cont.)

9. • Romantic Relationships:
– Include love, or deep
affection for and attachment
to another person
• Love includes eros, ludus,
storge, pragma, mania, agape
– Include intimacy, or closeness
and understanding of a relational
partner
Types of
Interpersonal
Relationships (cont.)

10. • Online Relationships
– Social Information Processing
Theory argues that virtual relationships
are as close as face-to-face relationships.
– Hyperpersonal communication:
online communication that is even more
intimate than face-to-face
– Include friendships, romances, business
relationships, group memberships
Types of
Interpersonal
Relationships (cont.)

11. • Functions of relationships
– Companionship (inclusion)
– Stimulation
– Goal achievement
• Interpersonal attraction
– Proximity (nearness)
– Physical attraction
– Similarity
Why We Form
Relationships

12. • Costs and rewards
– Social exchange theory balances
advantages and disadvantages
– Rewards
• Extrinsic (external advantages)
• Instrumental (shared resources)
• Intrinsic (personal satisfaction)
– Costs
• Cause stress or annoyance
Managing
Relationship
Dynamics

13. • Reducing uncertainty
– Uncertainty reduction theory:
People need information to become
closer or separate.
• Passive strategies include observing and
monitoring.
• Active strategies involve checking with a
third party.
• Interactive strategies involve asking the
person for information.
Managing
Relationship
Dynamics (cont.)

14. • Dialectical tensions:
contradictory feelings that tug at
every relationship
– Relational dialectics theory
• Autonomy vs. Connection
• Openness vs. Closedness
• Predictability vs. Novelty
Managing
Relationship
Dynamics (cont.)

15. • Social penetration
theory (SPT):
How relationships move
from superficial levels to
levels of intimacy
Self-Disclosure and
Relationships

16. • Communication privacy
management theory
(CPM):
– We own private information.
– We control that information.
– Boundary turbulence
is a threat to privacy
boundaries.
Self-Disclosure and
Relationships (cont.)

17. • Strategic topic avoidance:
– Maneuvering the conversation
away from undesirable topics
because of potential for
embarrassment,
vulnerability, or
relational decline
Self-Disclosure and
Relationships (cont.)

18. Stages of a
Relationship

19. • Initiating stage:
– Make contact with
another person.
– Many relationships
don’t move beyond
this stage.
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)

20. • Exploratory stage:
– Small talk to obtain superficial
information
– Uncertainty
reduction
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)

21. • Intensification
stage:
– Personal self-
disclosure
– Share affection
verbally
– Pet names
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)

22. • Stable stage:
– Integrating or
becoming one
– Bonding by sharing
public messages
about the relationship
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)

23. • Declining stage:
– Uncertainty events
• Interference
• Unmet expectations
– Relationship Repair
• Repair tactics
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)

24. • Termination stage:
– Passing away
• Relationship gradually
fades
– Sudden death
• Unexpected
termination for one
partner
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)

25. • Reconciliation:
– Spontaneous development
– Third-party mediation
– High affect
– Tacit persistence
– Mutual interaction
– Avoidance
Stages of a
Relationship (cont.)